Empire: Total War

Format PC

Developer Creative Assembly

Publisher Sega

Genre Sim / Strategy

13 Comments

It may have taken eight years, but it looks like the wait may have been worth it. Just shy of its 10th anniversary, the Total War series has finally added naval battles to its real time combat arsenal, an inclusion that, if executed with Creative Assembly's usual aplomb and eye for detail, could finally stop the mewling of tens of thousands of fans hankering for a galleon gangbang. Including this one.

This isn't a responsibility that CA has taken lightly. Acutely aware of the importance of nailing sea warfare, the team has resisted the temptation to inject past games with substandard naval battles, preferring to take its time in order to create sea skirmishes that are every bit as breathtaking as the series' land-based warfare.

If you want proof, just take a look at that sea. Go ahead. Looks realistic enough to take a piss in, doesn't it? That's because one member of the team spent an entire year working on it. A year! Just on the sea! And as for the naval combat...

Watery graves
It's a calm summer afternoon. Waves lap gently against a fleet of ships as it races towards an approaching armada. Wooden masts creak at the behest of straining sails as the two fleets close in on each other. A mighty 120-gun behemoth leads the charge, its deck abuzz as scores of men prepare for war, while below deck, cannon crews shift nervously, awaiting the onslaught. (I'm a Horatio Hornblower fan, can you tell?)

The enemy ships are now in range and suddenly the serene sea is transformed into a watery warzone. Cannons light up. A barrage cripples an enemy vessel, devastating its main sail, leaving it to the mercy of the sea. As the burning sail plummets it ignites the deck and in moments the vessel is ablaze, spreading flames forcing countless men overboard. The remnants of the crew battle to contain the fire, but their struggle proves futile as the blaze finds an ammunition stockpile, the ensuing explosion severing the galleon in two. But no, this isn't a naval drama starring Ioan Gryfydd and Robert Lindsay that was never quite as popular as Sharpe - all this is happening in-game.

Ship shape
Based on a similar control system used for the series' land battles, Empire's naval combat will feature around 20 ships per side, (the exact amount is yet to be confirmed due to ongoing balancing) a number that CA believes will be the optimum amount to ensure peak playability while still providing a grand sense of scale.

"Ships are more complicated than land units," explains lead designer James Russell. "There's more you can do with them. Ships have hulls, crews, different kinds of shot, sails and masts. You need to pay attention to wind direction and they're constantly moving and firing from all sorts of angles and directions. We're looking to get the best spectacle while keeping things manageable for the player."

As well as long-range cannon battles you'll also be able to engage in close-quarters combat during these sea-based encounters, by boarding. By navigating your ship parallel to an enemy vessel, your onboard contingent of soldiers will be able to snare an opposition boat with grappling hooks and pull it close enough to board. Should your troops win the ensuing battle, the ship will come under your control and if it contains technology that your faction has yet to research, you'll gain access to it on the revamped campaign map.

Capturing enemy vessels will be made easier by strategically targeting a ship's masts to cripple it. With every cannon ball and musket shot calculated as a physical property (rather than a mathematical damage calculation as was the case in previous Total War games), every shot will be subject to real-life physics and trajectories, promising an even more authentic combat experience on sea and land.

Spanning the entire 18th century, Empire's gaming world will be larger than ever before, stretching from India to America and focussing heavily on exploration, conquest and colony building, with naval combat and trade routes playing a big role in proceedings.

"It was a time when trade on a global scale was becoming very important for big imperial countries, meaning that good trade routes were essential," explains Russell. A major new tactic in your empire building arsenal will be to disrupt enemy trade routes by attacking their ships. Trade ships will also be at risk from pirate attacks if they lack the adequate military protection to ensure safe passage from far off lands.

While CA has yet to decide on an exact number, it's likely that Empire will feature between 20 and 40 ship types, ranging from sloops (small, single mast ships) to hulking 120 gun admiral ships. Towards the campaign's latter stages, you'll be able to research some deadly vessels including rocket ships; water-based artillery launchers that fling fireworks onto the decks of far-off enemies to set fire to them.

Research diligently enough and you'll even be able to construct a steam-powered ship (a rare case of CA employing creative license to include a ship type not of the time period). Free from the restrictions imposed by sails, these battleships will possess a huge advantage by being able to turn on the spot, enabling them to bring their guns in line with enemies far more quickly than conventional vessels.

Land ahoy
While CA may have spent vast amounts of time working on naval combat (and ultra-realistic sea, don't forget the sea), it clearly hasn't been neglecting Empire's land-based battles. Subject to the same graphical makeover that's making the sea battles so visually spectacular, the team has put a great deal of effort into improving the variety of units seen in Medieval II.

"We wanted to try and create a sense of differentiation between the armies so that they don't look like groups of clones," explains CA's communications manager, Kieran Brigden. "We've added different breeds of horses and more facial and uniform differences. We've also tried to add more variety to the vegetation."

The result is a far more eclectic mix of units, each imbued with the ability to identify an opponent on the battlefield and engage him in brutal motion-captured mortal combat.

With Empire set during the technologically rich 18th century, it'll come as no surprise that firearms play a far greater role in battles than in any previous Total War game. Troops will be able to learn special drills from generals, including barrages that will see well-marshalled regiments letting off salvos a line at a time then dropping to their knees to let the line behind them have a crack, before advancing on the enemy and engaging them with bayonets and blades.

Garrisoning is another new feature. While I didn't get to see it in action, CA feel confident that they can seamlessly incorporate this tactic into land battles, which will once again feature up to 10,000 combatants slugging it out on 3D real-time battlefields.

Placing your men inside buildings will give them a huge defensive advantage against advancing foes. However, this won't be without its risks, as your men will be far more likely to come under artillery fire as the enemy attempts to flush them out into the open.

Garrisoning will be particularly effective when defending a city from an enemy attack (city defences will constitute the majority of the game's siege battles). By ensconcing your men within buildings, hostile armies will be forced to take your town building by building and street by street, running the risk of suffering major losses against your well-protected and elevated units.

Empire's weather system has also received some loving attention, and will play a far more influential and dynamic role in determining the outcomes of land and sea battles. Troops battling in downpours will have to contend with quagmires created by a combination of increasingly saturated soil and schlepping booted feet. As the rain continues, the ground will slowly degenerate from firm soil to sticky mud, slowing troop movement and ensnaring horse-drawn artillery in an inescapable bog. The dangers of hostile weather conditions will be even greater at sea, where bucking waves and swirling winds will make navigating your fleet during combat infinitely harder.

With its revamped visuals and spectacular looking naval battles, Empire is shaping up to be the most ambitious real time strategy game of all time. But with the era's propensity for ranged combat, CA faces a whole new host of challenges as it seeks to maintain Total War's dominance over the RTS genre.

Martin Korda