there is nothing i want more than empire 2 to be the next historical total war, the global theatres and naval combat is all I want

Empire was my 1st Total War game and still my favorite. I have over a 1,000 hrs in and still not bored with it. Fingers crossed that they announce development on Empire 2 within a few years.

1700s warfare is the perfect setting for a total war game, they should make a Empire 2

This will always be my favorite Total War game. The economy aspects, population actually mattering towards the growth of your regions (even if only to a point, the town/village turning into cities system, which you can then develop according to your needs is really cool) this was always so engaging... rushing the full development potential of my regions was always my favorite way to play this game. Having multiple schools to research more than one thing and not being stuck to a single research choice is something I miss greatly. Economic growth actually existing in this game (it was last in shogun 2) is something else I wish Total War didn't forsake. The idea of tax having an impact on population growth, emigration to colonies, and the overall wealth of your population (immediate VS long term gains) instead of tax ONLY being about public order and raw income from static sources and nothing else, was such a lovely aspect of this game. If this game ever saw a remaster, a genuine remaster that refined what was attempted here, got the same polish its spiritual successor Napoleon got, and expanded on the depth of the theaters, I think it could easily become the most celebrated total war game.

Had a lot of fun with Empire back in the day. I remember capturing the entire map as Prussia. Having the Prussian life guards versus the Indian elephants was awesome. I sure hope that CA brings back the naval battles in their next historical title.

Empire total war with the full world map, starting in EU IV start date, with colonization and exploration mechanics, tech similiar to Empire (with gradual improvements to army, economy and navy), and a deep enfâsis on trade routes and rare resources for economy (as it was irl), and thus making the navy the most important asset in the game. The small towns are actually an important part of Empire, think their importance should be even bigger, so protecting them would be essencial. Think this is my perfect Total war. Obviously, good graphics, no bugs, decent balance, etc, are a must.

I'm glad you mentionned the forts battle. I was able to tolerate the bugs, the clunky pathfinding, the incompetent AI, but the constant forts battle ruined my spirit. Some of the small town settlements with no walls, though, were some of the most fun maps I've played. Put 2-3 units in buildings, guard the most important streets, avoid the arty with the available map items ... Empire is in my top 3 TW games where I had most fully finished campaigns. Playing as the Indians rising up, the brits going full America, France dominating western Europe , Ottomans going for a new golden age or Russia soloing the world. Had a lot of fun.

Empire was my first Total War. More than 400 hours in steam. That one deserves a Empire 2. With countries splited into provinces, political mechanics, more units by countries, missions, chapters and Campaigns like 7 Years War, French Revolution, cities sieges remodelled

Empire was close to greatnesses, but it was just too unfinished and the mechanics needed way more polish. Still a solid game.

Well, the fact that we are here talking about TW historical games from 2007 is a sign that the developers are focusing too much in fantasy and leaving us without options. So let's talk about MODs for all these good old TW historical games! I am ok with that.

I loved the game. The biggest problem I have is the lack of provinces. I mean, take Paris and pouf no more France. It's a bit ridiculous. Also, all European armies should start with bayonets (Most armies did not have pikes anymore in 1700)...And different types of firings would have been interesting (for all units).

The nostalgia. My first Total War game and to this day my favorite. It has aged in some aspects like controls. What would I give for modern unit controls on the field. But the campaign map is still the best I played, with Shogun 2 getting a close second. The scale alone makes its title justice. You could feel that you are building an empire, having provinces on 3 different continents. Trade was really deep compared to others. You have to go out of Europe to get valuable goods and ship them back to your capital and then send them to your trading partners. Tech was also fun. Better trade? Get better ports and plantages buildings. Better armies? Get canister shot or line fire. And navel combat. So much time as a kid was simply watching these battles. Two lines sailing past each other and unloading hundreds of cannons in unison and even then you would not fully grasp the scale of this battles. A single ship could carry more cannons than most armies in that age. It offers just the feeling of building and commanding an Empire, something that has gotten lost today. I just don't like the focus on individual characters like in 3 Kingdoms. Sure, I like the story of them, and having named ones makes the game better, but the rest just got a bit forgotten. Units tide to them and only 6 units? Even with that, you could only have 1 or 2 armies at the beginning, denying the option of splitting most of the time. And having no growing economy just feels boring. In Empire, some techs gave you huge boosts in income, both in trade and industry. But I start rambling. Emipre is just unique in the series. It still has so much potential. Only thing that stops me sometimes are the controls and a bit the AI. And fort battles...

