Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #8375 in Computer & Video Games
• Brand: ACTIVISION
• Released on: 2002-08-30
• Platforms: Windows 98, Windows 2000, Windows Me, Windows XP, Windows 95

Amazon.co.uk Review
A follow-up to one of the very best PC strategy games of recent times, Medieval Total War builds heavily on the success of its predecessor. There's no major revolution in the gameplay, but there are more than enough enhancements to make it worthwhile.

The key change is the switching of location. The original, Shogun Total War, allowed the player to take on mammoth battles across early Japan. Here, the warfare moves to Europe and North Africa and again there are two components to the action. Firstly, a map screen demands overall strategic decisions from you, and it's here that you'll build up your resources, plan your attacks and establish your defences. Should conflict ensue as a result of your choices (and inevitably it will), then in kicks the second part of the game--the battles themselves.

It's here that the game really hits top gear. Once you've enjoyed a mammoth, real-time strategy battle with thousands of units on screen at once, you'll be hooked. But the devil here is in the detail. There are hundreds of tactical permutations to consider, from troop positions and line-up through to approach and grouping in attack. In the midst of the battle, choices need to be made that can swiftly change the outcome.

Make no mistake, this is easily one of the deepest and most engrossing strategy games for PC, and while it's very easy to get to grips with--thanks to ample tutorials and logical controls--there's a very challenging, long-lasting series of battles ahead. Of course, the real fun is taking advantage of the online options and fighting it out with gamers worldwide. Suffice to say though that the single-player experience is worth the money alone.

Described several times on the packaging as "epic", Medieval Total War is just that. It's to the credit of the developers that it manages to keep its scope and ambition and marry them so well to such an outstanding game. For that, they deserve your reward--they might make a third one, then. --Simon Brew

Manufacturer's Description
Some people say war doesn't change anything. Perhaps they are using the wrong strategy. From the First Crusade in 1095 to the fall of Constantinople in 1453, engage in real-time strategic combat. Battles rage across deserts, mountains, plains and forests, from the lush grasslands of Western Europe to the arid deserts of Northern Africa.

Command more than 10,000 troops across over 400 battlefields. Set your massive army to siege assaults against mighty castles. Pound them to dust with catapults and cannons. Lead history's mightiest kingdoms to glory as a famous historical hero, including Joan of Arc, Richard the Lionheart, and William Wallace.

Engage 12 playable factions and over 100 unique unit types, each with its own strengths, weaknesses and troop types, including knights, men-at-arms, and archers. Empires include English, German, Byzantine, French and Turkish. Battle online in epic multiplayer campaigns, re-live classic battles, fight in the Crusades, the Hundred Years War, the Mongolian Invasion and more.

Experience the Middle Ages in all their blood-soaked magnificence.

Customer Reviews

Excellent
What can I say about this game except it's brilliant. It has an in depth combat elemant ie when you go into battle and have to control thousands of troops (the game supports 10,000 at once).
The battles on Medievil are nothing short of breath taking, and the sieges will satisfy and scare anyone defending or attacking as castle walls collapse and threaten to kill anyone underneath.
The map screen is also much more detailed now as you can not only make alliances, but request to march through a country peacefuly, organize crusades and even fight for the seas. With 12 countries to play as this game boasts 100 different unit types. The AI has also been much improved since Shogun as the enemy will not just attack you in a battle, they will now try to out flank you, surround you, ambush you and just basicly go all out to destroy you. The Generals of armies have also been improved upon as they gain abilities after battles eg if your general falls for an ambush and survives, he wont be so easily tricked next time. Also if a general is wounded to much he will become crippled. You are also given the opertunity to reward you general for good service. The unit info is also greatly improved. On shogun you got infomation telling you that your men were "fresh", "steady", "wavering" etc, now instead of just that you get "wavering-worried by so many casualties" or "steady-Happy that flanks are protected" and so on. This allows you to look at the problem and sort it out before it's to late.
The troops themselves also handle a lot better, by this I mean as in Shogun unit orders were easy to do but if say you had a unit in combat and ordered them to move they would just keep fighting and ignore your orders, now they will disengage and follow out your orders. In all the biggest improvement to this game is the castle sieges. The ability to knock down walls and charge through a breach made by catapults was a feature sorley missed from Shogun and adds a whole new depth to this game. This is a brilliant game and I would recommend it to anyone who has a lot of time on their hands as once you start this game you'll be hooked.

