- Site: Imperial Glory
- Publisher: Feral Interactive
- Developer: Pyro Studios
- Genre: Strategy
Game Media
Available for online ordering 24 hours a day, every day.
By Brad Cook
“No one starts a war — or rather, no one in his senses ought to do so — without first being clear in his mind what he intends to achieve by that war and how he intends to conduct it,” wrote Prussian soldier and intellectual Carl von Clausewitz (1780-1831) in his major treatise, “On War.”
He added: “Inability to carry on the struggle can, in practice, be replaced by two other grounds for making peace: the first is the improbability of victory; the second is its unacceptable cost.”
Clausewitz’s work continued to impact nations’ approach to modern warfare through the 20th and 21st centuries, much the same way the struggles among Old European empires between 1789 and 1830 formed the world we know today. Beginning with the French Revolution, continuing through the Napoleonic Wars, and concluding with the rise of the British Empire and its Pax Britannica, Imperial Glory follows the events of a key era in European history. How will it end this time?
Your Empire, Should You Choose to Control It
Imperial Glory puts you in control of one of five major Old European powers: France, Great Britain, Russia, Austria, or Prussia. Many other computer-controlled nations — including Spain, the Ottoman Empire, and Poland — also exist in the game, and you can also make peace or war with any of them.
The main action takes place on the management map in turn-based fashion, allowing you to thoroughly consider your decisions as you recruit military units, order the construction of buildings, and examine your empire’s relationships with other nations. You must carefully balance the production of gold, raw materials, food, and population against the strain you place on those resources as you expand your military and economy.
A fifth resource, research points, allows you to develop new technologies, which take many turns to implement, depending on their complexity. Those advances in turn open up new areas of research, some of which activate quests, such as deciphering the Rosetta Stone or implementing a continental blockade. Successfully complete a quest and your empire will gain new buildings or units, sympathy points from other nations, or other rewards.
First Option: Diplomacy; Second Option: War
Those sympathy points come in handy as you navigate diplomacy between empires. You begin the game allied with certain nations, which means their enemies are also your enemies. Likewise, if you declare war on another country, your allies will be dragged into the fray. Constant hostility will decrease your sympathy points, as well as disrupt vital commerce routes, so heed Clausewitz’s advice before embarking on a major military campaign. Your diplomatic options include right of passage through another nation’s territory, a marriage proposal between one of your heirs and a foreign ruler, military aid, resource exchanges, and other possibilities.
However, if you decide to invade another nation’s territory, Imperial Glory switches to a real-time strategy mode, allowing you to command your soldiers or ships in direct response to the enemy’s decisions. On land, you choose from a variety of strategies, troop formations, and types of attacks, while at sea you instruct your ships to employ different kinds of ammunition and even send men to board an enemy vessel, if it’s incapacitated. Defeat your opponent and annex their territory — a slow, costly peaceful annexation is also possible, if a neighboring territory feels maximum sympathy toward you.
Imperial Glory’s main campaign begins in 1789 and takes you through 1830, while five historical scenarios replay key events from Napoleon’s military campaigns, including the Battle of Waterloo and the fight at the Pyramids against Murad Bey’s Mamelukes. There’s also a Quick Game option that lets you choose any land or sea territory on the map, select attacking and defending empires, and fight for control of it.
We’ll let you decide whether history should repeat itself.
Game Hardware
Check out our systems for your best gaming experience.
Frontal Assault. Armies clash in front of a historic building.
Contemplating the Next Move. View your options on a game board-like screen.
The Chase Begins. Two warships battle on the high seas.
If you liked this game, check out:
- Age of Empires III
- Civilization IV: Warlords
- Command & Conquer Generals: Zero Hour
- Legion Arena: Cult of Mithras
- Rise of Nations: Gold Edition
System Requirements:
- Mac OS X version 10.4 (10.4.8 recommended)
- 1.6GHz Intel or PowerPC processor (2GHz recommended)
- 512MB of RAM (1GB recommended)
- 64MB video RAM (128MB recommended)
- 4GB hard drive space
- DVD Drive
The Empires
Great Britain: Their greatest defense — the fact that they’re an island — also makes it difficult for this empire to launch land-based attacks without building a formidable navy first. As such, their overall military potential is a little limited, but they are rated higher than any of the four other empires in economic, naval, and research potential.
The British open the game with four provinces and three wharves, along with a full supply of gold. Their food supplies start low, however, as do their population and stocks of raw materials.- France: Rated higher in military potential than any other category, this empire offers balanced production of vital resources. Like every empire except Great Britain, France’s naval potential is abysmal, although it does start with two wharves, as well as five provinces. Starting gold supplies are just short of full, while population, raw materials, and food are slightly above Great Britain’s beginning position. Elite troops also come cheaper to this empire.
- Austria: This landlocked empire has no wharves and four provinces at the start of the game, although its opening population and food stocks are at 100%, while raw materials and gold are close behind. Like France, Austria’s greatest asset is its military potential, while its economic and research prospects are also promising. Its basic troops are the cheapest in the game, but its elite troops cost the most.
- Prussia: With no clear strength in its economic, military, naval, and research potential, along with a single wharf and just three provinces in the beginning, Prussia must rely on its ability to recruit elite troops at a reduced cost if it wants to succeed. It also opens the game with a full supply of food, while gold and raw materials are close to 100%. However, its starting population is the lowest in the game.
- Russia: Five large provinces give Russia an impressive starting position on the map, while two wharves offer a chance to build a respectable navy. Its population opens at nearly 100%, while raw materials are maxed out and gold is close to that. Russia’s food stocks are low at the beginning, but its military potential has the highest rating possible. Its economic and research potential aren’t too shabby either.