Polish – 7.5 / 10
Empire had most of its bugs worked out in the early days in Europe before it was brought over. Currently, there’s a known bug in alliance invites but other wise the game plays pretty smoothly. I’ve noted the poor sound cut at the loop under aesthetics and praised the UI there.
Social 8 / 10
One of the quests early in game is to find an alliance and it is easy enough to find one of your level. However, active alliances have recruitment officers looking out for up and coming players and you are able to flag yourself as looking. Players hate to be told what to do, but players who do join Alliances will find so many advantages in belonging in one; they would be foolish to try to go it alone in this game.
The forums are not busy and most recruitment happens in game and knowledge is also imparted in game. There is alliance chat and private messaging between players. Alliance tools include a couple rankss of officers and in-game message boards for members and leaders.
Alliances have to be built up. Members donate resources gold and rubies for the leader to upgrade the alliance smithy and to open more member slots. Members earn honor (and titles) for themselves and glory points for the alliance when they participate in PvP – gaining more if they win attacks and defenses; and the level of the alliance provides boosts to stats such as travel speeds and looting bonuses.
The social and diplomatic play in this game also needs to be mentioned. There are player alliances, mega-alliances, alliance pacts, non-aggression pacts and verbal agreements. Trying to find a player to attack can sometimes be quite a dance, but members will share targets and battle reports so others can take note of locations.
Longevity – 8.5 / 10
Empire can be played for free without buying gems. The game is well balanced and players who make the effort to find a suitable alliance will be motivated to stay in and keep coming back. Gamers enjoying this type of gameplay will find the balance of Empire very satisfying. It will slow down in the higher levels as build times and costs grow exponentially, but there is always a new Kingdom to play in! Well, two more anyway.
Value – 9 / 10
I will repeat, Empire can be played for free without paying for the game, however that said, it actually is possible to quickly ramp up in the game by buying every resource in the game. I was provided gems so I could strategically apply them and still see how much of a game there was and boy is there. Sure you can buy items in game with gems but they only help you so much. Gems cut time, but you still need the resources and trade with your alliance for them. It still took me two full weeks to get to level 25. I lost almost my entire army when I was attacked a couple of times, while offline but built up pretty quickly with dedicated play. There’s a lot of strategic “play” in this game. I will also note that there are many items in game that can be purchased for gems, but the “merchants” only come around every several days. Now and again, you find epic treasure chests that have to be unlocked with rubies and the higher level you go, the more rubies required! The game also makes it awfully hard to resist paying for some of those gems especially with special 50 / 75 / 100% extra offers that pop up from time to time (not always).
Conclusion : 8.0
Empire by Goodgame Studios is one of those marvelous examples of an MMORTS game done right. It is well balanced and it is nuanced. It may be linear in leveling but how you get there is another thing altogether. If you enjoy war games, give this one a shot.
Finally… Empire: Four Kingdoms is available on iOS / Android. The skin is the same and the game feels the same, but there are some subtle differences as the game is slimmed down for mobile gameplay.