Empire: Total War

K. Fields
2021-07-31T14:26:48-04:00
Video Games

For the last four weeks, I have been playing Empire: Total War. This is my third Total War game, following Rome: Total War and Medieval II: Total War. Because Rome was my first Total War game, it made the biggest impression on me. I loved the strategy of the campaign map with its tabletop board game feel. Plus, there was the thrill of commanding individual battles with large numbers of units in full 3D glory. Although Medieval II was another great game, I didn't get into it quite as much as Rome. This time around, my experience was somewhere in between. It took me a while to get into Empire. I had to relearn the game mechanics and controls. After several turns, however, I felt comfortable enough that I was really enjoying it. As with previous Total War games, you can directly control your armies on the battlefield. Empire also added the ability to command naval units during sea combat.

I decided to play the short campaign, which spanned 1700 to 1750. For my nation, I chose the United Provinces aka the Dutch Republic. The scope of Empire: Total War was greater than the previous Total War games I played. In addition to Europe, there was the Americas, the Indian region, and several trade regions (Brazil, Ivory Coast, Madagascar, and the East Indies). The campaign goal was to hold at least 15 regions by the end of 1750. Nine of those regions were specified as required.

Starting regions: Netherlands, Curacao, Dutch Guyana, and Ceylon
Required regions: Netherlands, Curacao, Dutch Guyana, Ceylon, Flanders, French Guyana, New Andalusia, Carnatica, and New York

The starting regions were a blessing and a curse. You are spread a bit thin without much concentration in any one place. On the other hand, it was nice to have a presence in all of the major regions. I tried to build up my economy and trade for the first five years or so. The Dutch have strong naval capabilities so getting established with sea trade routes was important. I then started my territorial expansion in the Americas. I clashed with the French and Spanish early. Before too long, I had captured all of my required regions except for Carnatica and New York. While I continued to grow in South America and the Caribbean, I grabbed Carnatica in South India. That embroiled us in a long running war with the Mughal Empire. As I approached the midpoint of the campaign, I had some decisions to make regarding New York. I really didn't want to go to war with Great Britain. They were a close ally and trade partner. They were also the most powerful nation at the time. Instead, I focused on further expansion in other areas. I eliminated the French and drove the Spanish out of the Iberian peninsula. Things went pretty smoothly until the 1740s when Württemberg declared war on us. They sent a large army to capture Alsace-Lorraine from us. I retaliated by marching two large armies from Amsterdam and Paris to recapture our territory. From there, I marched straight to their capital and destroyed the last of their holdings. Instead of going to war with Great Britain, I acquired New York through diplomatic means. I offered Mysore in India in exchange for New York to secure the campaign victory.

United Provinces Victory!