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War never goes away. Total War even more so. It always returns – sometimes in a new guise, sometimes in a familiar one. Sometimes it appears in a Japanese kimono, sometimes it flaunts medieval armor, sometimes it comes on stage in Roman bronze. The last time we met it was in a 19th century uniform – strict, military style. A lot of time has passed since then, but The Creative Assembly’s daughter has remained faithful to this form. It hasn’t tried on any new costumes – neither from the First World War, nor fantasy ones. It just put on the same uniform, only repainted it blue. To make it clear: it serves Napoleon. And follows him loyally. Although Napoleon: Total War became known even before the release of Empire, it seems that it was released primarily as a “work on mistakes”. Empire turned out to be too controversial. On the one hand, the picture has become noticeably better, but it cannot be said that the leap was as powerful as between Medieval and Rome. The gameplay also seemed to have changed, but muskets still lost to swords. And the plot promised to be interesting, but in the end it turned out to be blurred, without accents – it seemed like they told something, but there was nothing to cling to.
Table of Contents
Among all the games in the Total War series, Napoleon stands out for its campaign presentation. It is not just a chain of battles, not a set of episodes that are linked by a common style or era. Here we have history. The personal, rich, dramatic history of Napoleon Bonaparte. And it is presented not through voiceover phrases like: “Tough times, but you can handle it, son,” but through consistently built chapters covering the most important periods of his life. Each campaign is like a separate chapter of a novel, where the player is offered to play the role of a great commander from the first step on the political arena to the brilliant (and sometimes not so) finales.
The first four chapters of the campaign are a mixture of classic Total War and atmospheric role-playing narrative. On the one hand, everything is in its place: generals lead troops, cities are stormed, the economy ticks in the background, and armies clash on huge battlefields. Everything seems familiar, but at the same time there is a feeling that the game is limiting you – deliberately and harshly.
There is no sense of a large-scale world here, like in Empire or Rome. You won’t be able to go to Scandinavia if you play for France, or send a fleet to capture American colonies – the geography of the campaigns is clearly outlined. Started the Italian campaign? Welcome to the “boot” and several adjacent territories. The rest of the world is hidden behind the impenetrable fog of war. Want to go to Egypt? Easy. But then forget about Europe: it is out of reach. And no global invasions, broad strategic maneuvers or alternative development paths for you. Everything goes strictly according to the script.
And now the most interesting part – the missions. There are unexpectedly many of them in Napoleon: Total War. Much more than in any other game in the series. And these are not just bonus objectives, but full-fledged instructions: capture this city, kill that commander, protect the province, do not go beyond the borders, do it quickly. Otherwise, you risk not meeting the allotted time. In other parts of the series, you had freedom – you can take a couple of years to prepare, build the army of your dreams, dig in or slowly advance. Here, you are pushed forward, not allowed a step to the side. The campaign seems to say: “You must become Napoleon, and Napoleon did not wait – he acted.”
And in this scripted design, the strategic part fades into the background. No real choice – you are more a participant in an interactive film with strategy elements than the ruler of your empire. Do you want to turn around, surprise the enemy, play a complex diplomatic game? Alas. The game does not need this. It is interested in you following the rails, albeit beautifully laid out. So is this Total War interesting? It’s a difficult question to answer unequivocally. On the one hand, yes — you really live the path of a great man, you feel like you’re in the center of history. The graphics are excellent, the music is epic, the atmosphere is appropriate. But on the other hand, this linearity kills the very spirit of Total War, where freedom, variability, and global thinking used to reign. This is not the case here. There is no feeling that you are creating history — you are just walking along it, like a sidewalk with barriers.
Compared to Empire or Rome, where you built your empire from scratch, expanded borders, diplomacy, captured sea routes, and adjusted the economy, Napoleon looks like an elegant but truncated version of the classics. And if you compare it with the same “King Arthur”, which also tried to rethink the genre, the latter at least offered more freedom. There were magical artifacts, non-linear quests, dialogues with choices, an intriguing plot. And here — only the story of one commander, albeit a very great one. So yes, Napoleon is beautiful, juicy, atmospheric. But if you are looking for real strategic depth and freedom, you will most likely be slightly disappointed.