It is my most fondly beloved entry in the whole Total War series. It had its drawbacks, as pointed out in the video, but it had this feel of empire building like no other game in the series. It felt grand, ambitious, and the battles felt relevant and cinematic, even if they got buggy as hell every now and then. The idea of juggling between several war theatres also added so much opportunity cost and forced to make some heavy decisions because you simply could not dominate on all theatres in the early game. I really hope they release a sequel someday.

Empire is so good with mods, I have been playing it a lot lately and have grown to love it even more despite its flaws.

I really liked the battles on Empire, the pacing was perfect, the battlefield would shift, you could scan over the map after the battle and actually tell what happened. It told a story in a way.

I remember some of the cancelled features like the naval landings and where the ships were able to participate in a costal land battle. Features that eventually made it into Rome 2. But they would have just been so incredible given the period. I really hope for a Total War: Empire 2 at some point.

Total war games deserve more attention then they get

I would say a perfect total war would be empire and napoleon mixed with some ai improvements

If they made a 2nd empire game with the stuff they have learned in the war hammer and mini games, it would have the chance to be one of the best strategy games of all time.

Empire is the ONLY total war game that hasnt had a sequel, and i think its because they are sitting on it to make something HUGE. The warhammer series showed us they can truly make MASSIVE maps with hundreds of provinces. I believe warhammer 2 eye of the vortex had over 300 provinces. Now that theyve finished their warhammer trilogy, my hopes are VERY high that they push out an empire 2.

I just remember beating basically the entire game with line infantry and a couple of cannons.

Ya know, i would still love to know whos bright idea it was to make "follow up games" for total war, cus just imagine if they spent all the time and money making the "main game" grate and just taking on the "follow up game" as DLC or and expansion like FoTS was. The improvements over Empire in Napoleon are obvious (ships being able to repair in battle for example), how hard can that POSSIBLY BE?! Empire still has the best TECH PROGRESSION of any total war to date, its not about unlocking better stuff and small bonuses its about upgrading your existing troops and getting them more tools (although as you progress you do get more troops and better troops, BUT most of them are limited in number) and the "province capital" and smaller cities that you can specialize i feel had alot of potential, certainly more so then the modern building system. (why is France only once city? it should be 4 or 5 at least) Empires only real downside is the battlefield AI, which is sad cus empire also has alot of interesting little features like garrisoning buildings for cover or using walls for cover. Not to mention certain units have access to certain fortifications when defending (light infantry are the only ones that can lay mines), not to mention all the units have at least SOME purpose.

I LOVE Napoleon and Shogun 2. To the point they are my absolute favourite historical games. Gunpowder battles are really amazing in Total War.

I love the decentralized provinces of napoleon and empire. So emersive

YES IT IS, because you can the ambition for this game is so far ahead of their technical capabilities, so even if players hate it because of bugs, there are some who saw past the bugs and seen the diamond that is empire total war

A remake or remastered version of this game would out sell warhammer. Bet

Yes, yes, and yes. The only thing that would have made it better is fort engagement defenders actually being able to fire muskets and cannons properly at enemies advancing. Or large army engagements when you have two or three armies around and enemy one and you can bring your full force to bear.

I never understood a lot of the hate Empire got, I thought it was the best campaign map by far. The fact there are strategic locations located on the map like resources and forts which can be occupied or raided makes the world so much more interesting and alive. You actually want to send small armies and units to keep these minor settlements protected from roaming bands of native raiders, etc.. Only thing it was missing is combined naval/land invasion battles!

