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(More customer reviews)I am a big Empire: Total War (hereinafter referred to as ETW) fan, and a few months ago, was wondering whether to get Napoleon: Total War (NTW). $39.99 for an "expansion pack" seemed rather exorbitant. However, since I am a huge fan of Napoleonic history (I read David Chandler's "Campaigns of Napoleon" front to back) I decided to take the plunge and pre-order off of Steam.
I would also like to address the oft discussed topic of Steam. This review will NOT solely discuss the criticisms of Steam; if you want to do that, start a topic in Amazon's discussion forums. This is a review of the game itself, not of the distribution system. That being said, I would like to add that I'm not sure why there is such furor over Steam. I've used it for the past four years, and never had a problem with it. Anyone who's played Counter-Strike, the Half-Life series, or Day of Defeat Source will agree that Steam is a very convenient content distribution system. I prefer not having to physically store my game CDs; Steam is a popular system, and I don't see Valve suddenly folding up shop over the foreseeable future.
Back to the review, installation from Steam took a few hours and 20 GB to download. The game requires Steam, so even if you purchase the physical DVDs from Amazon, Steam will be required for activation. Happily, the game is rock solid so far, no crashes of any kind. For comparison, here are my system specs:
Core i7 920
4 GB Ram
Single Nvidia GTX 260, Core 216
I'm running all settings on ultra, with the exception of a few token details. HDR is turned off, because frankly, I never liked the look and it unnecessarily burdens my system. Video optimization seems particularly smooth, and whereas the Campaign map would lag in ETW, I see no such problems here.
The differences between NTW and ETW are many, some slight, but even the smallest modifications make a big and improved difference in Napoleon: Total War. NTW is what ETW should've been. Here are the main differences, which I've summarized in 4 main categories.
VISUALS (Campaign map, battles, soldiers)
GAMEPLAY (Shorter turn time, Campaigns like Road to Independence)
ORGANIZATION (Historical Battles, Campaigns)
MULTI-PLAYER
First, the VISUALS. NTW is vastly upgraded over ETW in terms of visuals. There are now more soldier types per unit, some sporting brown or blonde hair, others with muttonchops or none. When you adjust the settings to the maximum, yes, there really are 64 face models as Creative Assembly boasts. Each engagement is a thing of beauty, with brightly besmocked soldiers, shakos and tri-corner hats, bayonets glistening in the air. Revolutionary Infantry soldiers march into battle barefoot! Napoleon's Old Guard Grenadiers look particularly resplendent in the new game engine. With white tunics, bear-skin caps with red plumes, and imposing figures, the Old Guard is brought to life and every bit as accurate as the history books. Heck, you can even make out the individual threads on the red epaulettes of the Guard.
Cannon shells leave explosions bursting in the air, and cannon-balls leave deep furrows in the ground. The camera view rocks from nearby blasts. A few new unit animations have been added, including a horse dragging a dead rider away, foot caught in the stirrup. Battles are amazing, to say the least. Now, muskets fire with greater flash and smoke. The Campaign map has also been upgraded, showing greater detail. There are also a plethora of short cinematic clips, which help to cement the 19th century feel as well as teach you a little Napoleonic history. Naval battles have also been improved, with clouds in the sky, and sun glinting off the ocean. The battle interface bar is sleeker, and the battle control menu from ETW has been replaced with a translucent menu. Soldier portraits are larger, and more intricate. Battle landscapes feature environmental effects which in turn have an effect on unit statistics. Battles feel faster and more magnificent. Units upgrade their veterancy in real-time as well, so you often survive a hard-fought battle with elite units.