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As if as a reward for our patience — for the fact that we finally learned a little more about Napoleon than just “froze in Moscow and roasted on Saint Helena” — the developers decided to please us at the end of the story: they finally gave us an almost real Total War. With politics, freedom of action and everything we love. Although there are some peculiarities here too. Usually in the strategies of the series we built alliances, slowly grew an empire. And here — all of Europe is against you. Those who seemed to have decided to become Napoleon’s friends are so weak and insignificant that there is almost no difference between “submitting” and “starting a war” — the result will be the same.
And in this, oddly enough, there is a thrill. Not even just a thrill — excitement, a real challenge. This is where Napoleon’s true character comes into play. When you are alone against everyone, when you throw down the gauntlet to smug England, pacify the stormy Russian spirit with its Bolkonskys singing the praises of the sky in the middle of the battle — your blood boils. This is not some “Maria Rose” – this is Borodino. This is a daring march on Moscow.
Of course, Napoleon: Total War tries to be historical. But not strictly according to the textbook, like in the same Hearts of Iron. Here you can easily burn Moscow already in 1807 or even start with the capture of St. Petersburg. And then, look, and “dear Alexander” will begin to beg you to leave at least something of Russia.
But again, it draws comparisons with other games in the series. Usually we had a lot of time, an open choice. If you want – go to the east, if you want – seize the west. Negotiate with neighbors, or just look for people who have long been asking to be rolled over. And what about Napoleon? Wherever you look – enemies. On the left – the front, on the right – traitors, above – the British with grins. No one is for you. And the developers seem to say: forget about the classic Total War. There’s no time for waltzing here – it’s time to march.
There is little freedom of action here. In addition to the large-scale campaign for Napoleon himself, the game has another one – for the coalition. This is where we are given the first chance to choose a side and try ourselves in the role of a diplomat. Let’s say you decide to rule Russia – you will have to not only help the allies in Europe, but also sort out local affairs. Sweden has completely lost ground – you can carefully take a couple of provinces. And in the south, once mighty powers have turned into shadows of themselves, and if you occupy them now, then in the future it will be easier to fight Bonaparte.
There are plenty of options for how to develop. But long-term planning is not an easy matter. Get involved in a protracted war, stretch the army, grab cities, and then the French are already on the horizon, and you are not ready for the main battle of the era.
In general, the strategic component of Napoleon: Total War is clear: it is more of a linear and story-driven game than a sandbox. And, in fact, the developers did not try to create a full-fledged sequel – this is an expansion of Empire: Total War, an attempt to develop its ideas and show the other side of the conflict. Did it work? Not really. While The Creative Assembly was toiling over its “Napoleon”, King Arthur from another studio appeared on the horizon – and there, in the global mode, everything feels much more integral and interesting.
Many fans of the Total War series will say without hesitation: the main thing in these games is not conquests on the global map, not diplomacy and economics, but battles. Tactical, thoughtful, nerve-wracking battles, where every mistake costs dozens of lives, and every correct maneuver brings real satisfaction. And in Napoleon: Total War, these battles have reached a completely new level.
If Empire: Total War could be reproached for some “incompleteness” of the tactical model, then in Napoleon, the developers seem to have caught that very balance. In Empire, soldiers still lived in a transitional era, where a sabre and bayonet were considered more reliable than gunpowder. Battles often turned into an awkward mixture of fire and hand-to-hand combat, where tactics seemed to be stuck between two eras. In Napoleon, everything is different. Here, a musket is not an addition, but the main weapon on the battlefield. The infantry does not rush forward thoughtlessly, because this means getting under battery fire, then under heavy volleys, and then completely disappearing. The game literally makes you think like a real commander of the 18th-19th centuries. Use the terrain, monitor the weather, take into account morale and endurance. You can’t go head-on now – you have to maneuver, build lines of fire, set traps and use cavalry wisely.
