There was a new operating system roll-out and it was completely ignored. The biggest launch in entertainment history included a game on the PC that played like a console title.

But that doesn't mean there weren't games worth picking up for your computer. Here's a run down of a few of those that we reviewed. Which would you suggest?

Call of Juarez: Bound in Blood

Price: $29.99
Rating: Mature
Genre: First-person shooter
Subject Matter: Call of Juarez: Bound in Blood is a Civil War era first-person shooter.
Value: With an engaging story, wide open maps and plenty of mulitplayer options, this game will take up quite a bit of your time.
Buy it for: First-person shooter enthusiasts, fans of the Wild West and Civil War buffs.
Read the Full Review

Dawn of War II

Price: $40
Rating: T
Genre: The Waging Of Endless War
Subject Matter: Control a handful of Space Marines against the worst the Orcs and Tyranids can throw against you, your men and the Immortal Emperor.
Value: Fairly lengthy singleplayer campaign is bolstered significantly by a handy, and more traditional multiplayer component.
Buy it for: Warhammer fans who wanted Dawn of War to be more intimate, and anyone who likes a bit of RPG in their RTS.
Read the Full Review

Dragon Age: Origins
Price: $39.99
Rating:Mature
Genre: Roleplaying
Subject Matter: An epic action roleplaying game set in a world besieged by evil inside and out.
Value: Dragon Age: Origins packs more than 100 hours of gameplay into this action RPG, with branching story paths that encourage multiple play throughs in order to experience it all. BioWare designed the game so it can be played by RPG gamers of any skill level, but mature content and strong sexual situations mean you might want to keep it in the high teens.
Buy it for: Anyone who has ever conversationally mentioned hit points.
Read the Full Review

Empire: Total War

Price: $40
Rating: T
Genre: 18th-Century Musket Drill
Subject Matter: Take control of a European, American or Indian power of the 18th century and control every aspect of their military machine across both a strategic campaign map and tactical RTS battles.
Value: Even a single campaign play-through will take weeks. And there are dozens of available factions across three continents. It'll last for years.
Buy it for: Anyone who loves strategy, history or the smell of grapeshot in the morning.
Read the Full Review

Fallout 3: Broken Steel

Price: $10 (Requires a copy of Fallout 3)
Rating: M
Genre: Post-apocalyptic role-playing game
Subject Matter: Fallout 3 expansion involving missions with a high-powered fighting force.
Value: High because it extends the level cap to Fallout 3, changes the game's ending and allows the adventure to be played infinitely once the story has "ended"
Buy it for: Fallout 3 fans who want to play more; essential for anyone getting any Fallout 3 downloadable content
Read the Full Review

Fallout 3: Mothership Zeta

Price: $10.00 (Requires a copy of Fallout 3)
Rating: Mature
Genre: Still a post-apocalyptic RPG
Subject Matter: It's Fallout 3 in space!
Value: Mothership Zeta gives the Fallout 3 player an entire spaceship to explore and make their own, some futuristic new weapons, and tacks a good five hours onto the regular campaign, making it a relatively fair value for your money.
Buy it for: Fallout 3 fans.
Read the Full Review

Fallout 3: Point Lookout

Price: $10 (Requires a copy of Fallout 3)
Rating: M
Genre: Post-apocalyptic role-playing game
Subject Matter: Fallout 3 in microcosm, set on a spooky island.
Value: Tons of content, and widely seen as the Fallout 3 downloadable content that best shares the strengths of the base game.
Buy it for: Fallout 3 fans.
Read the Full Review

League of Legends
Price: Free to $30
Rating: Teen
Genre: Real-time strategy
Subject Matter: Once a spin-off of famously fun Warcraft III, League of Legends is a simplified, highly-addictive strategy game of warriors, magic and monsters.
Value: The free-to-play game only charges if you want to pay for upgrades or to lock in your favorite characters. A fantastic deal for what you get.
Buy it for: people who enjoy strategy gaming and fans of games like Warcraft III.
Read the Full Review

