History VideoGame / NapoleonTotalWar

* AttackAttackAttack: The singleplayer AI's general plan is to just march in a straight line at the player's army, even if the player is outnumbered, or if a straight line attack is effectively suicide. The only time the AI acts any smarter is if it is scripted to do so, such as in the historical battles.

** Although Cannons are a crucial arm of 18-century armies, freshly recruited and inexperienced cannon crews will struggle to significantly weaken enemy units before they get too close. And even if they survive long enough to become reliably accurate, you'll find that solid-shot cannons only have a niche role in breaking structures and infantry squares at long-range and shotgunning the enemy with canister as a last resort.
** Explosive shells are your best and only option for quickly devastating enemy units from long range. The problem is that you need to invest a lot of time and money to prepare your infrastructure in advance as Howitzers are far in the tech tree.

** Although Cannons are a crucial arm of 18-century armies, freshly recruited and inexperienced cannon crews will struggle to significantly weaken enemy units before they get too close. And even if they survive long enough to become reliably accurate, you'll find that solid-shot cannons only have a niche role in breaking structures and infantry squares.

* VestigialEmpire: Being a shadow of its former self, The Ottoman Empire truly is "The Sick Man of Europe" as their starting situation is potentially perilous. They have a lot of territory that is underdeveloped and whatever few troops and ships they have available are really behind with the times. Their economy has also stagnated heavily ever since the Europeans discovered the new world and established new trade routes, effectively circumventing the Ottoman's position as the gateway to Asia. All of this means that the Ottomans are hard-pressed to defend themselves against bold invaders seeking to annex their lands and rise back up to being a prestigious power in Europe.

* DamnYouMuscleMemory: Just like in ''Empire'', trying to conquer the whole map in ''Napoleon'' is very hard and not practical as having too much territory will overstrech your finances and military strength, making you more vulnerable to bankruptcy, rebellions, and invasion.

* AwesomeButImpractical: Ironclads. You pretty much have to max out the naval research tree to get them. By that point, you will have, most likely, beaten the campaign or lost it due to the time limit.

* BilingualBonus: Units will answer to your commands in their respective languages.

* EliteMooks: Napoleon's Young and Old Guard units. The Old Guard units at Waterloo will teach a British player the meaning of fear, especially at higher difficulty settings.

* FragileSpeedster: Horse Artillery are relatively small cannons and are vulnerable without an escort, but they can run. Used in bulk, this means you can have a roving battery of artillery that can move from one end of the battlefield to the other as fast as cavalry.

* TooDumbToLive: ''Napoleon'' carries over the "garrison building" mechanic that was introduced in ''Empire'', along with the two problems about it. Infantry [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PF_gHoqPV04&t=7m20s can garrison burning buildings]] and [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B3JAKqQp4Pw&t=10m48s will not evacuate them]] unless manually ordered to do so.

''Napoleon: Total War'' is a game in the ''VideoGame/TotalWar'' series of strategy games. Somewhere between an immediate sequel and stand-alone expansion to ''[[VideoGame/EmpireTotalWar Empire: Total War]]'', this entry in the series follows the [[UsefulNotes/NapoleonicWars bloody campaigns of Napoleon Bonaparte]] around the turn of the 19th century. Unlike other ''Total War'' games, the single player mode is not centred around one particular grand campaign, but around a number of smaller ones. The player may control Napoleon's armies and lead them to victory, or side with his enemies and help check the French advance. Scenarios include the Italian campaigns of 1796-97, Napoleon's invasion of Egypt and the Wars of the Coalition after Napoleon's self-coronation as Emperor, with the Peninsular Campaign added as a DLC. The "historical battles" mode allows the player to recreate such conflicts as Arcole, the Battle of The Pyramids, Austerlitz, Borodino and Waterloo.

''Napoleon: Total War'' is a game in the ''VideoGame/TotalWar'' series of strategy games. Somewhere between an immediate sequel and stand-alone expansion to ''[[VideoGame/EmpireTotalWar Empire: Total War]]'', this entry in the series follows the [[UsefulNotes/NapoleonicWars bloody campaigns of Napoleon Bonaparte]] around the turn of the 19th century. Unlike other ''Total War'' games, the single player mode is not centred around one particular grand campaign, but around a number of smaller ones. The player may control Napoleon's armies and lead them to victory, or side with his enemies and help check the French advance. Scenarios include the Italian campaigns of 1796-97, Napoleon's invasion of Egypt and the Wars of the Coalition after Napoleon's self-coronation as Emperor, with the Peninsular Campaign added as a DLC. The "historical battles" mode allows the player to recreate such conflicts as Lodi, the Battle of the Pyramids and Waterloo.

