"Good in theory, bad in execution"

When I first bought a DW game, I went into the shop ignorant of many things. I had a distorted view of the storyline, and knew nothing of the game mechanics. But as luck would have it, DW5: E was being played in the shop, and so I decided to get an Empires game. I couldn't find 5, so I bought 4 which I loved.

A while later, I came into some cash and bought this game, and found it to be sadly lacking in comparison to 4....

Graphics 10/10

The graphics at least are perfect. Soldiers, officers, bases, terrain...all are picked out in perfect detail. A castle in the background seamlessly fades into the fore. A skirmish on its walls can clearly be seen. There is virtually no slow down.

Storyline 7/10

The storyline is taken from the historical novel, Romance of the Three Kingdoms. It starts when three brothers- Zhang Jiao, Zhang Bao, and Zhang Liang - rise up in rebellion against the Han Dynasty. They strike everywhere and plunder freely. The land descends into chaos.

The rebellion is quelled with the death of Jiao, Bao, and Liang. But the land now stands divided as each warlord gets a piece for himself. In the north, Cao Cao defeats Yuan Shao and Zhang Xiu, and he and his son Cao Pi, rule the domain of Wei. In the south, Sun Quan takes up the legacy of his father, Sun Jian, and brother, Sun Ce, to defeat Huang Zu and establish the kingdom of Wu. And in the west, Liu Bei defeats Liu Zhang, absorbs Zhang Lu, and establishes Shu, which he rules with his son Liu Chan and advisor Zhuge Liang.

The Three Kingdoms stage many struggles, but ultimately all fall foul of chaos. Wei is the first to fall, as Sima Yi's son Sima Zhao and grandson Sima Yan seize power and turn Wei into Jin. They march on Shu with generals Deng Ai and Zhong Hui, and after isolating Jiang Wei, Zhuge Liang's apprentice, capture Shu. Wu is in the incompetent hands of Sun Hao, and surrenders without a fight.

Empires lets you take on the role of any force, however many, and attempt to change history. However, the story is forced on you by 5 historical scenarios, and if you favour obscure rulers like Yan Baihu, you will have to transfer your allegiance in later scenarios because Yan Baihu isn't there regardless of how powerful you made him in previous scenarios. In 4, there was one big scenario, and you could influence every ounce of the plot. And while this is a minor gripe, you can't follow history scrupulously because Sima Yan doesn't get a look in.

Gameplay 6/10

The meat of any game and the reason for the overall score, this is packed with fantastic innovative features that unfortunately do not work. Allow me to explain.

Strategy Phase

Once you have chosen your scenario and your force, your conduct your state one season at a time. First you will play through the strategy phase. In this, you will form alliances, use tactics, and trade items. It works very well, and is a high point of the game. There are many useful things to do, and useful ways in which to do them - you can always heal your troops if need be for example, regardless of what your officers want.

It has but one let down. If you wish to invade in the Battle Phase, you must station your troops next to the chosen territory. If you forget to do this, or don't realise it has to be done (A territory right next to another could in fact be blocked from it by a line of mountains not shown on the map) you are unable to go back and station troops, and so your invasion force has to consist not of your crack troops and invincible generals, but by the local garrison commander, who will not have as many useful troops because how often do you reinforce a commander who hasn't seen action for months?

Battle

Once in battle, you have an innovative feature that is in fact some use - the ability to command your officers and develop a strategy. KOEI have done their best, however the system fails in many ways.

An officer told to attack a base is not going to disobey orders and face execution, he will attack the base. He will more often than not do this regardless of enemy units attacking his rear, or slipping by him and capturing his staging area and bases vital to you, causing you to have to sound the retreat.

Another failing. All units are connected to an officer or captain of some sort. It used to be that defeating the captain would cause SOME units to flee, and others to weaken but CONTINUE TO FIGHT. I don't know this worked, but it did so perfectly. Now, all officer-deprived units will flee immediately, meaning units can be routed in a matter of seconds and you hardly having to fight.

This works very well occasionally. But please note occasionally.

All in all, some very nice sounding features have been rushed and ruined. Politics isn't what it used to be, and battles aren't either.

Rent or Buy?
Some like this game. I still play it, as it does have its good points. Rent to see if you like it, but don't expect wonders. And if you buy this, buy 4 as well.

6/10.

Reviewer's Score: 6/10, Originally Posted: 10/26/06