Mass Effect: Pinnacle Station

Price: $5 (requires a copy of Mass Effect)
Rating: M
Genre: Bonus missions for third-person shooter/role-playing game
Subject Matter: Mass Effect gets a battle simulator to allow goal-based shooting challenges.
Value: High for those looking for something new in the original Mass Effect while awaiting the January sequel; low for people looking for what made the first game popular.
Buy it for: Mass Effect completists, though you'll only be able to buy them download points for this game or give them a small check.
Read the Full Review

Operation Flashpoint: Dragon Rising
Price: $39.99
Rating: Mature
Genre: Realistic military first-person shooter
Subject Matter: Operation Flashpoint: Dragon Rising is a relatively open-world tactical shooter that has players trying to take the fictional island of Skira from China.
Value: Plagued with problems this shooter doesn't deliver much for the premium price you pay.
Buy it for: hardcore fans of realistic shooters that offer no chance for mistakes or do-overs.
Read the Full Review

Torchlight

Price: $19.99
Rating: Teen
Genre: Action RPG
Subject Matter: One of the most blatant Diablo clones ever created.
Value: Torchlight is one of the most blatant Diablo clones ever created, but it's also one of the most capable. There's a main quest with a good 10 hours of gameplay, with multiple side quests, random dungeons, and three different character classes, so the replay value is through the roof. For the price, Torchlight's value is downright amazing.
Buy it for: Diablo fans waiting for Blizzard to get the next installment out
Read the Full Review

Wolfenstein

Price: $49.99
Rating: Mature
Genre: First-Person Shooter
Subject Matter: World War II First-Person Shooter with Occult Tendencies
Value: While Wolfenstein is an excellent first-person shooter from a technical standpoint, the story is a bit far-fetched and the multiplayer is disappointing, especially in the face of games like Modern Warfare 2.
Buy it for: First-person shooter fans looking for a little something different.
Read the Full Review

Zuma's Revenge
Price: $19.95
Rating: E
Genre: Puzzle
Subject Matter: A color-matching, marble-shooting game for people with fast mouse reflexes.
Value: A massive amount of content compared to the original Zuma; the first playthrough of the game's main campaign levels alone lasts more than six hours.
Buy it for: Moms who need a new obsession for their PC; hardcore gamers who want an addictive diversion they wouldn't admit has hooked them.
Read the Full Review

Guess first-person combat in the 18th century didn't include a firing-from-cover mechanism.

The Perfect War - Empire: Total War Machinima [YouTube]

It's called "Warpath", and is focused on North America, and the conflict between Native Americans and European powers. It includes an all-new campaign, five new factions (Iroquois, Huron, Plains, Pueblo and Cherokee) and some new tech as well.

In addition to the expansion, a patch for the game will be released later today, which not only fixes a few bugs but also adds two new historical battles, Rossbach and Fontenoy.

There's a wide variety of minor fixes being made to the game in late September, most of them to do with improving the enemy AI. Two in particular stand out as being key, namely one fixing your troop's use of cannons while defending a fort, and the other improving AI when moving inside a fort and using ropes.

They're the two main things that made viable siege warfare nearly unplayable in the original release of the game, so hopefully in a few weeks time we won't ever have to complain about them again.

Empire: Total War Update 1.4 Gets Smart [Shacknews]

These units are, unlike the 14 visual tweaks contained in the update, brand new units. And they're premium units too, the cream of the crop, introducing guys like Britain's Horse Guards and the earliest iteration of the US Marine Corps.

As far as the update goes, I haven't had the chance to test out the supposedly improved campaign turn times. Anyone?