* CannonFodder: The Armed Citizenry are little more than local townsfolk hastily given muskets and would break before just about ''any'' other unit. They are mainly used in sieges, either in [[ZergRush massed rushes]] or for garrisoning buildings.

* MacrossMissileMassacre: There are rocket troops and rocket ships, but their tactical effectiveness is limited compared to simply getting proper artillery (although rocket ships can kill any large and slow ship in the game, due to their long range and tendency to start fires).

* PlotArmor: You can '''NEVER''' kill Napoleon in the Campaign Mode as any successful assassination attempt [[OnlyAFleshWound will only incapacitate him]] for a few turns.

* RapePillageAndBurn: You can loot captured enemy settlements. While this gives you a massive one-time treasury boost, it also destroys the province's ability to produce wealth [[GenocideBackfire and makes everyone in that province hate you]].

Like other games in the series, the gameplay features a mixture of TurnBasedStrategy and RealTimeTactics. The player moves armies around and manages cities on a turn-based campaign map. When two armies meet, the game descends into a real-time battle mode. ''Napoleon: Total War'' puts more focus on ranged weapons and artillery than all previous games in the series, though artillery is not the dominant force on the battlefield (as it was in the actual Napoleonic Wars). Cavalry are reduced to supporting roles; artillery is deadly but vulnerable to attack when left unprotected.

* ThatOneLevel: The naval battle of Trafalgar, a [[LuckBasedMission luck-based]] and chaotic melee that can turn against you with terrifying speed. As the French, you're given a powerful squadron, but nowhere near as strong as the British fleet bearing down on you. Your AI-controlled Spanish allies, meanwhile, LeeroyJenkins towards the British, and then run screaming at the first whiff of powder. And that's on ''normal.''

''Napoleon: Total War'' is a game in the ''VideoGame/TotalWar'' series of strategy games. Somewhere between an immediate sequel and stand-alone expansion to ''[[VideoGame/EmpireTotalWar Empire: Total War]]'', this entry in the series follows the bloody campaigns of UsefulNotes/NapoleonBonaparte around the turn of the 19th century. Unlike other ''Total War'' games, the single player mode is not centred around one particular grand campaign, but around a number of smaller ones. The player may control Napoleon's armies and lead them to victory, or side with his enemies and help check the French advance. Scenarios include the Italian campaigns of 1796-97, Napoleon's invasion of Egypt and the Wars of the Coalition after Napoleon's self-coronation as Emperor, with the Peninsular Campaign added as a DLC. The "historical battles" mode allows the player to recreate such conflicts as Lodi, the Battle of the Pyramids and Waterloo.

* RoaringRampageOfRevenge: If you [[RapePillageAndBurn loot a captured enemy province]], everyone in that province will hate you for years to come. A rebellion is all but assured, and if your army is not strong enough than the rebels might win.

* FrontlineGeneral: Averted. Unlike most other TW games, this one takes place in an age where nearly all troops have firearms and artillery is exceptionally devastating. This means you generally want to keep your general away front lines.

** Used as a GeniusBonus in the trailer/opening movie. Napoleon boasts of his victories in Egypt and Russia, campaigns he ultimately lost after initial successes in real life. It then shows his men burning the captured ''H.M.S. Victory''.

* GameplayAllyImmortality: Certain historical generals can only be wounded, even in the event of a successful "assassination" attempt -- they simply respawn later at their national capital. If he is wounded on the battlefield, however, his unit loses his special abilities and aura for that battle, essentially putting him out of action for the duration of the engagement.

* MacrossMissileMassacre: There are rocket troops and rocket ships, but their tactical effectiveness is limited compared to simply getting proper artillery (although rocket ships can kill any large and slow ship in the game, due to their forward firing weapons, long range and ability to start fires).

* BoringButPractical: most of Austria's available units are average if not weaker compared to their French or British counterparts. On the other hand, it's compensated by there being more men in each unit, the light infantry Grenzers and the Hungarian variants.

* RapePillageAndBurn: You can loot captured enemy settlements. While this gives you a massive one-time treasury boost, it also destroys the province's ability to produce wealth [[GenocideBackfires and makes everyone in that province hate you]].

* BoringButPractical: most of Austria's available units are average if not weaker compared to their French or British counterparts. On the other hand, it's compensated by there being more men in each unit, the light infantry Greasers and the Hungarian variants.

Like other games in the series, the gameplay features a mixture of TurnBasedStrategy and RealTimeTactics. The player moves armies around and manages cities on a turn-based campaign map. When two armies meet, the game descends into a real-time battle mode. As one might expect, ''Napoleon: Total War'' puts more focus on ranged weapons and artillery than all previous games in the series, as technology has advanced sufficiently far at this point in history to make the musket-armed infantry the absolutely dominant force on the battlefield. Cavalry are reduced to supporting roles; artillery is deadly but vulnerable to attack when left unprotected.