I like how much of the technology actually matters in this game. More modern ones have a ton of basic “+5% stat boosts” and other boring stuff

I'm 25 just got a PC this year and this was my first total war....it quickly became a top 3 all time game for me and I have nearly 200 hours in it in under 8 months

Would love to see the game get a sequel that expands and builds on its original framework-time period from 1650-1800, the golden age of sail. More regions, reworked game engine, new models. Molders have kept the game alive and some of them are absolutely epic like PuA, which has been under development meant for 10 years

I'm rooting so hard for Empire 2 one day. Hopefully it'll include the 1600s as well as China and Japan. That would be beyond awesome.

I love Empire, but it REALLY suffers from not having some of the advanced controls added in newer games like Warhammer (Alt+drag to move in formation, that kind of thing) - black powder warfare is ALL ABOUT manoeuvring in formation, but in E:TW, doing so is next to impossible.

Ive played Total War sense it started. Empire is still my favorite. The new ones are far to complicated.

This was my first Total War game. At the time I was seeking an RTS, and was interested in the US Revolutionary war campaign, and gave it a try. I loved it and would eventually go on to log 1500 hours in game. Together with George Washington, me and Mel Gibson pushed back against British colonialism and carved out our own independent nation. The Darth Mod, in my opinion, made it even better, with bigger battles. The shipping routes added strategic depth to the game, as you could disrupt enemy trade. During one campaign, I realized that the pirates in the Caribbean were actually more beneficial to be left alone to harass my rivals, than to be invaded. Besides America, my favorite faction to play as during the long campaign were the Prussians. Balancing relationships between the protestant north and catholic south, while trying to reunite the Prussian empire was a challenge and enormously fun. My only wish would be that the entire world was included, besides just trade ports. Empire was the easiest Total War game for me to play and understand - it was much more tactically satisfying and even when the odds are stacked against you, if you used the right combination of tactics, you could achieve victory. One example is that I had a small town come under siege by enemy calvary, and I remember taking the three groups of local townsmen, placing them behind a stone wall at the bottom of a hill. The enemy calvary began their charge and as they crested the hill, I had the townsmen place down spikes at the last second. A handful of the enemy cavalry were impelled, and it forced them to retreat and regroup. As they turned around the townsmen began firing from behind the stonewall, further dwindling the enemy's numbers, spurring a full retreat. There are so many more stories I could tell regarding Empire's tactical balance. If they make an Empire 2, I would love to see the entire world included.

Empire was my first total war game ever. I spent long hours on this game but I have to say that the only reason why this game is still playable to me is because of the mods. In my opinion the mods saved this game

While I'd love a new Empire, I think the best way forward for the Total War franchise would be to do a soft reboot of sorts with a new Medieval on a new engine. They could add in some Crusader Kings style character/family management for something new. Then, after that, they can turn to a new Empire, taking their experiences both good and bad to create it on a scale that we haven't seen yet. Being able to colonize more of the Americas and Asia would be awesome.

I think Empire Realism Mod is what makes this mod a gem give the battles a lot more depth and the Ai can actually beat you.

I really liked the game. Definitely not my favourite, but good amounts of fun were had. The soundtrack tho, I think is the best of the whole series. Melancholic, era fitting, "remixes" of famous pieces. It's tied on 1st place with Rome TW in my opinion. Still got chills when I hear the main theme, or one of the loading screens. Thanks for the video

Empire was fantastic. The only true problem i have, is that in its old age, the bugs have festered. Sometimes its lighting issues, sometimes is horrendous battle-ruining pathing issues. Sometimes the battle AI gets wonky. But damn do i love it anyway

I hope the next one has the whole world map.....i want all the native american tribes....south america ...africa...Australia....china and japan......playing as the zulus in south africa would be awesome

@6:40, "you kind of never have to deal with the Government...which is kind of a bummer". Said no one EVER!!!

I wish we had a shogun2 style gameplay on the empire map. Tech allows you to build gun batteries for forts, ports and other map chokepoints. Have naval/fort battles. Like realm divide discourages early game expansion, have diplomacy actually matter as territorial expansion scares AI into forming alliances, fortifying and attacking. Generals have trainable abilities. Rare trade resources can be obtained by tech/diplomacy achievements. Compete for trade deals. Late game trains/merchant shipping allows rapid auto transport of armies. Tech revolutionizes battlefield with Gatling guns prompting trenches. Howitzers bring the evolution of star forts into bunkers. Percussion shells demanding ironclad ships requiring coal depots.