For those interested, the 14 units making up the "Elite Units of the West" DLC are:

Hungarian Grenadiers (Austria) - Hungarian Grenadiers fought in the Austrian army of the 18th century and were deliberately selected for their physical size and stature. They had to have a good throwing arm, being able to propel a grenade far enough that it wouldn't kill them! Single player campaign requirements: Military Governor's Barracks in Hungary

Horse Guards (Britain) - The elite British horse guards are a heavy cavalry shock troop used by the British army. Used as a battering ram to brutally smash enemy infantry lines and drive holes in enemy ranks, these were prized troops of the British army. Single player campaign requirements: Army Staff College in London

Swiss Guards (France) - The Swiss Guards fought for the French nation and were the prized palace guard of Louis XVI. Wearing resplendent bright red uniforms and carrying smooth bore muskets they were a better calibre of heavy infantry than most of their opponents. Single player campaign requirements: Palais Bourbon in Paris

Blue Guards (United Provinces) - The Blue Guards are a strong infantry unit of the United Provinces, and have been personal bodyguards to kings since the 1600s. These are a high status regiment with a long tradition of fighting and winning key battles. Single player campaign requirements: Army Staff College in Amsterdam

Gardes du Corps (United Provinces) - The Gardes du Corps were the strongest, and often, the last line of defence for many monarchs in the United Provinces. Dressed in splendid uniforms and riding heavy horse these royal bodyguard soldiers specialised in almost unstoppable charges and benefit any army with a high morale and solid combat discipline. Single player campaign requirements: Army Staff College in Amsterdam

Guard Grenadiers (Poland-Lithuania) - The Polish Guard Grenadiers are a highly trained and well disciplined grenadier unit unique to the Polish army. These troops spent years being properly trained in the correct stances for priming and throwing explosives and were constantly assessed on their appearance and discipline as well as their technique. Single player campaign requirements: Army Staff College in Warsaw

2nd Hussars (Prussia) - These light cavalry units were specially drawn for their shorter stature and low weight making them quick and nimble on the battlefield. Ideal for hit and run attacks and ambushing enemy formations on the move, these fast and mobile hussars specialised in running down survivors and ambushing scout parties. Single player campaign requirements: Brandenburg Gate in Berlin

Bosniaks (Prussia) - Prussian Bosniaks are an irregular mounted soldier on light horse capable of a devastating charge. These riders are historically mercenary in nature hailing from the Balkans as their name suggests. They fight with a passion and zeal as they were often paid in plunder! Single player campaign requirements: Army Board in Prussian home regions

Frei-Korps (Prussia) - These irregular light infantry forces are a much needed counter-weight to the disciplined and organised ranks of the Prussian army. Professional scoundrels, they are particularly effective against soldiers that organised Prussian infantry find difficult to counter. Single player campaign requirements: Army Board or Military Governor's Barracks in any province

Gardes à cheval (Russia) - An aristocratic heavy horse unit drawn from the nobility, exclusively to protect the Tsars. These rich notables were selected not for their soldiering ability but more for their relative attractiveness to Catherine the Great. Single player campaign requirements: Winter Palace in Moscow

Siemenovski Foot Guards (Russia) - These elite line infantry were far better equipped than their standard brothers and a touch more arrogant too. With splendid uniforms and far better trained they made excellent garrison soldiers, punishing popular decent harshly. Single player campaign requirements: Winter Palace in Moscow

Walloon Guards (Spain) - These superior infantry were drawn from a region of the Spanish Empire that produced excellent soldiers. Their distinctive uniforms and colours marked them out on the battlefield as the bodyguard of kings and queens, and as effective soldiers in their own right. Single player campaign requirements: Palacio Real de Madrid in Madrid

Legion of the United States (United States) - The United States first official organised army unit. A well drilled and trained unit of soldiers taught to fight in both the traditional European line of battle style, and a looser more irregular pattern better for confronting the native tribes of the Americas. Single player campaign requirements: Army Board or Military Governor's Barracks in any province

US Marines (United States) - These are some of the toughest and bravest soldiers the United States can boast. Either on land or at sea this unit is a fighting force above all else. The marines' greatest strength alongside their flexibility and speed in combat is their resolve. They will rarely if ever run from a fight once committed, often preferring to fight to the death than hand an inch of ground to the enemy. Single player campaign requirements: Naval College in any province

As we've covered, the "new" units are really just one new unit (Russian grenadiers) along with a range of individualised redesigns. As for the fixes, most important of those seems to be one that says "various optimisations have been made to AI and path systems to reduce the campaign map turn times".

Let's hope that really means "game actually lets you play past 1760 without the AI taking 20 minutes to take its turn".

