“Have Fun!” was written on a paper that came in an envelope, together with a preview build of Imperial Glory. And I certainly had fun! Actually I didn’t feel much for writing this preview; I rather spent my time on playing the game! But the duty was calling, so I didn’t really have a choice, did I? So, here’s my story:

Everyone knows Rome: Total War, the game which Imperial Glory is compared to many times. Rome: Total War is a part of something that Imperial Glory isn't: a game series. Before the game even hit the shelves, it was already praised to heaven, simply because of the success of the other Total War games. Blinded with love the reviewers didn’t (wanted to) see the flaws in the game, which was noticeable in the high scores it got. I have to say that I quite enjoyed the game, but it wasn’t everything. Now, because Imperial Glory is already suffering enough from the comparison with Rome: Total War, and will ven more when reviews come out, I decided not to do that. This preview will only be a summary of what I think is good and bad in Imperial Glory, so no comparison with Rome: Total War and no fan boy bull talking.

The game starts around the time your grand-grand-grand-grand-grand father and mother were born; the time when the French Revolution broke out in 1789. European grounds began shaking when several Empires where vying for power in Europe. You can choose from 5 of those great Empires to lead: Austria, France, Great Britain, Prussia or Russia. Each Empire has its own strengths and weaknesses. This isn’t only because one Empire has a better trained and more advanced army than another, but also because of other aspects, like its geographical situation and the availability of raw materials. This and many more aspects don’t make Imperial Glory a game where you simply train thousands of troops and use them against the enemy; it will take much more to crush your opponents.

As I said above you can choose from five Empires. I took the one from top: Great Britain. The description of this Empire said: “Great Britain has an advantage – being an island limits the possibility of invasion. This can also be a disadvantage however, as it makes it more difficult to gain access to other countries. Because of this the British player must plan from the outset, the building of a great fleet.” After some failed invasions and restarts I noticed this description couldn’t be truer: I really had to build a big fleet to keep attackers away, but I also needed a big fleet intended for transporting enough men for a successful invasion of a country. All this building an d moving troops around (and much more) is being done in the turn-based management model. In this mode you have an overview of the European map, where you move your camera around and can view information on the 51 provinces and 31 maritime regions present in the game. Each province produces a certain amount of money, raw materials, population, food and, in case the province has a capital city, research points. These resources are generated per turn and you obtain them if the province is a part of your Empire. There are however more ways to stack your warehouses with resources. This can be done in various ways, for example by creating trading routes, smuggling, taxation, etc.