Next, the GAMEPLAY. The biggest overhaul is to the Single-Player Campaign. It builds on ETW's "Road to Independence", featuring three linear campaigns which closely follow periods in the Napoleonic Era, from his early years with the Republican armies in Italy/Austria, to the forays into Egypt, and then the European theater. I think this type of linear storyline makes sense, given the focus on Napoleon's life. Additionally, the tutorials are more detailed, with three tutorials (land, naval, campaign) also illustrating early events in Napoleon's life on Corsica, and his travel to mainland France and subsequent rise to success. One huge change on the Campaign map which I really appreciate is the ability to speed up unit marching, which used to drag the single player turn time. Turn time is now two weeks rather than ETW's six months. Additionally, the campaign maps themselves are much more focused. Weather now impacts your strategic planning, so march your armies carefully! Troops must be supported by supply lines, and even the grandest of armies can be crippled by desertion and sickness. Rakes have been replaced by spies (good decision!) and greater flexibility is given to gentlemen. Spies have the ability to build up spy networks as well, if enough time is spent in an enemy city. When capturing a city, occupying forces finally have the option to either loot and kill the inhabitants or peacefully occupy. This option was sorely missed in ETW, even though it was present in the Rome and Medieval series.
In naval battles, ships now have the ability to make repairs at sea, and further health bars on added to show the hull strength on left and right sides of the ship. Naval battles with large numbers of ships were already hard enough for me to manage in ETW, so while the new health bars are a nice touch, I probably won't be able to monitor them unless engaged in one-on-one combat. For land combat, units' morale is shown in real-time with a morale meter by each unit, and generals may rally or inspire select units. Each general is based on a historical figure (another nice touch), and are irreplaceable, so conserve them carefully. Generals level up, but their veteran experience gives them a nice touch in NTW. Higher ranked generals can deploy their men after lower ranked generals have already deployed, thus increasing your tactical superiority. This presents a tremendous tactical edge; during one memorable battle against the computer AI, I was able to place my Grand Batterie of artillerie a pied and completely enfilade his entire left flank, crushing the infantry and routing them before contact. Depleted units also automatically replenish when in friendly territory.
Lastly, on the battlefield, there are additional inset video screens that bring your attention to critical news flashes, like when your general is in danger of being killed, or when a particular unit is in danger of routing. I could've done without the inset screen; it sounds helpful in principle, but in reality, the inset screen is too small and too low-resolution to discern anything useful.
Next, we have ORGANIZATION. As previously mentioned, NTW builds on the Road to Independence Campaign featured in ETW. NTW also has a greater number of historical battles, which I thought ETW was severely deficient in. To add some excitement (or consternation), the historical battles must be unlocked one by one, and some major battles are featured, such as Borodino, Austerlitz, and of course, Waterloo. I would've liked to see some additional major battles, such as the Peninsular confrontations, the giant bloody square at Wagram or Napoleon's return to brilliance with the Six Days Campaign in 1814, which featured tactically brilliant demonstrations with his Old Guard. Or event Murat's enormous 10,000 strong cavalry charge against the Russian center at Eylau, or General Senarmont's brilliant use of case-shot against the Russians at Friedland? Alas, we will have to wait for a fan-made mod to relive those battles, I'm afraid. The Grand Campaign aka Campaigns of the Coalition allows play as one of France's enemies; Great Britain, Austria, Prussia, and Russia. However, the campaigns end around 1813; why not 1815 with the surrender and capture of Paris following Napoleon's abdication and permanent exile to St. Helena?
Lastly, the MULTIPLAYER has been heavily hyped. Since I was never interested in multiplayer for ETW, the same is true for NTW, and I'll just briefly mention some of the new additions, some of which are quite significant. Besides the usual Steam achievements and hyped uniform editor, friends can drop into campaign battles in the single player campaign! Some online review sites have said that the new multiplayer feature is the icing on the cake, but I'll let you find out for yourself.
In summary, here are the pros and cons:
PROS:
-Vastly upgraded graphics
-Gorgeous battles
-Improved interface and playability
-Napoleonic theme
-Multi-player (if you're into that)
-Stable build, no crashes
-Shorter load times
CONS:
-Need to shell out more cash
-No fife/marching music?
-No additional unit formations, e.g. mixed order formation?
-Sieges are best auto-resolved
-Minor AI Quirks
-Cannons shooting into the backs of own troops, !$#@%
Just a brief note about the cons; I noticed they added a fife playing soldier to each infantry unit, however, he doesn't seem to play any particularly famous historical tune. I used to play a...Read more›
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