Oriental Empires is a turn-based RX strategy game based on Chinese history. You play the leader of a nation or tribe, starting out with just one settlement under your control, and rise by economic, diplomatic, or military means to create a great nation. Ultimately, you can even subdue your neighbours and become the Son of Heaven, emperor of all China.

A familiar strategy model

If you've played strategy games like the Civilization series, you'll recognise much of what goes on in Oriental Empires. You create units, explore areas, harvest resources and found or conquer settlements while unlocking new abilities from four different tech trees. These don't just represent military technology, but also medical, cultural and even philosophical innovations. There are touches of other popular historical games, like the Total War series or Crusader Kings, such as the importance of personal relationships and the succession crises that attend a leader's death. Battles are animated, although you don't need to control your troops' tactics and can fast-forward through them if you want to. Unfortunately, you have to skip through each one individually. The game offers limited tutorials for its relatively complex system, so be prepared to invest some time mastering it.

Hail, Son of Heaven

If you're a fan of 4X games and would like to see one in a Chinese setting, Oriental Empires could be a rewarding investment despite a few flaws.