Empire/Napoleon or Shogun 2

[godmathias]

Hey all -

Wondering which of these to get. I can get the Empire/Napoleon pack for about the same price as Shogun 2, and I really don't have much of a preference of either time period or sword/bow vs guns. I just love total war games and I'm looking for the game with the best combination of graphics, gameplay, interface, polish, and playability.

I loved Medieval 2 and got tons of replay value out of it, but the graphics are getting very dated, and it seems to have a fair share of campaign bugs (agents, finances, etc). Love both the campaign and battle portions, so I'd love the game with the best combo.

Let me know your thoughts and if Empire/Napoleon, which one should I start first!?

Thanks!

[runtheplacered]

If you ask me Shogun 2 has the polish and the gameplay and Empire has the scope. Obviously Shogun is the more current game and also wins out in the graphics department but not by any measure that really matters. So, on paper Shogun sounds like the clear winner but it does feel extremely restrictive only being able to conquer Japan instead of most of the world like you can in Empire. Also, I find that my games of Shogun always go pretty much the same everytime I play it, whereas Empire encompasses so much more, the games tend to play out different (more or less) each time. For instance, playing a nation in India is very different than playing as a western European nation.

So basically, at this time, none of the Total War games capture everything I'm looking for in a Total War game. But, I juggle between them all instead.

[markcocjin]

Hi there. I'm selling/trading my Empire & Napoleon Total War GotY Edition which comes with all the bits and pieces if you're interested.

This is my trading thread right here. Bid if you're interested. Thank you.

[Mebbwebb]

Empire is epic. 3 Different Continents with very different nations to play as. Shogun is more restricting in terms of where you can go. Each nation has 2-3 different perks over each other. Empire varies dramatically.

Shogun is more simple in terms of the battle formula. Its rock paper scissors. Empire is suppress with volleys and flank with cavalry. Sounds easy but can get very difficult with bigger battles.

I'm not a fan of shoguns navy battles, there too similar too the land battles, big hulking castle like ships. (but that was how they were fought in japan) Empire is more of your traditional broadside and then boarding affair.

I do like the multiplayer in shogun over empire and napoleon.

Napoleon is like shogun in terms of graphics and gameplay. things are a bit simplier but technology is farther in it. Warships are usually steam based which means you can ignore the wind more. Napoleon also has more simplier micro intensive maps, (Egypt for one) that focus on a few smaller places then the whole world. You also have to worry about supply routes which does add alot of strategy.

[Angre_Leperkan]

DEFINITELY SHOGUN.
Empire is kinda crummy. The AI is pretty bad, the campaign is kinda lackluster, and the presentation overall leaves a lot to be desired. I've heard Napolean is an upgrade to Empire, but not by much.
Shogun 2, however, has fantastic graphics, a fun campaign, naval battles, good AI (still makes mistakes, but definitely better than Empire), and overall is, IMO, a much better game.
So I'd recommend Shogun 2 of the three. However, I'd say pick up Empire if it's ever pretty cheap, as it isn't terrible and there's always mods like Darthmod to improve it.

EDIT: Just realized this thread is like a week old. I apologize if I arrived too late :[

[X-GoDlik3-X]

Originally Posted by Angre_Leperkan

DEFINITELY SHOGUN.
Empire is kinda crummy. The AI is pretty bad, the campaign is kinda lackluster, and the presentation overall leaves a lot to be desired. I've heard Napolean is an upgrade to Empire, but not by much.
Shogun 2, however, has fantastic graphics, a fun campaign, naval battles, good AI (still makes mistakes, but definitely better than Empire), and overall is, IMO, a much better game.
So I'd recommend Shogun 2 of the three. However, I'd say pick up Empire if it's ever pretty cheap, as it isn't terrible and there's always mods like Darthmod to improve it.

EDIT: Just realized this thread is like a week old. I apologize if I arrived too late :[

Although OP if you get mods like Darthmod beware what can happen... I had Darthmod for awhile and was loving it while playing as Great Britian in Empire, but 40ish turns in i kept crashing because of a bad pirate unit the mod added in. I eventually had to uninstall it and completely start over because it corrupt my save.

[X-GoDlik3-X]

However to answer your question, Shogun 2 is the best regarding polish in it's gameplay, but it is kinda the same thing almost every time you start a new campaign... this is mainly because of how similar all the clans are, and the lack of unique units. Empire/Napoleon, while not exactly being perfect, offer much more content. If you buy the Empire/Napoleon pack, i believe you get a bunch of DLC's with new units and new campaigns for both Empire and Napoleon also.

That of course is just more content on top of two already huge games: Empire lets you conquer the world, including the Americas and India, and Napoleon lets you play as a power hungry France, or the Coalition fighting for Europe. In Shogun 2, all you have to play with is Japan.