One thing that I believe you missed. It was the first total war with modern camera controls. You didn't have to put up with the crappy controls from Medieval 2 or Rome anymore.

- Do you love or hate Empire Total War? - Yes.

I am 40, I still play Empire Total War. I have experienced a lot of strategy games and I believe that Empire is one of the top top games. It is a shame that a renewed version or Empire 2 is not launched yet. I am ready to spend my money.

The only time a government/head of state ever affected my campaign when it wasn't my faction directly was I was fighting a war against, it was either Prussia or Austria, and I was crushing them and wanted peace to focus on other things, it was only when the old Queen died and a new king took over that they agreed to peace. so yes, an Empire 2 that made governments/monarchs more important would be great

Empire was awesome yet at the same time disappointing mostly due to the poor AI both in battles and on the campaign map. Mods have done a lot to fix this but the game is too broken to truly be fixed. Of all the games that deserves a sequel or remake. Or just even a proper remaster, its this game. There is so much to this game. Almost too much, thats why it falls a bit flat and deserves a second chance. I want to love this game and it deserves to be the best TW ever.

This game was an underrated masterpiece. Even though it had several bugs/glitches, including dumb enemy AI thst would sometimes hide behind a wall, retreat for no reason, get stuck because of the terrain, not attack, or just completely disappear, this game was ahead of its time and was actually very educational.

I still play Empire with Darth Mod. Does anyone remember when the game was first released as the Empires grew the game speed slowed to snail's pace?

The thing I liked was that it’s really easy to just “get in to”. You start with a relatively sizable amount of territory and military, so you can go and have big battles pretty quickly.

I feel they really should do a empire total war 2 They did all the other games, might as well update this one. Otherwise I would LOVE to see a total war set during the Bronze age (I mean real bronze age, not troy/fantasy). Where maybe the sea peoples are a secret hidden boss that emerges when enough rebels gather together. An you have two possible tech paths you can go down. One that is better suited for fighting the sea peoples and another that fights the other factions. All while dealing with environment issues. Another good idea is South Africa, where we could play different tribes/peoples. With the added bonus of having the Boers and British being major threats to deal with. In a real way it be like Shogun 2 : Fall of the Samurai. Third possible good idea is having a game take place In india/South East assia during some point in time. Imagine the different types of warriors you can play around with. Fourth idea would certainly be a steam punk total war game set in Ancient Rome. Or at least a mod that would add steam power as part of the tech tree.

You know, one problem I have with this game is that the European factions all have the same units. They should all have some unique units early on, and swordsmen or pikemen, like the Ottoman Empire. I think they should start with melee infantry and develop into muskets and rifles. The only playable factions with really "unique" early units are Maratha and the Ottomans. I wish they had made more of an effort to make the units faction-unique.

I have Medieval II, Rome, Rome II, Shogun, and Napoleon, but my favourite has always been Empire. The game isn’t perfect, but with Minor Factions Revenge it can get pretty close.

This is my second favorite behind Rome and the one I want the most remade or a second one bigger battles bigger worlds naval battles preferably campaign map character interactions maybe multi tier battles with a positioning, skirmish, main battle, and rearguard fazes with many more units and armies on the field at the same time also a much better ai is a must for the love of good more more death blobs? Please?

Empire Total War was, and still is, my favourite historical Total War game

There is actually a hidden feature in Empire. If a rebellion happens in your capital region you can actually side with the rebellion and if you manage to take the capital, you'll be able to change your government type. This is useful because you want to get the Constitutional Monarchy government type, which is objectively the best one in the game (because of course the brits who made this game made their own country's government type the best one). This is mostly a hidden feature because it's almost impossible for this to happen naturally to the player or the AI. The player pretty much has to do it deliberately for it to ever happen.

if only we got empire with multiplayer they would have never sold any more total war history games everyone would have been playing co-op for the next 15+ years waiting for empire 2 with 10player co-op gameplay

Being quite old now, i'd give up one of my testicles for a new release of Empire that amalgamated all the progress from the TW releases since E:TW. what they tried to accomplish back then, few companies have tried to replicate since. Empire is still the first TW i install after a machine rebuild; thanks to Darthmod, but now that TWII incorporates some of its features, i'lll probably just go with that. EDIT: Excellent video, by the way, summed up my feelings perfectly; it has so much to offer. If only....

