Make no mistake — even at their most average, the Total War games are thrilling experiences. Though the move to the musket age in Empire was accompanied by some unfortunate AI glitches, it still won me over with the simple crack of cannons and flash of steel as my lancers rode down hapless conscripts. And welcome changes to the diplomatic and economic models overshadowed my own misgivings at the time.
But in a huge pseudo-sequel like Napoleon: Total War, you can’t just give Creative Assembly credit for maintaining the thrilling sights you’re already familiar with. This isn’t really a new setting; most of the game is the same, and some things that were so important to Empire have been pushed aside. For example, as important as control of the seas was in the Napoleonic Wars and in Empire, Napoleon is all about big land battles — on some of the campaign maps, naval engagement is frankly impossible. So the elaborate overseas trade system from Empire is less important, and all those pretty (if unwieldy) sea battles are more irrelevant to the final outcome.