Review: Medieval II: Total War
Creative Assembly has been busy working on its excellent Total War series over the last few years and they continue their tradition of seamless blending of grand strategy with individual set-piece battles in Medieval II: Total War.
The franchise's previous game, Rome: Total War, represented a grand leap forward in the series, but Medieval II has instead refined the formula set out in Rome. The existing framework has been tightened without significant changes to the fundamental gameplay.
The Grand Campaign
PROTIP: When charging against enemy lines, avoid spearmen at all costs. Only charge them if you can can flank them from the sides or rear.
Medieval II focuses mainly on its Grand Campaign in which players select one nation - initially limited to England, France, Spain, the Holy Roman Empire, or Venice - to guide through roughly four hundred years worth of gameplay, lasting from the Norman Conquest until the beginnings of the Protestant Reformation. Unsurprisingly, the lengthy time span heralds a major shift in military thinking. At the start of any given campaign players will still be using weapons familiar to the Romans, but as the game draws to an end, players will be given a glimpse of warfare's next era as primitive muskets and cast-iron artillery make their appearances.
Despite the game's preponderance towards battle and conflict, the strategic layer has been given the most attention in Medieval II. The largest addition is a more versatile religious component. Most temporal rulers will need to contend with the will of the Pope who requires rulers to build churches, convert unbelievers, or even participate in occasional crusades or suffer their realms being overrun with heretics and subject to an Inquisition.
PROTIP: When defending during a siege attack, keep your ranged units on the walls as long as possible so you can continue to rain death upon them.
Periodic papal elections serve to liven up the experience, but the religious aspects begin to feel a little stale after awhile, and there is simply not enough interaction between the various factions. Nevertheless, the inclusion of the religious factions, while poorly executed, can still be considered a huge step forward.
Other than religion, the strategic layer has also been given a few new facets. First is the introduction of merchants and guilds. Merchants extend competition as each nation grapples over important trade resources such as silk, gold, and silver while different guildhalls grant specific bonuses to the cities where they are constructed. The final notable change comes from several changes to the settlement options. Previously in Rome, there was only one type of settlement, but Medieval II has now added castles as a distinct option. While cities act as your financial centers, castles offer more defenses and act as your military centers.
PROTIP: Following the breech of enemy walls, direct your siege engines to attack the enemy towers as the enemy may have ballista in those towers, and even a short jaunt into the breech under their fire may ensure defeat.
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