DO NOT BUY A USED COPY OF THIS GAME!!!!! I cannot say this loud or often enough, DON'T DO IT!!!!! You're wasting your money. The game requires a Steam account to activate (annoying in itself, but not a big deal). The problem occurs if you have a game and key code that has already been registered on Steam. You WILL NOT be able to activate your used copy of the game and play it and Steam WILL NOT reset the key code if they know you've bought a used game. They explicitly state they WILL NOT reset key codes for games bought on auction sites or from used software vendors. DON'T BUY THIS GAME USED unless you like the cover art or need some more CDs for your useless CD's collection. It WILL NOT WORK and Steam WILL NOT help you make it work.
I bought this game for my 11 year old son - he seems to think that it's great. I like that there's enough real history built into the storyline that there may be some educational merit. It's demands are basic enough to run on older, weaker PC's, as well. Please note that this game requires an activation with a Steam account. Please note that if you buy a used copy that already has the activation code registered with a Steam account - there doesn't seem to be an easy way to transfer to a new person. This makes a used copy of this game virtually worthless. You can download this directly from Steam (Valve), often for less than what these sell for used. Be warned.
Well done! The game is great for staging battles with lots of combat forces including infantry, artillery and mounted troops. There's even ships of war and sea battles to command. I found it a bit cumbersome to manage the battlefield. There are many troops and combat elements to deal with. Things can get out of hand quickly as the battle unfolds. If you get lost in the scuffle the enemy quickly takes advantage. Playability is difficult but not impossible or unreasonable. The greatest challenge is moving the camera angle to points of interest quickly and accurately in order to get a good look at the action. I found it too easy to get lost or make a poor decision about where to be located for the best points of observation. As a result of this, it was hard to manage the battlefield quickly and competently. One has to deal with the cameras distance, position, and angle to get a good perspective of the battle. I fond myself loosing track of other elements in the action when I had to move myself to another observation point. I suppose with a bit more practice I'd improve. Overall, the game is very good. Personally, I prefer first person action games. This is like being a commander in a high flying drone or alien space ship. You have to deal with the drones position in order to get a good look and the action. As well as this managing the battle and troops with their different weapons, formations, and fighting options can swamp your senses leading to miscalculations and tactical blunders. I wish there was a way to improve the issue with camera angles and positions in order to have better command of the theater of action without having to deal with where your point of reference is located. Often I was too far away or in too close to be effective in battlefield command. If this is okay then there is no problem. The game is very good in graphics and with historical period themes. Playability could be better and if it was, the game would be beyond fantastic.Read full review
I decided to buy this game after seeing naval warfare would finally be intertwined with the Total War gameplay. I love being able to dominate the world economicly, politically, religiously, diplomaticaly, and finally in brute force. Whether your a good general or a good leader, you can always work something out in this game. The campaign is obviously the way to go. Your able to start out as a major nation of the time period such as Russia, Prussia, Great Britain, and more. Other than the 10+ playable factions, there are over 20 minor nations that are unplayable, but are still used in the game. Their are 3 major controable areas. Europe, North America, and India. Each is divided into many Regions that you can control. Your region can have natural resources that can be upgraded with technology. You can recruit more armed men, create more land trade routes and sea trade routes. Overall, this game was well worth its value. Any person liking the Total war series, RTS, both in warefare and government control, or anything similair, would love this game. The interface is easy to learn and many strategies can be picked up. In my opinion, this game would not be worth the original market value of 60$$ USD. However, in all stores the game has been lowered to 30$ or less. I would however search EBAY for the constant auctions going on. I received a copy for 13$. This game is a GREAT value at 20$. I would still pay 30$ but no more than that. RATINGS Graphics--- 9/10 Sound------ 8/10 Gameplay--- 9/10 Interface-- 10/10 Re-playable 10/10 Multiplayer 9/10 Updates---- 7/10 Overall---- 8.5/10Read full review
Thousands of buyers of SEGA/CA's new release Empire: Total War are discovering that they are unable to make the game run on their computers, although SEGA acknowledges that their computers meet the system requirements published for their game. http://shoguntotalwar.yuku.com/topic/50484?page=1 Almost a month after the release of the game, SEGA is sending the following message to purchasers of the game who are unable to make it run: (paraphrase) "Yes, your computer meets the system requirements. Glad that you bought it. Unfortunately, the system requirements for BUYING the game are less stringent than the requirements for PLAYING the game. Oh, you wanted to play it? Listen you need to watch that kind of unhelpful flaming rant behavior. But thanks for giving us your money. No, our misrepresentation doesn't commit us to refunding your money. We here at SEGA hope that you enjoy you're new $50 desktop icon, and we're all sure that you'll be there, cash in hand the next time we figure out a way to clip you. Love and Kisses, SEGA customer support." SEGA also acknowledges that they cannot say with certainty that any system will run the game. They also refuse to provide refunds to purchasers who are unable to run the game on systems that clearly meet the system requirements.Read full review
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