There's a considerable emotional element as well that first shot of the American flags at Bunker Hill really got to me. The cutscenes establish a firm context for the battles, and makes them more than just isolated exercises in strategic thinking. First, the storytelling and overall presentation is excellent. Though I'm strictly a grand campaign kind of player, I found a lot to love about the more directed experience of the Road to Independence campaign. After the first handful of missions in the new campaign, you're dropped into the American theater, where you'll learn some of the finer points of empire management. The new Road to Independence campaign begins with a series of limited, scripted objectives that will guide you through some of the basic concepts of the game, from fighting off a Native raiding party at the start, to waging battles on the campaign map, to using ships to move your land units around obstacles. been playing the final version for over a week now and can say that, with the exception of a few rough spots, this game has succeeded in creating an immensely engaging experience that captures the grand national strategies and battlefield tactics of the 18th century.

Creative Assembly's Total War is one of the most compelling historical strategy series in the PC catalog, so it's fair to say that my expectations were high. Ever since I first learned about Empire: Total War at the German Games Convention in 2007, it's been at the top of my most-wanted list.

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