I'd say yes. The single most ambitious total war ever made, slightly to ambitious but man the mods make it hold up. I've spent at least 5000 hrs in it

Would love Creative Assembly to look at Europa Universalis 4 for the next Empire 2.

On my deathbed, this will probably be my favorite game ever. It's got some rough edges, but it's beautiful and ambitious

I personally think that Empire + Napoleon, with elements from some later games would be by far the best Total War ever made.

Just fucking remaster it already CA!!!

Empire and Rome 2 are the runt of the litter. That said after installing DEI, Rome 2 hasn't left my HDD and it's even sitting atop the pile of my Steam library. I just wish I could find such a game-changer for Empire.

My favorite total war game after rome total war. I just love the period, it was imo when we got into how the world more or less looks like today and everything could have gone so differently. As a swede, you do wonder what would happen if Charles XII would've accepted truce with Russia and go join the war of the spanish succession. We haven't always been big but we are extremely powerful for our size and back then could've played a huge role of the spanish succession war. Or if Charles XII actually won against Russia and took territories from them, the world would've looked much more different than you'd think. What would've happened if Maratha confederacy actually took over the ottomans and ruled from eastern india all the way up to constantinopel? Things could've been extremely different. There's just so many scenarios that's fun to speculate about. So yeah, i love this period ;)

Actually CA is at a point, where I think a remaster of empire could be better than a new empire 2 game. Just an updated AI, reworked siege battles, maybe a bit more shogun 2:fots style, and perhaps a little graphics upgrade (although I love the style of empire, still think it and shogun 2 are the two best looking until today) and I'd be totally happy.

I have like 900 hours on this game according to steam. If it got some more crucial updates it would be the best total war ever.

If they released a new Empire Total War, only having modernized the gunpowder combat and getting rid of the bugs it would be the best Total War easily.

Can only wonder how legendary Empire would've been had it another year of development. While an Empire 2 could fix many issues, CA's recent record has been less than reassuring.

We need 30 years totalwar... Would be total blast title which can recycle all those empire ideas while evolving from late medieval armies well into pike and shot/ linear warfae era. + releasing it in 2030 would be great move which would definitely pay of for CA :D

Empire Total War was a nice proof of concept. It needed much more of everything. Loved the naval battles in this one, but overall really underwhelming. Also, do I need to remind people of France - the big power of the day - that you can whipe off the map in just 2 battles? And the map was huge in scale, but small in detail: the home region of United Province, was much too small to be able to do anything with it defensively. Again, a nice proof of concept.

Still have a campaign every year or two, so much you can do in this game. My favourite was playing as Austria and using the Windbaersch Jaegers (or similar name). Could obliterate entire armies from some factions with just two units

I watched the video until the end and hearing the music I remembered that they did not bring Jeff van Dyck back to do the soundtrack for Empire. This was also a big mistake! I like Empire for the reasons you mention, but there were indeed a lot of downsides too. CA should watch this video and make a superior sequel!

I've played every TWG from the first Shogun with the exception of the Saga's after TOB. Instead of wasting my money on Pharaoh I've gone back to Empire with Empire 2 mod. Thank God for the Modding community that have kept this franchise alive. I would love for a proper Empire 2 release with a new engine and battle AI but really not holding my breath. Looking forward to some upcoming Mod's for Attila and Shogun 2 though, which unfortunately seems to demonstrate exactly where CA is right now.

Campaign: 10/10 for the map and the atmosphere Tech tree: 10/10 research and gentlemen/universities is a fun system diplomacy: 10/10 Trading and selling regions is vital to a total war game (hasn't been used since!) Field battles: 6/10 AI needs mods to function siege battles: 4/10 Laughably bad but fun to cheese Naval battles: 7/10 pretty but frustrating and hard to control Overall ETW is the most feature rich, fun to play, and engaging total war game. I have spent countless hours painting the map. Which is not the case for any other historical title besides rome II and FOTS

It was by far the best Total War game ever made. There are many reasons that the fanbase doesn't think that way. The playerbase, despite pretending to be hardcore, they are mostly casuals and love simple gameplay, both in the campaign part and especially in the battles part. Empire was by far the most tactical game in terms of battles. But people prefer games where they pick a blob, click a few buttons, and let the battle resolve itself. That is why games like Shogun 2 and Warhammer are more succesful.

