Total War: Empire Review – A Frustrating But Addictive Strategy Game

Total War: Empire isn't a new game — Creative Assembly first released it on Windows in 2009, while a macOS and Linux port of the strategy title, set in the 18th century, arrived six years later, courtesy Feral Interactive. Nearly 15 years later, players who missed out on one of the most critically acclaimed strategy games of all time can access the title on their iPhone or Android smartphone, with a redesigned user interface and optimisations that improve the experience of playing a turn-based strategy game on a mobile device.

In Total War: Empire, you're tasked with controlling one of several powerful empires in North America, Europe, and even parts of India, while also engaging in land and naval battles that can be extremely challenging when you first play the game. I've spent a few days with Total War: Empire on an iPad, and here are my thoughts on this popular strategy game.

Total War: Empire Review: Price, Supported Devices

The mobile port of Total War for iOS and iPadOS is available via the App Store, and it is currently priced at Rs. 1,349; the Android version is much cheaper at Rs. 549 through the Play Store. It is designed to work on smartphones and tablets — but after testing the game, I would highly recommend playing it on an iPad or an Android based tablet. The additional screen real estate becomes invaluable to the experience, especially with the minutiae of the heads-up display and the user interface.

You'll also need 12GB of free space on your smartphone or tablet, but the installation process requires you to have even more available storage (around 24GB). I played Total War: Empire on an iPad (2021) running on iOS 18.1.

You can view the extent of your empire by zooming in and out

Feral has provided a handy list of devices that are compatible with Total War: Empire on the listing for the game on the App Store. If you have an iPhone XR or newer model (this includes the second-generation iPhone SE that was launched in 2020), you should be able to run the game. It is also designed to work on the following iPad models, or newer models: iPad Mini (2019), iPad Air (2019), iPad (2019), and iPad Pro (2017).

There's a fairly long list of compatible Android devices, which includes the following devices and their successors — the Google Pixel 3, Pixel tablet, Motorola Edge 40, OnePlus 7, Nothing Phone 1, OnePlus Pad, Red Magic 9 Pro, Samsung Galaxy S10, Samsung Galaxy Note 10, Samsung Galaxy Tab S6, Xiaomi 12, Sony Xperia 1 II, Xiaomi Mi 11, Xiaomi Pad 5, and the Poco F3. The publisher also says that users with incompatible devices will be blocked from purchasing the game. So, if you can buy the game, you can run it on your mobile device. 

Total War: Empire Review: Controls

While most strategy games are designed to run on a PC and use traditional mouse and keyboard controls, these aren't practical options for mobile devices. While I was under the impression that a game like Total War: Empire would be better suited for PC controls, the title is fully optimised for touch screen input. Touch controls are well thought-out and intuitive, especially for a game that features an extremely large map with several regions across the globe.

If you have a slightly older device, you might notice a bit of stuttering while zooming in and out on the map — this is especially the case when you're in the middle of a hectic campaign. I suspect this is due to hardware limitations. In any case, this is a turn based strategy game, so it won't affect the outcome of each round in any way.

Diplomacy can help you gain resources or military aid in a pinch

It's worth noting that the game's interface pops up a considerable amount of text in the way of hints, messages from envoys (for foreign relations and treaties), and other messages that take up a considerable amount of space on the screen. Reading these and changing strategies as the situation evolved was easy as I played the game on an iPad, but they might be a little too overwhelming on a smaller display — which means even more zooming in and out on the map to see smaller details.

Total War: Empire Review: Gameplay

I've never played Total War: Empire on PC, but I've had some experience with other strategy games over the years, like Warcraft 3 and the Age of Empires series. In my experience, Total War is one of the most complex and challenging titles I have played in the genre. You start off with one of several powerful empires that are established in Europe, the Americas, or in India, and then navigate the complex world of statecraft. I played with two factions during my testing — Great Britain and the Maratha Confederacy.