The full list of unit refreshes (sadly, none for my preferred British) and fixes/tweaks are below:

UNITS

Prussian Grenadiers

Wearing a distinctive brass fronted mitre cap, the Prussian Grenadiers are an explosive force to be reckoned with on the battlefield.

Spanish Guardias de infateria

These elite guard infantry are charged with protecting the monarch and are a potent force on the battlefield.

Swedish lifeguard horse

This cavalry regiment forms part of the monarchs' household guard. Superbly drilled, they act as a shock force on the battlefield.

Holland Horse Guard

Armed with heavy cavalry sabres, these disciplined cavalrymen represent the elite of the army.

Prussian Garde Du Corp

The Prussian Garde Du Corp are a replacement for the Prussian standard Household cavalry. These heavy horse shock troops are best used to break enemy lines and overrun enemy positions. With a strong charge and fearsome attack, these riders make short work of those who would oppose a Prussian monarch.

Prussian Life guard

The Prussian life guards are equipped similarly to line infantrymen. However their uniforms are altogether more splendid, marking them out as a superior force, in arrogance if nothing else. They do a good job as garrison troops and are dedicated to the crown.

Russian Grenadiers

This new Russian unit is great for assaults and their grenades pack a mighty punch!

Spanish Guardias De Corp

The Spanish Guardias De Corp replace household cavalry for Spain. With almost unbreakable morale, on the charge they are almost unstoppable.

Spanish Grenadiers

These are a replacement for the standard Spanish Grenadiers with a distinctive bearskin hat to mark them out as exemplary on the battlefield.

Swedish ‘Lifeguards of foot'

These are a highly trained replacement for the standard Swedish guard. They are often used as a force in a system that defends a monarchy and can be relied upon for utter loyalty and deadly accuracy in the field. Their professionalism is reflected in their fearsome battle reputation.

Holland Guard

The Holland Guards from the United Provinces are superior line infantry units. Carrying smoothbore muskets, they were traditionally chosen to protect the royal family and have an incredibly high morale, often making them the last troops to break in a fight.

Scots

The Scots are a Highland ex-patriate infantry used by the United Provinces, renowned for their deadly charge.

Swiss Infantry

Very disciplined infantry of the United Provinces with quick reload and excellent marksmanship.

Mamelukes

Mamelukes are fearless light horsemen, deadly when deployed against a broken or unsupported enemy.

Additionally the Spanish nation has had a new uniform design to better reflect its historical look.

FIXES

Audio:

Sound loading has been made asynchronous, so heavy disc access is reduced to a minimum. This makes loading times faster and reduces any instances of 'stuttering'. Unit group sounds have also been improved, for more realistic group movement. The primary sound library (Miles DLL) has been updated to stop occasional clicking. And we've added more sound variation for unit deaths and musket fire.

Campaign:

- Several crash bug fixes in saves, movement, agents and logic.

- Various optimisations have been made to AI and path systems to reduce the campaign map turn times.

- When the pirates are destroyed and re-emerge they now maintain a status of at war with all and are unable to enter into diplomatic negotiations.

- Added small ships on domestic trade routes from the trade nodes to home regions moving in the correct direction, i.e. with the flow of trade.

- The AI should now no longer repeatedly sign a diplomatic agreement and then break it the next turn. Treaties are more valuable and adhered to.

- We've fixed some border trade agreements allowing greater numbers of bordering factions to properly trade with one another.

- Movement arrows now reflect the range of the selected units, not the whole army/navy.

- AI will no longer counter-offer and ask for more money than the player has available.

- Fixed commerce raiding taking money from blockaded trade routes.

- Fixed navies getting stuck when forced to retreat from ports (tactial retreat).

- Fixed rare inability to attack certain ports.

- Fixed middle mouse button camera drag stopping working occasionally.

- Made emergent factions be at war with the faction they emerged against if that faction is human.

- Fixed various movement extent crashes.

- Changed background income for minor factions.

- Fixed diplomatic relations with emergent factions.

- Tactical withdrawal will now always leave armies on the landmass containing the settlement of a region.

