A fantastic game, with some of the smartest and most detailed graphics and gameplay out there.
Empire, in my opinion, was flawed by bugs but was otherwise under-appreciated for the revolutionary scope that it, for the most part, successfully portrayed. Simply put, no other game comes close to the level of detail offered in Empire, from the graphics, to the micromanagement, factions, and units. The game builds an immerses the game in a comprehensive world.
Now imagine Empire without the crippling bugs, and with more common sense improvements. Attrition - something that, as a military history nut, I've been longing for - finally appears. It is brilliantly done. In fact, the campaign map as a whole is fantastic. The graphic detail is pleasing, while the building types have been simplified somewhat.
The most serious complaint about Napoleon and Empire is the battle AI (BAI). The fact that CA now offers drop-in battles - something that I have, admittedly, not tried - seems to be ignored by many reviewers. But the fact that you can easily replace the AI with a human - and that you have the chance to be offered an invitation to such a battle - seems to make the AI point moot. That said, the BAI is not a ruthless and calculating machine.
But seriously - with ultra-graphics settings, does it even matter? The tactical gameplay is so visually mind-blowing that it almost doesn't matter what's actually happening in the battle. So many small things are fixed - units run about, fire before all 160 men get in place, load independently, etc - that the handicapped AI isn't as distasteful. And the smoke... oh my. The smoke that slowly drifts across the battlefield transports you back to the early 1800's.
To claim that Napoleon is too short, recycled, etc, is a fairly absurd and baseless claim. First off, the game is $20 cheaper than, oh, Modern Warfare 2. When it comes down to it, how much did MW2 really differ from COD4? Napoleon introduces an entire new set of features, with drop in battles, multiplayer campaigns, attrition, a detail of campaign map never before seen, graphics that are improved of the already-stellar Empire set, and so on. For $40, it's a bargain - nothing else.
If any of those who have tried Napoleon still think it isn't worth $40, think back to early Civilization titles, or better yet, fire up Rome: TW. Once you actually notice how far TW has come, it may be easier to deal with the occasional defect in Napoleon. Remember when the Principes would cluster around the gates to that Gallic town? Remember how that didn't matter, because the Gaul's were so impotent that a warband was essentially gladius-fodder?