If they worked for me I'd sack them.

First post on the daily rant and surprise surprise it's about the poor quality of merchandise. Bought the game Empire total war for the PC, loved the previous games so thought this would be worth a punt. "Fortune favours the bold", thought I, so purchase I did ignoring the gut feeling that I should read reviews first. Unfortunately the publishers of this title seem to prefer some PT Barnum "There's a sucker born every minute". A fantastic game in its own right, far smoother than its older siblings like Medieval, Rome and Shogun, and a worthy addition to the Total War series. Some fantastically flashy graphics and sound effects that absorb you into the game made this quite possibly the dream game for fans of the series like me.

After some fandangling to get the game installed, while steam ate all my resources in the background, the software was in the specs were right and I was prepared to take the British Empire back to the height of its power. Boldly \i went, forward to victory..... ah actually forward to easy victory after easy victory. Something wasn't right. The Inuit and the Huron were a walkover; fair enough I have the technological and numerical advantage. Then Spain, Sweden and Poland-Lithuania all fell to the musket. What the hell, why are these reasonable sized nations crumbling so easily. Could it be the fact they turtle behind fortifications regardless of the cannon you bring? Or perhaps it's the fact they simply wander aimlessly into your massed line infantry? No? Maybe it's the cavalry that persist on being drawn into a no win situation by one errant unit? Maybe it's the inability of the AI player to cross water? Perhaps they can't swim! Whatever the reason there is just no challenge from the AI in this game for the experienced Total War freak.

But, maybe i am being too harsh. After all I have had so much experience in this game with having to constantly conquer the same territory over and over again because of the constant crashes that happen.

I don't blame the developers. They developed a fine game that plays brilliantly. I will blame two groups of people, either the testers who missed so many bugs that you would need the Starship Troopers just to retake the DVD. Or, and most likely, I would blame the men at the top of the food chain that ignored protests about the games poor state of repair and shipped it regardless. It's time these people understood that we will not take half finished games and pay £30 or more so that we can frustratedly await a patch just to play the game past a point. God damn it stop releasing half finished games. Not only does it piss people off, but it also destroys your reputation and gives pirates the justification they need to not buy the games. People want quality and they are willing to pay for it. Flick them the bird and they won't feel bad when they download a bug filled game.

Looking at the pile of my favourite games and three were abysmally buggy - Oblivion, Civilisation 4 and Empire: total war.

Total War? Total .......