“Epic” is a terrible word to use when you talk about video games. It’s usually just reviewer shorthand for “This is big” or “This is long” or “Worlds will shatter”. It’s been used to the point where it is as useless a descriptor as “fun”, “immersive” or “easy to learn, hard to master”.

Part of the problem is a misunderstanding of what makes an epic an epic. Epic poems aren’t necessarily distinguished by their length, but by their subject matter and the story they tell. Epics are character centered and, despite their focus on heroic struggles and national myths, are very human in their scale. The best “epic movies” are those with strong characters to focus on – Lawrence of Arabia or Spartacus or Ben Hur. If the character makes no sense, you end up with Alexander or Quo Vadis or Gods and Generals.

Of course, words change their meanings, whether I want them to or not, so if you want to call Empire: Total War an “epic experience”, only pedants like me will cringe – quietly. Empire is, however, less epic than Rome and Medieval II largely because there is less sense of character development, national ambition or intimacy that made those games so appealing.

Take the mission system. The tutorial campaign aside, there are no missions in Empire even though there is a cabinet. This means no quests, no struggles beyond beating on the weakest neighboring nation (made easier by their willingness to declare war on your superpower) and guarding your trade routes. The Total War series got along fine without missions in Shogun and the first Medieval, but they gave the illusion of direction to a sprawling campaign mode.

Take your generals. In previous games, generals would be born or emerge from the battlefield. They would have varying personality traits that made them stand out from their peers. As governors and commanders, they were crucial units. On the battlefield, they often commanded the strongest body of troops and deciding when to commit him to the fray was an important moment in any battle. In Empire, you can draft a general or admiral anytime you want. Their cavalry unit is not especially powerful, and the best idea is to keep him out of harm’s way unless you have no other horses. There are fewer traits and less variation in the evolution of your commanders. You feel less connected to them.

Take the map. The one province Spain and one province France can be pretty much eliminated in a single short war – Quebec and Alsace aren’t much help. There is less sense of a global rivalry over land and territory in Europe. The struggle is transferred to the more Balkanized American and Indian theaters. But, since capturing Paris or Madrid renders those struggles less dangerous, the sense of an eternal struggle against an enemy power is gone.

As I noted in my mostly positive review, I think that there is a real chance that the scale of the map and the battles and the new economic engine have made the game too big – too distant from the history you want to recreate. It doesn’t have the constant micromanagement of a Paradox game or the countdown to gunpowder stuff you find in the Civ series. If it weren’t for all the blood and smoke, you could almost call it antiseptic. It has summer blockbuster spectacle, but there is a difference between The Dark Knight and Independence Day.

More to come in the next few days.