- Changed war score system to make the AI more likely to accept peace.

- Fixed crash when embarking and disembarking armies at ports.

- Fixed trade ships not being correctly registered in trade nodes after splitting forces.

- Fixed government change diplomatic effect.

- Improved commerce raiding display on trade screen.

- Faction specific text is now used in diplomacy.

- Prevent players cancelling the movement of fleeing agents.

Balance changes

Units

- Charge bonus generally increased across the board for all units and melee defence reduced.

- Greater diversification of stats between different unit types designed to emphasise differences and improve balance.

- Redone costs for all units for multiplayer to improve game balance which better reflects the actual battlefield worth of each unit.

- Mob formation added in for Native American, irregular and some skirmisher units.

- Spot distance for light infantry, skirmishers, irregulars, light cavalry and missile cavalry increased allowing them to spot hidden units at longer distances.

- Russian line infantry stats have been boosted to allow them to compete more with other faction's line infantry.

- Movement speed of all unit types reduced by 10%.

- Ammo for light infantry increased to 20, line to 15.

Land battle morale

- Charge morale bonus reduced from 10 to 4.

- Recent casualties, extended casualties and total casualties morale penalties increased slightly for higher percentages.

- Rear and flank exposed morale penalties increased.

Fatigue

- Fatigue penalty for melee reduced from 18 per tick to 10.

- Running fatigue penalty for heavy and light cavalry reduced from -3/-2 to -2/-1.

Artillery Changes

- Calibration area for cannons and howitzers reduced. Accuracy of non-round shot shot types reduced to compensate.

- Muzzle velocity of round shot for cannons increased to make them fire lower and bounce more, accuracy also increased.

- Lethality of shrapnel pieces reduced to match canister shot, range also reduced to 350.

- Load time for special shot types for howitzers increased slightly, and range reduced to 350.

- Calibration area for mortars increased, accuracy of round shot increased to compensate. Reload time increased slightly.

- Accuracy of 18 lbr horse guard artillery restored to 65.

Hit points of gun trains increased to 50, all guns and caissons to 25.

Some of these units are lying in the game code but weren't, for whatever reason, unlocked for the release of the game. Others, that are currently available to only some armies, will be made available for more armies. And to top it all off there will be eleven brand new units.

These new guys are being introduced in an attempt to break up the look of the game (those line infantry get boring after a while), as well as to bring a little more variety to playing the various factions.

Empire: Total War Expanding With Free Units [VE3D]

UPDATE - Creative Assembly let us know this morning the specifics of the new units. Only one unit - a Russian Grenadier - will be totally new. The others will be a combination of existing units being made available for nations that couldn't previously access them (the Swedes, for example, can now train Hussar units) and individualised versions of standard units, "with unique uniforms and attributes" (like different reload times, morale, etc).

While this isn't the first update the brilliant yet technically "eccentric" game has received, it's certainly the biggest (with "over 70 bug fixes") and most wide-ranging.

A number of crash glitches have been "solved", along with audio, save game and assassination fixes. The AI has been improved in naval combat, and, best of all, the AI can now attempt naval invasions of your territory. Apparently Creative Assembly are finding this very hard to balance, so they won't do it often, but they'll do it occasionally, which is better than never doing it at all.

God willing, this update will be out in the "early part of next week". Shame it doesn't address the game's two biggest problems - hanging on ports and an overall slowdown in the later decades of a grand campaign - but hopefully they'll be addressed next time.

[Creative Assembly Forums]

While more technical updates are on the way, CA are also working on a raft of tweaks and fixes to both single and multiplayer gameplay, including changes to unit prices, upkeep costs, AI tactics and, most important of all, the introduction of AI naval invasions. There goes my "Fortress Britain" fallback.

Also in line for alteration is unit balancing, a change to the game's economy to prevent late-game stockpiling of huge amounts of cash and the ability to delete those save games that have been building up as your grand campaigns progress.

All that and more will be included in the game's next patch, due soon, while future gameplay upgrades will address more unit balance issues, AI upgrades and "some nice free stuff".

