|
contents | software | |||||||
| Medieval II: Total War Review by Jonathan Trevisani,Computer Games Online  Whether barbarians are at the gate or the Pope's call to a Crusade must be answered, times are different in the Medieval era. That is what brings Creative Assembly back to the tried-and-true Total War series as the age of knights and castles get another installment of the strategic war game. Medieval II: Total War takes all of the improvements and detail from Rome: Total War and brings it into the Dark Ages.The game is set in the turbulent period with fledgling nations attempting to get a foothold on the continent and vanquish rival powers that threaten the relative balance of power in the region. You have a choice of several empires to take control of as you carve a niche that will hopefully last for generations. Whether you want to take control of English longbows or French skirmishers will be up to you. The Holy Roman Empire (also known as the Byzantine Empire) was the empire of my choice so I could teach all of these hooligan fiefdoms the glory that was Rome could once again rise. Tutorial missions include the famous Norman Invasion where you take up the flag of the Norman army and take control of England. These missions will teach you the finer points of tactical combat along with the strategy of moving armies and diplomats around to different settlements. You can marry off your female delegation to strengthen your bonds with other empires or you can employ spies to assassinate enemy agents. The turn-based strategy really becomes the core of the game as the tactical battles can be auto-resolved during major campaigns. Of course, combat is the bread-and-butter of the Total War series so you will be missing out if you decide to let your generals have all the fun. One word comes to mind when your army is deployed on one side of the field while the enemy prepares their own troops: epic. Hundreds of soldiers are at your command and employ various weapons that promise to ruin someone's day very quickly. Archers can pepper enemy troops before they can swing their swords and cavalry charges disrupt enemy formations while spearmen can stop an enemy charge. The wide landscape and the grand sound of marching troops lend to a great, cinematic presentation that is a treat to behold. You can easily picture yourself as the great general and leader of men that you always see in the movies as your troops do battle. Sieging castles and storming towns become pivotal as you expand your empire in every direction. The sound of Medieval II: Total War is great with the hoof beats of cavalry and the screams of charging soldiers. Simply listening to all of the game's effects will put you into game atmosphere as you are ready to charge the enemy in no-holds-barred combat. The music offers some classical tones that can put you at ease for simple diplomatic missions or get the blood pumping as you are staring at Siege Towers befalling your castle. The detail of these battles lend to the realism as individual unit colors are displayed and certain troops behave in different ways. They do not act as identical clones as you give commands and will move around individually and fight their own battles with enemies. Each unit is distinguishable due to their unique color schemes and apparel. When you look at your army laid out before you there is a realistic sense that you gathered these individuals to fight for you and the glory of your empire. The interface has not seen a lot of improvements as there are still some cumbersome design flaws. There is an option for a reduced interface, but that doesn't alleviate the problem. Although tactics come into play for a majority of the combat, sometimes the battle simply degrades into a brawl where the bigger army wins. The time for some of the battles seem to be a bit off as some troops would just be milling around the battlefield waiting for their vanquished foe to surrender even when victory was evident. The AI needs to realize when it is beaten so you aren't stuck waiting for the final troops to escape or for the timer to run out. Two types of settlements allow players to expand their empire. Towns are a greater source of income and can become major cities while Castles are easier to defend and act as strongholds for your empire's armies. Religion also comes into play as the Pope will give you specific missions throughout your campaign such as building churches and recruiting priests to participating in holy crusades to wipe the infidels from the face of the Earth. This adds a new element of diplomacy since good papal relations will result in benefits for your empire and bad papal relations may lead you down the path of excommunication and on the wrong side of a Crusade. Medieval II: Total War brings the latest improvements from Rome: Total War and gives you a new campaign to run. It isn't a huge leap in the series, but has some improvements of its own that you should enjoy. Papal relations don't seem to be spot on as the benefits rarely outweigh the negatives. The epic scope of the sight and sound of the game are sure to bring in strategy buffs and live up to fan expectations. Medieval II: Total War will bring combat to your desktop as you lead your armies to victory or defeat. write your comments about the article :: © 2006 Game News :: home page |