The game covers a large portion of the world, with enough areas for land and sea battles — you can move fleets across transition zones that are located at the edges of the maps, but longer trips to far-flung areas will require multiple turns in the game. In addition to these theatres of war, you can also access various trade routes to boost your income considerably. However, you'll need to defend your trade ships from pirates that also frequent these routes, using warships.

You'll need to evolve your strategy as soon as new events take place

To put it simply, you won't be able to just get by with sheer luck while playing Total War: Empire. When you begin a new campaign, there are several other kingdoms on the map — with a friendly, neutral, or hostile stance. Your strategy will need to be adjusted while dealing with each of these empires. For example, if war breaks out in an allied country, refusal to join means the end of that alliance. After you end your turn, the game's AI will make decisions for the other empires and factions on the map.

You can spend a considerable part of the game negotiating with other kingdoms and maintaining peace, or even using assassins against rival empires and missionaries to keep religious unrest in check. The game also allows you to select political leaders for your provinces, and the nature of your government can also change over the years.

You will occasionally be drawn into battle on land and at sea, depending on where your military units end up on the map, or when an opponent decides to attack structures in your territory. Battles are the second — and equally important part of the game, and each one has consequences, just like the campaign portion of the game. Land battles are quite straightforward, and the touchscreen controls to move units work seamlessly. With the right strategy, you can even use your commander to recall soldiers that are fleeing the battle, and this can be useful when you're being overwhelmed by a larger force.

Ignoring the ‘Balance of Power' bar is an easy way to lose a battle

On the other hand, naval battles are much more challenging, as you have to keep rotating your warships to face the enemy in order to perform an attack. This was quite difficult to get used to, as these 18th century ships rely on sails and the direction of the wind (except for galleys and steam ships). You must choose the right time to move your ships to fire cannons and board an enemy ship. When timed correctly, these naval battles are arguably the most exciting part of the game — and the animations showing a sinking enemy ship are quite satisfying to watch.

You'll also need to keep an eye on the status of your units (their morale can drop causing them to be 'routed' and flee the battle) and ship status (sail health, hull health, and cannon count) as these factors can quickly turn the tide of a battle. It's also important to keep an eye on the terrain your troops are fighting on, as it can greatly improve your chances of winning — after multiple defeats, I realised that it's also possible to hide behind structures and take advantage of specific capabilities offered by certain infantry and cavalry units that can land the ball in your court at a crucial time.

The game also shows you a 'Balance of Power' bar that shows you which side is more likely to win, and you can choose to fight or retreat. It's important to keep an eye on both this bar and your troops' morale bar to decide whether to keep fighting or concede. This is also the case for naval battles, which are challenging enough until you learn how to manoeuvre ships swiftly.

Naval battles involve attacking or boarding an enemy vessel

While navigating the world of statecraft and foreign affairs, you'll also need to keep an eye on resources in your own domain. You will need to manage spending on new technologies, while raising or lowering taxes to keep enough money coming in to the exchequer. This must be done while protecting Public Order, which can be disrupted when the nobility or the lower classes oppose taxes, occupation (or garrisons), or war. You can spend some resources to manage these using a feature called Town Watch Repression.

Sometimes, a well-planned strategy can help you quickly advance through your campaign. For example, you can acquire certain territories from allies, or simply attack and defeat another kingdom to quickly turn their provinces independent. However, you need to keep in mind that you can also face unrest from within your own territories, especially when your own cities are besieged by enemies.

Verdict

Total War: Empire is easily the most complex strategy game I have ever played, and the game feels very enjoyable — once you learn how to evolve your strategy and pick your battles— over 15 years after it was originally released. It has a steeper learning curve compared to other titles like Microsoft's Age of Empires series, so you'll need to spend a couple of hours trying to figure out how to build your army, maintain foreign relations, and expand trading, while upgrading your empire's technology.

I would recommend playing this title on a device with a larger screen, as there's a lot to keep an eye out for in the game, and the animations look much better. If you're someone who enjoys turn-based strategy games and looking for one to play while you're on the go — and don't mind spending enough time to learn how to evolve your strategy as new challenges appear — it's very easy to recommend Total War: Empire, which is available as a one-time purchase on iOS and Android.