Empire: Total War Patch Update [VE3D]

Loads of users on Valve's content delivery system Steam have been having problems with the game, and Valve has been reticent on the issues. Until now. Valve's issued notice of an Empire: Total War update that will automatically be applied when your Steam client is restarted.

Changes include:

• Multiplayer - can now find friends across regions
• Load time detection on trade routes to fix pathfinding crash in campaign
• Some General Sound balancing improvements
• Fixed UI Chat hang when spectator leaves unranked match with 3+ players
• Varies Campaign Crash Fixes
• Some Save/Load fixes
• Boarding fix where cannon crew board order was not being deleted properly causing crash
• Fix to kill characters instantly to stop crashes in campaign on agent/general deaths
• Save games limited to 1000
• Fix to animation glitch causing repetitive sounds when battle is launched

Empire: Total War Update Released [Steam News]

Me, I've been lucky. In the 17,563 hours I've played the game so far, the only problem I'm having is a 10-second stall whenever I click on a port towards the end of a grand campaign. It's annoying, but hardly critical.

But those of you suffering from crashes to the desktop, or corruptions in your game that stop you from progressing in a campaign, that's critical. It's also something that should hopefully be fixed in this upcoming patch for the game.

Posting on the game's official boards, Creative Assembly's Mark O'Connell has listed some of the things that should be addressed in the next update:

- Load time detection on trade routes to fix pathfinding crash in campaign (this fixes a crash to desktop)

- Some General Sound balancing improvements (this fixes some unit sound problems)

- Fixed UI Chat hang when spectator leaves unranked match with 3+ players (this fixes a multiplayer problem)

- Addressed several code issues causing crash to desktop

- Fixed several save or load issues

- Corrected campaign map agents behaviour (this fixes a crash to desktop)

- Fix to animation glitch causing repetitive sounds when battle is launched.

Fingers crossed, eh?

Next update details... [CA]

But let's give it a shot!

Sega and The Creative Assembly's Empire: Total War is dense. It takes the existing Total War game model of turn-based strategy and real-time tactics, adds a bunch of new options and triples the size of the game world. In terms of the amount of time you'll get out of it, it's dense. In terms of the depth of options available to you as a commander, it's dense. In terms of the number of different ways you can play the game, yes, it is dense. Which is fine on paper.

But is it fine in practice?

Loved
Scale – They weren't kidding around when they said this was the biggest Total War game yet. Not only do you have the European map so frequently seen in previous games, but there's a massive map of America as well. And India. And four smaller trade theatres. Really, the amount of space available to conquer/manage is at times mind-boggling (but in a good way). The more land available, the more options you've got for your wars of conquest.

The Thin Red Line – Total War games have always looked pretty, but never like this. Seeing individual crew members of a ship clambering across the ropes at sunset, or a cloud of smoke gently envelop your infantry as they let loose a volley of musket fire is hypnotising. And if they weren't encouragement to zoom in and view your battles at ground level, you'll love the fact individual combatants now really appear to be fighting 1v1, instead of just flailing around.

The Shoe Fits – While there was nothing wrong with previous time periods, per se, the 18th century just feels more fun. The combination of melee and musket fire changes both the pace of the real-time battles and your tactical options on the battlefield. Same goes for naval battles: there's a romance surrounding tall ships, pirates and the Royal Navy that other time periods just can't match.

Overlord – Empire: Total War isn't about real-time battles. Those are just a pleasant diversion. Instead, you'll spend the bulk of your time on a much-improved campaign map, which has added new governmental control options as well as, crucially, the fact that important resources are now located outside town centres. This smaller towns/buildings can be occupied and fought over, meaning battles now take place across an entire map, and don't just focus on the big cities. Indeed, this mode is so strong that it could have been released as a stand-alone game and it would be amazing all on its own.

Play It Again – Because the game world is so massive, and because it introduces so many new features (like overseas trade routes and piracy), you can play two grand campaigns (the game's bread and butter mode) and they'll feel like two completely different games. Play as Britain and you'll be tinkering in continental politics while safeguarding vast international trade routes. Play as Prussia and you'll barely notice the sea as your armies march across the green fields of Europe.

