Napoleon: Total War PC Games and Downloads

Released on 26/02/2010

• Napoleon: Total War Review

  The going gets tough

  Winter. My ragged French army arrive at the city of Klagenfurt after months of marching to find a cool Austrian army three times their number lying in wait. This isn't what I expected. I could panic and turn my boys around, mais... Non. I am Napoleon, and the rest is history. Onwards!

  The battle is brutal. Shot and shells fill the air like God's own hailstones, cannonballs emerge from the fog of gunpowder smoke like black holes, dragoon charges roar forward like tidal waves, yet my men stand firm. My general, Napoleon himself, is racing up and down the battle lines using his aura of influence to keep his regiments from breaking as his bodyguard struggles to keep up.

  I just need my men to keep thinking: cartridge, prime, ramrod, fire. If they can do that, I might be able to get them through this alive.

  Coming up short

  Wait, I'm getting carried away. Napoleon: Total War is the half-sequel to 2009's Empire: Total War, a grand strategy game which combined management of a nation in the 18th century with real-time tactical battles. Total War's stopgap releases have traditionally added a fat chunk of content the last big game in a kind of reverse liposuction. Napoleon's different because there isn't much new content here at all, but what is new works well.

  Empire gave you this enormous world to conquer but forgot to explain the nuances of how it worked. Napoleon provides three stepped campaigns- the first in Northern Italy, a second in Egypt and finally a more traditional set-up in all of Europe, and through all three the game gradually introduces various aspects of warfare and governance. You feel commanding, compelled and in control.

  You, Robot

  But the question a lot of people have been shouting rather than asking is whether the AI in Napoleon will be overhauled. Is the AI better in Napoleon? Yes! Is it fixed? No!

  In my very first battle I noticed a pillar of smoke emerging from a building in a nearby town. The AI had positioned one of its cannons maybe ten yards behind a townhouse and was launching cannonball after cannonball into it in a mad attempt to get to me, like a zombie pawing at a pane of glass. You will get a challenge that fits which of the four difficulties you choose, but not once will you feel you're matching wits with an enemy general. It's as if, in trying to provide an accurate simulation of being Napoleon, the developers replaced all the other world leaders with potato clocks.

  Napoleon does boast a feature which counteracts this, sort of. The multiplayer options here are more robust than any Total War game to date. As well as the usual online battles there's now the option to enable Drop-In Battles, meaning other players will occasionally take control of the AI in your campaign and vice-versa.

  Direct hit

  Also, at last, at long last, Napoleon: Total War boasts campaign multiplayer out of the box (albeit limited to a maximum of 2 players), and I'm convinced that playing one of the smaller campaign maps of Italy or Egypt with a friend could be as much fun as two strategy nerds can have with their tweed jackets on.

  Napoleon represents a healthy step forward for the Total War series. The visual improvements, more pleasant interface, neater structure and smooth learning curve just about justify the low asking price of £20.

  That the AI still leaves a lot to be desired is a crushing shame, unless these confused, enigmatic opponents in Napoleon secretly represent CA working their up to Homo Habilis: Total War. Which, now I think about it, would be awesome.

  

  Total War
  + Beautiful battles.
  + Slick interface.
  + 21st century multiplayer.

  Total Bore
  - Disappointingly idiotic AI.
  - Boring naval engagements.
  - Little new content.

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