Fans of the Total War series have been clamoring for quite some time now for a Napoleon era of this series. It looks as if developer Pyro Studios will finally be able to deliver this scenario with their upcoming strategy title Imperial Glory. Imperial Glory may look and act much like the Total War series, but there are some differences here that set it apart as well as some noteworthy improvements.
Imperial Glory will let you command one of the five major powers of the time including France, Britain, Austria, Prussia, and Russia. The main course of the game will take place on an overhead strategic 3D map much like the one seen in Rome: Total War. From here, you can move your armies and fleets around, engage in diplomacy and trades, and even manage your production. This area of the game is where you will spend most of your time, and it’s where all of the major strategic decisions need to be made to further advance your vast empire in the hopes of conquering all of Europe. Your forces can be moved around the map in a certain amount of turns which are equivalent to exactly one month. After 12 months a progress report will be displayed showing you where your nation is ranked in all of Europe.
Two other distinct features to this game include researching new items and quests. The research aspect of the game is handled by a tech tree which is where you can choose which technologies to research next. Ultimately, this allows you to build better buildings, unit types, and ships much faster. The quest portion of the game is unlocked when reaching certain points throughout the game. Completing a specific quest will open up some large rewards that will greatly benefit your society. In a way, it’s sort of like the "Wonders" that you can capture in Rome: Total War which added some moral boosts to your population.
We’ve recently had the opportunity to try out the latest demo for Imperial Glory to see how things were truly shaping up on the combat front. The combat is where this game really comes to life, and battles can be fought anywhere on the map. The demo features two full missions on two different difficulty levels. The first mission takes place on a large hill with both conflicting sides trying to capture a bridge and farm in the area, and the second mission takes place on a desert landscape with two large forces fighting over the land there.
The battles are very much like what is seen in Rome: Total War. The interface is somewhat the same as the time that’s left is displayed and the remaining amount of troops in both armies is also on display. Each individual unit can be selected and easily moved to different positions. Strategically positioning your men is the key to success in a battle. There can be upwards of a few thousand troops on screen at once so it can become pretty chaotic. One of the greatest things here is the detail within the battles. Animals can actually be seen throughout the fields, your men actually hold their guns up in the air when crossing a river. You can also tell your men to go into a certain building for cover and to defend it. They’ll then take up positions within the building allowing them to make some easy shots out of open windows and doors. The real shocker here is the insanity of close combat. You’ll see a few hundred troops lined up side by side with the enemy only a few yards in front of them. Both sides will then fire and reload and fire again. The cannonballs are also a great plus, and the explosions look great, but nothing matches the awe-inspiring look of all of you men firing all at the same time.
Unfortunately we didn’t get to take a look at the sea battles in the demo, but from what we know so far they should be just as good as the land combat. The sea battles will allow you to command a number of ships at once while strategically lining them up with the enemy to blow them out of the water with the many cannons that are on board. It’s something that’ll be very interesting to see.
So far the visual effects are also shaping up nicely. Every soldier is greatly detailed, and their animations aren’t in synch with each other which adds a sense of individuality to each soldier. The environments are also detailed nicely and seem to represent the real world during the Napoleonic era. The smoke effects are also looking great when the many guns of your soldiers are fired in a straight row, and this just simply adds to the impressive battles.
Imperial Glory is just looking better and better. It’s taking all of the great combat stylistics of the Total War series and adds a more in-depth diplomatic system as well as some deeper strategy elements. It’s realistic battles and variances between ocean and land combat is sure to appeal to most strategy fans right away. Unfortunately you’ll have to wait until mid-May when the game is released to read our full review for this great looking strategy title. Until then, just check out the great screenshots we have and stay tuned for our full review.