Hated
England Expects (Ships To Be More Enjoyable) – Naval battles were hyped as this game's main new attraction. They're not. They look great, but large fleets are far too difficult to control (with most battles taking place between large fleets), so only the most resolute player will avoid the temptation of hitting the "auto resolve" button after only a few battles.

Stupid, Stupid, Stupid – The Total War games have always had an Achilles heel when it comes to real-time battles: AI on stronghold missions. Out on the open fields, the computer does a great job, but if you're defending or attacking a city, it's a mess. Armies can't move around a fort with getting stuck, they can't enter or exit a fort without getting stuck, and you'll notice countless other errors, like defenders refusing to fire at attackers and attackers deciding it's more fun to just stand in front of a wall than climb up it. This means you'll sadly have to auto-resolve most city/town-based battles, which is a shame as they're often the most important.

It really is difficult to sum up such a vast game in such a short amount of space. So rather than trying to sum up any more features, I'll just say this: imagine all the power and options available to you as an 18th century King, General, Admiral or Prime Minister. Now imagine all those options could be rolled into a single job, and given to you. That's what playing this game feels like.

Only, because they've been rolled together so intuitively, it's fun.

Empire: Total War is, simply, a masterclass in PC strategy. It's boundless, it's polished, and its quality (and sales) show that despite other publisher's claims to the contrary, there is still a viable PC strategy market out there, so long as you deliver the goods. And Empire: Total War delivers the goods.

Empire: Total War was developed by Creative Assembly and published by Sega. Released on PC on March 3, retails for $49.99. Played American campaign to completion, played three grand campaigns to completion. Played multiplayer skirmishes, did not play multiplayer campaign.

Confused by our reviews? Read our review FAQ.

LEFT 4 DEAD - The game's VS Mode has been updated, mostly to fix a few issues concerning the Tank. He can now take out multiple survivors with one swing, while a few other issues - like being able to punch through walls and some spawning errors - have been fixed.

EMPIRE: TOTAL WAR - Oh boy. Is this game buggy. Luckily for me, in the week or so I've been playing it I haven't had anything crash on me (just a ton of AI errors and loading hangs), but there are plenty of people out there not so lucky. This latest update, then, is intended for you.

The release notes claim that the update has "fixed a variety of crash and memory leak issues", though your own mileage may vary. Some people are reporting fixes, others say it hasn't done squat.

You can check out the full list of fixes/attempted fixes for both games below:

LEFT 4 DEAD

Versus Mode Changes

Tank melee attack can now hit multiple Survivors in one swing

Fixed Tank punch being able to hit targets behind walls

Fixes to 'Tank parking'. The Tank will now run back and attack the Survivors if he becomes AI due to two players expiring the frustration meter

Fixed a case where a Tank frustration meter could run out right as he was in his death animation and he would come back to life

Fixed a case where the Tank was moving too slowly while crouching and being shot

Tanks now have the possibility of spawning in a slightly different position for the first and second teams

The order that the teams play as Survivors is now determined by which team has the higher overall score. The winning team will play as Survivors first

The Smoker tongue can now target and grab victims through common infected

Increased the cone in which a Smoker can grab a target

The Witch no longer cuts Smoker tongues in a radius around her

Boomers that explode in mid-air will now hit Survivors directly below them with Bile

Reduced the damage that burning Hunters do to pounced victims

Adjusted the time at which players take over from bots to avoid 5 seconds of the bot standing idle while the player finishes connecting.

