Imperial Glory Review

Most battles play in a completely superficial way, making almost no use of the advantages in the environment. I said *almost*, as your opponent does apply a different strategy depending on the circumstances; it's only that their strategy is often very dumb. Objectives usually demand that you destroy your opponent's army, although you are sometimes required to hold a strategic point for a certain amount of time and such.

Spinning in circles for ten minutes can get a man rather nervous.

What you cannot produce, you can easily plunder.

However, the dodgy AI ruins it all. When I was playing a quick battle mode, I decided to play as the siege army, so I led my troops to the bridge leading to the castle. The defender had a great strategic point, but they refused to make use of it, leading their artillery and infantry out of the security of their castle. Instead of pounding me with artillery from a safe distance, they chose to run straight into my hands, splitting their forces in half. The selection of different difficulty levels solves this problem slightly, but it never removes it completely. All in all, instead of having a somewhat majestic, historical feel, the combat had the feel of dozens of amateurs trying to reenact famous battles in human history.

Naval battles are an even bigger pain in the ass. For example, in a sloop vs. sloop battle, I had to navigate my vessel for ten minutes, sailing away in order to evade my opponent's cannonballs, then drawing quickly near him and filling him with lead. I played this move repeatedly for ten painful minutes. It was boring, and it made my fingers ache. When more than two vessels engage in combat, the situation becomes sickeningly worse, so even if you order your vessels to follow one ship, it won't be easy to control the resulting confusion. The commands during the combat are also very limited and don't offer any advanced options, so being limited to several basic orders and being unable to pause the combat in order to issue commands does not result in a fulfilling gaming experience.

On the other hand, diplomacy does a satisfactory job of allowing you to trade, make defensive alliances, form coalitions, and start wars with other countries among other things. There are several types of agreements available, and some of them are unlocked through research of corresponding technologies. The diplomatic options are quite varied and suitably developed, although not all of them are equally useful. War seems to be the perfect way to go around, provided you do not bite off more than you can chew, taking care to defend your territory even as you conquer new provinces. Declaring war on somebody does not go without its consequences, so often several countries are drawn into it through pact or some form of coalition with the states at war. Relationships between countries and their current attitude towards each other aren't reflected only through the standard set of diplomacy options - choosing your heir and uniting two countries by marriage keeps the game in the domain of authenticity. Diplomacy being one of the core instruments in the game, it also serves its purpose perfectly and presents one of the most polished parts of Imperial Glory. It's such a pity the rest of the game isn't as intricate and fun as the diplomacy segment.

In case I was offered more material to play, the overall impression would have been much better, but as it is, I found the game lacking any real action. The fact I could choose between two victory conditions, deciding for the Total Victory (which requires the conquest of the entire map) or the Score Victory option (which renders the period 1789-1830) did not atone for the fact the campaign was, well, a bit dull. My hopes lay with the Historic Battles segment, where I hoped to find some excitement so strangely missing from the main campaign. If you wish, you are able to recreate the battle of Waterloo, the battle at Austerlitz, and the battle of Salamanca among others. This doesn't help the situation much, unfortunately. The historical battles are messy, confusing, and dull.

Multiplayer (via LAN/Internet) may be this game's saving grace, as the human opponent might actually utilize the game mechanics properly. Apart from that, Imperial Glory also offers the Quick Game mode, with the possibility of choosing countries and units participating in the conflict. The given amount of money allows you to buy units, as well as specific bonuses (such as an increased resistance to melee attacks or increased artillery impact area), but it also falls flat due to the bad mechanics of combat and your opponent's low AI.

Visually, Imperial Glory is not a breathtaking game. The main screen looks moderately plain, with differently colored provinces denoting the color of the state they belong to and with small unit icons displayed on the map. The combat segment looks relatively good, with beautifully designed landscapes typical for the location the battle takes place in. The animation is decent; special effects, and explosions and such are very neat. The unit models are fairly detailed but not particularly impressive. The camera is usually controllable, although it may cause minor problems when units are scattered all over the field, as it may be difficult to keep track of things.

If I had to describe this game in one word, I'd say it's... decent. Then I'd add that it's at times illogical, unnerving, dull, and painfully slow-paced. The good parts provide the much-needed counter-balance for the uninspired designed elements, and they may prove engaging for some, but they are not enough to save this game from appearing very mediocre.