What makes these battles special? Visuals and atmosphere. Everything, from the smallest animations to the sound of a shot, is at the level of a real military drama. Imagine: an enemy army is approaching a small town. The sky is covered with clouds, rain lashes down on muddy roads. The soldiers barely move – now up the hill, now down, slipping on the wet ground. The gunpowder is damp, the soldiers are angry, the officers are shouting. There is no time for parades – everything is real. We have taken up a favorable position: several buildings behind us, forests on the flanks. The enemy is advancing straight across the open ground. Our guns are already at the ready. Suddenly, there is a roar, the camera shakes, as if the earth is really shaking. The first battery fires. One salvo – and you can already see how the French phalanx in the distance begins to crumble. But the enemy is not so simple. His artillery responds – and now the building in which we planned to hold the defense is falling apart from the hit, survivors run out from under the rubble. Panic, confusion, and it seems that everything is going to the bottom. There is a real meat grinder on the battlefield – cannonballs are tearing up the earth, the units are shaking, someone is starting to retreat. And at this moment – our chance.
The hussars enter the battle. They quickly go around the forest and suddenly attack the enemy battery from the flank. Everything is collapsing for the enemy – the artillery is out of action. But this is not the end. The French infantry is reforming, muskets are raised – they are ready to meet the cavalry. And then it is our turn. We give the order to our artillery: fire on their positions. Several cannonballs land right in the center of their formation. Smoke, screams, confusion. While the enemy is in shock, we bring the infantry closer and start shooting. Clicks of bolts, rumbles of shots, flashes of flame – smoke billows over the battlefield. Someone is yelling in French, someone in Russian. Visibility is falling, everything is drowning in a gray curtain. But we know – this is our moment. The hussars, instead of stupidly dying in a frontal attack, are now chasing the fleeing, finishing them off, not letting them gather themselves. Napoleon: Total War is a game that could not be left out. It was this one that finally gave players everything that was so lacking in the previous part. After it, Empire seems unfinished, archaic, like a trial draft. Yes, on the strategic map “Napoleon” is inferior to its older brothers. The campaign is quite linear, especially if you play as Bonaparte himself. There is little freedom, no feeling that you are forging history yourself. But we love this game not for the global map. But for how it makes you feel like a real general. Here you can fight like Suvorov – boldly, on the fly, but prudently. You can be Kutuzov – retreat, lure, defeat. Or you can be like Bonaparte: strike accurately, brilliantly, with minimal losses, but with maximum elegance.
Pros:
Cons:
If you’ve ever dreamed of feeling like a 19th century commander, this is your chance. Boots in the mud, a sabre in your teeth, and forward, into smoke, thunder, and glory. Napoleon: Total War is not just a game. It’s a real symphony of tactics.
Total War: NAPOLEON — System Requirements
I’ll be honest: if you’ve ever dreamed of commanding armies, cutting a path through Europe and changing history in your own way, Total War: NAPOLEON is made just for you. And here’s the best part – you can get it for free now. Yes, no catch. Really free.
No magic – just go to the VpeSports website, create an account (if you don’t have one yet), and dive into the section with free steam account. That’s where our hero is hiding – the very same Total War: NAPOLEON, waiting for you to put on the general’s cloak and lead your troops into battle. When you open the page with the game, there will be everything you need: an honest review, a couple of personal impressions from us and – most importantly – a button that will take you to step-by-step instructions. We specially made it without complications so that you don’t waste time on unnecessary showdowns, but find yourself in the thick of things as quickly as possible.
But there is one important thing to mention: before we send you your login and password for your account, you will need to leave a comment under the review. Why? Because we are interested in who you are, what you think about the game, and in general, we are for live communication. All comments are moderated, so if you don’t see yours right away, it’s okay, just check if everything is ok and try again.
And in order not to miss the next distributions and not to be left behind, subscribe to our Telegram. There we not only share news, but also answer questions in the chat – quickly, humanely, without formality. And if suddenly something doesn’t work – don’t panic. We have everything covered. There is a guide on the site: simple, clear, with examples. Just as if your old friend, who has been in the know for a long time, was explaining everything to you.
In short, if you are ready to stand shoulder to shoulder with Napoleon, change the course of history and prove that you are not just a player, but a real strategist – everything you need is already waiting for you. Just come and take it.
i really want to play this game
VERY GOOD AND VERY WLL PLAY
Great real time strategy with plenty of scenarios, Total War has always been the pinnacle of strategy games.
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