Fixed some cases where versus score was not being recalculated properly. It is no longer beneficial to pass pills between players at the end of the round or heal other players and then shoot them

Fixed a case where it was possible to spectate an AI infected and hit +use to take them over

Server Changes

Added convar sv_gametype that allows server operators to limit the types of games that will start on their server. Default value is 'coop,versus'. Can be changed to just 'coop' or just 'versus' to limit to those game types

General changes

Fixed a case where players would join as a dead Survivor when a living Survivor was still available

Fixed a case where restarting a level due to the team dying would give more than the max primary ammo on restart

Fixed the speaking icon showing up on the local player during level transition if voice_vox was set to 1

The scoreboard now shows the numeric value of a player's ping

GameUI

Quick match will now try to match to any campaign. Removed the preference to match to games according to the player progressing through all campaigns

Games in a finale are now joinable via the Friends and Steam Group games list

EMPIRE: TOTAL WAR

Fixed Alt-Tab issue which prevents players from switching away from a fullscreen window

Fixed text rendering for certain resolutions

Fixed localized font overrun issues

Fixed a variety of crash and memory leak issues

Fixed a variety of multiplayer client lock

Fixed trade nodes for those nations with resource in home region which caused unprofitable trade theatre routes eg: Sweden and Marathas.

Total War forum complaints call out issues with the trade route system that occur when shipping goods with some factions to some cities. There are also hiccups with the Steam distribution, but Creative Assembly says that these are not issues caused by the game.

The new patch will fix the bug as well as "a few stability problems and improve upon Empire's general performance," says Creative Assembly Communications Director Kieran Brigden.

Brigden's post also says:

We fully intend to support Empire consistently post-release. We're very appreciative to everyone thats bought the title and you deserve our continued support as a result. Therefore I can confirm that we are currently working on a patch that will be automatically rolled out via Steam, sometime next week.

There is a patch schedule that means regular patches will be appearing after this point.

Empire: Total War won't be the first game to be patched just days after release—or day of—but nor will it be the last.

Official: Empire: Total War Support [via Shacknews]

The latest entry in the Total War series highlights the early modern period, from the 1700s to the early 1800s, allowing players to choose between twelve initially available factions (with more than 50 in total),
using their military might, politics, espionage, and economy to ensure they dominate the known world. The same deep, addictive gameplay from the previous entries returns, with the addition of real-time naval battles sweetening the deal.

Empire: total War is available now on Steam and at fine PC game purveyors everywhere.

The demo gives gamers a chance to take on the American Army and the French Navy playing as the British Empire in the Battle of Brandywine Creek and the Battle of Lagos.

Historically, the Battle of Brandywine Creek was fought between the British and Americans in Pennsylvania. The defeat there of the Americans allows the British to capture Philadelphia and hold it for nearly a year. The naval Battle of Lagos took place during the Seven Years' War off the coasts of Spain and Portugal.

So it looks like the demo will be giving us a taste of land and sea battles.

The game, developed by The Creative Assembly, is due out March 4. People who pre-purchases the title through Steam will also receive a free copy of Rome Total War Gold Edition for immediate download.

Steam

Originally delayed from February to "March 2009", the game will now be out in the US on March 4. Interestingly, it's going to use Steam as DRM, meaning if even if you don't have/like Valve's service, you'll need to install it in order to play the game.

As for the specs, here's what you'll need as a minimum in order to play the game:

OS - XP or Vista 32
Processor - Intel 2.4ghz or equivalent
RAM - 2GB (Vista) 1GB (XP)
GPU - 256MB Card, DirectX 9.0
HDD Space - 15GB

Finally, the three new screens are below.

"The extra development time will allow us to finalize and polish Empire, making it the most accomplished and epic of the Total War series." said Kieran Brigden, Studio Communications Manager at The Creative Assembly. "There is a great deal of anticipation around Empire: Total War and we want to ensure that it is the benchmark for strategy games upon its release."

So polish, check. But what about that new feature:

"Significantly, the additional time will also allow The Creative Assembly to implement the underlying technology for a much desired feature: a multiplayer campaign mode. An opportunity to participate in the one versus one multiplayer campaign mode beta will be made available to all who purchase Empire: Total War post release."

Aha, fancy multiplayer campaign mode, check. Seems worthwhile, though since it sounds like it would be ready at launch, why not just drop that as a patch and get your game out in time.

Originally slated to appear on February 3, it's now going to arrive in "early March". So a delay of around four weeks, then. Not a hair-pulling delay, then, but still. Every day spent waiting for a new Total War game is a day we all die a little more inside.

Empire: Total War Delayed to March [Shacknews]