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Empire: Total War gets March date

To hit stores on 4th, Steam on 3rd.

SEGA has announced a definite street date of 4th March for 18th-century battlefield strategy title Empire: Total War.

The PC exclusive will be hitting store shelves a day earlier in the US and Canada, when it will also become available via Steam in the rest of the world. Oddly, the North American Steam release will be delayed until the 4th, bringing a nice, rounded sense of parity to proceedings.

The Imperial epic takes the long-running series into the age of steam and sail, a period encompassing the Industrial Revolution, the war of American Independence and the invention of the top hat.

Fans have been clamouring at Creative Assemby's door for a series instalment in the hearty Eighteenth Century for some time now - the era was "the most requested period" to play host to the new title.

There'll be all of the usual grand-scale conflict, with tactical nous bringing home the battlefield bacon, whilst the new naval encounters have got the bedroom admirals polishing their cannons in rapt anticipation. On top of that, expect scurrilous dealings with spies, diplomats, bishops and gentlemanly international cricket fixtures.