Yes, I agree, ETW is my favourite to, but it still has those bugs which CA never did fix, the dreaded slowdown of AI turns, the sudden crash to desktop for no apparent reason, it's a brilliant game, but on starting it you never know if you're going to make it to the end, roll on ETW 2.

I played Total War: Empire mostly in campaign mape mode. I loved the game, but then I discovered Europa Universalis 4 and never looked back.

Also Shogun 2 Fall of the Samurai as well. Maybe if they reduced the accuracy of the infantry rifles, it would have been better, but the campaign dynamics was the best imo.

12:50 Oh yeah.... And the soundtrack was fucking AWESOME!

Playing empire on hard difficulty on Darthmod is the best total war game experience I've had,(no forts). Also that total war attilia mod kingdoms is probably my second best

Wish they create medieval to empire. So that the tech tree will be longer... more events will happen... more game time.

This is my favorite game of all times.

I want Empire Total War 2 and Medieval Total War 3.

I remember when Empire TW was like on launch (pretty sure it was also the first TW Tittle launched on steam as well. Ran like total ass, the turn times were nearly 5+ mins even on a decent rig - but man I loved it. The other issue was the god awful a.i even now in 2022 but thankfully mods fix a lot of these issues.

Empire was the best hands down.

I hope they make. Empire total 2 with more actual historical events, and more indepth campaign. Plus larger realitic armies than just cut down ti a thousand allowed in battle maps. Actual battles had larger forces than just held to a thousand,

I wanted to get into Empire for so long, but I was worried that it would be too different. I finally played it, and loved it. I love setting up gunlines and blasting away the enemy, then charging as needed to break them. And I LOVE naval battles. I will sometimes auto resolve land battles, but I will always play out naval battles, even just to run down one trade ship. It is so much fun. I would buy a game just for Empire's naval battles. And I love how the musketeers reload, and fire by rank. It feels real, unlike Warhammer total war and their gunlines. I like fantasy total war, but I NEED more good historical total wars! You could tell they cared about simulating reality in Empire.

Empire is my favourite Total war game I have clocked up thousands of hours playing it. I'm a Brit so I've only ever used Great Britain every time I play it can't Imagine playing as anyone else. I hope they give me Empire Total War 2 soon and I will pray they don't mess it up and they make it greater than the first one.

Empire is my favorite total war game and I still play it, I hope total war is gonna make another game like this one

would it be so unpopular as to say Empire and Napoleon have been CA's best works

2022 and i still enjoy playing the game plus napoleon total war, i have so much good memories to it, and still feels like a perfect total war game.

So I remember when it came out, I wasn't a huge fan. It came out broken af and the AI/ player mechanics were nearly unplayable. By the time Napoleon came out though, it was a completely different game. Also hats off to the modding community, they have expanded and improved this game beyond belief.

Empire has so much potential if they just work on it more. The map expansion as a UK focus nation there is not enough ports for me to conquer

Just discovered ETW and loving every minute of it, loaded a lot of vanilla mods that polish the portraits/maps/etc and even open the factions to play. You can even play the pirates. Agree with the video!

I still can’t forgive CA for first promising a multiplayer campaign, then delivering a half hearted BETA and eventually dropping it altogether. This game would be AMAZING with mods - if there was the multiplayer campaign. However the battle AI in this game is so terrible I haven’t been able to go back to it, since single player just doesn’t make sense to me when every AI army just suicides itself.

I use to hate empire total war when I first got it but 12 years later it became one of my favorite total war games of all time ...causd i finally learned how machanics and everything works and has some very fun mechanics :)

Sieges in TWE for me just get reduced to shelling the whole town for 45 minutes before sending in peons to just mass swarm it

I would like to see pirates war in total war empire representing golden piracy era in 18 century beginning