The European Code of Chivalry
Medieval: Total War arrives from the creators of Shogun: Total War (an historical take on feudal Japan), but with significant upgrades and newer/ even better features.
Firstly the number of warriors you may have on-screen at any one time has been significantly increased to ten thousand therefore allowing the player to take part in battles of an epic scale.
The PC requirements is an important issue as in later levels there is so much going on in terms of the huge number of battle operations, that even on a high spec machine with the most powerful graphics card (currently Geforce4 at the time of writing) the game tends to slowdown. However as this is not a fast paced arcade orientated game, speed is not always of the essence.
The game offers numerous units for the player to control (which are accurate on a contemporary level) and also offers the player the chance to partake in some of the greatest medieval battles with fairly accurate background information (information David Starky would be proud of).
The main niggle in an otherwise excellent package would have to be the inaccuracies in relation to the countries on offer in the main game. To put this into perspective, the inclusion of 'Spain', 'Russia' or 'Eygpt' as a significant power in the Middle Ages is, historically speaking, inaccurate. For instance there is no mention of the fact that 'Spain' as we know it today did not exist, and would not continue to exist for hundreds of years later under Ferdinand of Aragon and Isabella of Castile. However one must be prepared to forgive such niggles as it provides the player with a greater variety of forces to play with, and different terrains to fight in (the tactics employed in Eygptian desert would have to be taken into consideration by most of Christendom for example). Proper explainations as to the true conditions of the time would have been nice to apease the erudite/historians however.
The game plays like a dream and though initially daunting for the first timer, the tutorial helps to assuage such fears.
The main pointer in terms of gameplay is the fact that there are two modes of play: turn-based gameplay (aka Risk) and real-time battles. In the main game you may control any of a number of family leaders and factions and you must plot a future for your family members (whether it be through conquest or strategic family marriages). Everything must be accounted for from the amount of tax to the size of military presence in each state. The depth is there if you want it. If you have little time on your hands, you can even allow the computer to decide the outcome of military skirmishes.
On an aesthetic level the game is not groundbreaking but is functional i.e it does the job of representing Europe as it was from the Battle of Hastings to the end of the Hundred Years' War perfectly well. On a(n) historical note, joining forces with historically famous figureheads such as Joan of Arc and Richard the Lionheart (the chivalrous soldier King of England) is also a nice touch from the creators.
All in all an excellent game that does something right - tries to work around the historical FACTS most of the time, with little in the way of artistic deviance - something that wouldn't be appropriate considering the historical context.

Awesome...and some.....
This game is by far one of the best strategy games ever developed in my opinion (much improved on Shogun: Total War). I am not a great fan of RTS, preferring turn-based games with more emphasis on brain power and overall strategy. This game just about covers all options for me, the add-on 'Viking invasion' is a must have as well.

the game....you must think about not just attack and defence, but the kind of terrain that you will be attacking onto or defending from and use troops (and formations) that complement the situation. As people have already said, the battles are amazing, graphically, and extra realism is added by the use of valour/morale and your general will affect this through his own tactical experience.

The seiges are great, you get a sense of satisfaction when you hold off a huge army using a keep garrisonned with just a couple of hundred troops...its important that you keep your keeps/castles upgraded with ring walls etc...they make all the difference.

I could write all day about this game. Be prepared to spend a long time playing it (preferably taking lots of breaks for sleeping/eating and working) and even when you do finish a game by conquering the 'world', you will immediately want to start a new campaign......it is VERY addictive.
Diplomacy options are limited, but trust me you wont miss extensive diplomacy in this game...
All I can say is how they are gonna top this with Rome: total war is beyond me..
To the game designers I say...keep doing what you are doing...this is the benchmark for all other strategy games I have played ever since I picked it up.