Medieval II: Total War Preview

When Creative Assembly released Rome: Total War, they were determined to lure gamers into an experience that was more cinematic and epic than any of their previous titles. If you haven't played Rome: Total War yet, then you've missed out on one of the most influential and appealing strategy games of our time (I suggest you try it out at the very least). When I played it, a year and half ago, I remember going through the entire single-player campaign. It took me quite a while to finish it, but in the end I managed to subdue practically every nation on the map.

Conquering this city will be a piece of cake.

I saw something similar once on a Metallica concert.

One of the things I enjoyed most about Rome: Total War was the incredible attention to detail, as well as the subtle touches of authenticity. I especially liked the fact that military leaders gained experience after every battle. After conquering Egypt and half of Europe I noticed that my best general has reached the ripe old age of 70. It was obvious the guy wouldn't linger around for much longer, which made me very sad, seeing as he was the greatest leader in my entire army. When he croaked, I was pretty distressed about it and I couldn't find a suitable individual to replace him. But, eventually, several young and ambitious generals, with exceptional skills in military tactics, came along. In short, I soon realized that it takes several good leaders to achieve a strong military presence on the map. There were many other aspects that made Rome: Total War a highly addictive RTS. The scale of the battles was amazing and the overall atmosphere was nothing short of spectacular.

All these moments are good reasons to be excited about yet another addition to the renowned strategy series. The recently released expansion pack, Rome: Total War - Barbarian Invasion arrived as a worthy continuation of the series.

About a month ago, Creative Assembly surprised us with a few screenshots from their new endeavor, Medieval 2: Total War. Naturally, the usual hype ensued, and the development team began to unleash more media and info on the game. So, we thought this made for a good opportunity to take a quick (albeit, preliminary) gander at some of the game's promising new features.

As you may have gathered from the screens, the game has fast forwarded to the times of great medieval nations, spanning through a pretty chaotic age in European history. The entire single-player campaign goes through more than 4 centuries of history, or to be more precise, from the year 1080 to 1530. Of course, Europe won't be the only soil you get to fight on. In pursuit of more land and power, players get to journey across the territories of Africa and the Middle East, as well as the shores of the New World. On top of that, you'll be able to choose from 21 playable factions for custom battle and multiplayer modes, which include the following: Poland, Russia, Hungary, Byzantium, Papal States, Milan, Venice, England, France, Scotland, Holy Roman Empire, Denmark, Spain, Portugal, Sicily, The Turks, Egypt, The Moors, The Mongols, The Tumurids and The Aztecs. You'll recognize most of these from the first Medieval game, but as far as I can recall, Scotland, Portugal and Venice are new additions.

An intriguing innovation comes with the possibility of exploring and conquering the New World (or the Americas, if you prefer). Once this part of the world becomes available, you'll be able to expand your territory and gain valuable rewards for your efforts. But, you are also bound to encounter heavy resistance almost every step of the way. Namely, the Aztecs will be there to offer you a "warm welcome" as you enter the New World. The first thing you'll notice about these guys is that they are way behind the times in terms of military technology. Their advantage, however, is that they were skillful and valiant warriors, always attacking in great numbers. So, don't mistake them for puny opponents on the battlefield.

Although Rome: Total War turned out to be an exceptional RTS, certain aspects of the game did leave some room for improvement... which is exactly what the developers are working on at the moment. For one, the campaign map now has a broadened range of tactical possibilities in terms of how you rule your empire. Players now have more agents at their disposal, such as princesses, merchants, priest, etc. These may come in handy if you opt for a less violent approach in your campaigns. Using agents, of course, may not always involve honest economic or diplomatic solutions when interacting will other factions. That's why you can always rely on your assassin to do the job (like in the previous game).

Controlling an empire or kingdom involves a lot more than traditional medieval blood spilling. That's why tactics play a much more important role this time around. Another crucial moment is how you build up your settlement. Each subdued town or settlement can now be developed in two different ways - as a city or a castle. A city is more open to trade and various non-military activities that boost the economy of your empire. Castles, on the other hand, are mighty useful if your goals are strictly military. Bearing these new options in mind, players are now faced with additional decisions and strategies as they rule their empire. Expanding territories will require you to think well before you start growing and improving conquered settlements.

As far as real-time conflicts are concerned, Medieval 2: Total War features a number of step ups, allowing for more open-ended tactics on the battlefield. At this point, we don't know a lot about the new units in the game, but we do know for a fact that some archer units will be able to counter cavalry by deploying pointed stakes. Now that's a rather neat way to protect archers, I must say. Plus, it makes them less vulnerable then usual. Understandably, the new era has opened the door to more destructive siege weapons, which means that armies you get to put things like trebuchets and cannon to good use (ooohh, yeah!).

Flawless formation, even though they probably can't see a damn thing in those helmets.

Great, right in the middle of the medieval rush hour!

The developers confidently claim that the game will have even larger battles than Rome: Total War (if that is conceivably possible). An even greater number of soldiers will be marching across battlefields, which I'm sure will, once again, be a marvelous sight to behold. Creative Assembly is supposedly using new technology to power their latest strategy. They went all out to recreate every single detail of this particular period (again). Shifting the game to a whole new era, obviously, denotes more complex warfare and a wider variety of units to design. Furthermore, the designers have vouched to improve the animation system during battles, and have also begun to use new methods of rendering cities.

Judging from the data we have so far, Medieval 2: Total War is going to be another solid real-time strategy, offering numerous improvements since the last installment in the series. Be sure to keep an eye out for more updates on this one.

Expect the game to arrive some time during Fall 2006, which is not really that far away.