Medieval II Total War is the pinnacle of the
Total War franchise. Pitting you against the various factions from
the Early, High, and Late Middle Ages, the gameplay is nearly identical as its Ancient
predecessor, but does it just a bit better. Nothing is more fun than beating the French
in a historical total war game. It’s impressive that in the 2-year span
since Rome Total War, the graphics look more refined and way smoother, which is great to
see how much effort Creative Assembly put into it. Another great plus is once again the music
and the ambience. The world map is peaceful and calming, giving
you time to create and execute a plan, while on the field of battle, it gets you riled
up for the upcoming fight. You are offered to pick up the sword in the
name of numerous factions, yet some of them are locked, but uh-oh, a little bit of file
modification and you can play as the Aztecs and reverse colonize the Spanish. Huitzilopotchtli would be proud. Medieval 2 didn’t break much ground than
Rome, since it follows in its footsteps, along with the smooth performance it comes with. It’s great, and nothing more, while features
of multiplayer in Medieval II, aren’t anything spectacular either. You’re only offered to play custom battles
against another player, and good luck finding a stranger to play against. Level design is once again improved from its
predecessor, but just like Rome, most of the settlement layouts are the same, with very
slight variation, which to be honest, is not that important in a Total War game. What is important is how the unit design has
also improved, where it’s no longer the Clone Wars, where some soldiers have facial
hair and different colored armor, along with introducing the single best thing about unit
design, which is how they are better armored with every armor upgrade they receive, and
that is such a cool little detail that I appreciate very, very much. Progression is a bit odd, because of the existence
of one silly little bug. At the beginning of your campaign, you do
your best not to anger too many factions all at once, but as time goes on, this one bug
makes you have poor diplomatic relations with everyone, as you get excommunicated by the
Pope and have everyone bordering you going after your head. Nonetheless, this game isn’t too hard to
beat, but it makes the campaign tedious as time moves on. But what isn’t tedious is the game setting. At first glance, a map of the Old World is
pretty, but nothing special. However, over the vast ocean lies a New World,
ready to be conquered. Mmm, yeah it’s not geographically accurate,
but still, how cool was that to see in 2006? With pacing and accessibility both being worth
a solid 9 points for doing their job right and nothing more, the emotional impact this
game gives you is a 10 for setting the atmosphere so well, especially if you played this game
as a kid. It encapsulates that medieval feeling quite
well, and the cutscenes add up to the often funny side of Total War games. Modding is a big part of Medieval 2, but all
of them pale in comparison due to the One Mod to Rule Them All. Moving on… For any lover of medieval history, this game
is perfect for those who want to beat France on an open field, or the English. Or both, hey I don’t judge. You can also delve deeper and play on certain
regions with not 1, not 2, but 4 different DLCs that take you to the British Isles, the
Americas, the Baltics, and the Holy Land. Well worth the price, but as always, get it
at a discount for your wallet’s sake. A timeless classic that offers a lot of content
when most modern games don’t, Medieval II: Total War gets a total score of 149.5 out
of 160, and with a mean score of 9,34 out of 10 gets a G.O.A.T. stamp. Thanks for watching!
