• Medieval 2 Total War Kingdoms Campaign Map
• Medieval 2 Total War Campaign Map Of States
• Medieval 2 Total War Campaign Map Mod

Download SS 5.1 Full Campaign Map. More Medieval 2: Total War Mods. This is a campaign map mod. File name Downloads Added; SS5.1FullCampaignMap.rar: 1: 26 Nov 2007: Download. Trending Medieval 2: Total War. Creative Assembly Gives Definitive Editions To. Commented 7 months ago 4. The Best Turn Based Strategy Games On PC.

Medieval: Total War is a turn-based strategy and real-time tactics computer game developed by Creative Assembly and published by Activision. Set in the Middle Ages, it is the second game in the Total War series, following on from the 2000 title Shogun: Total War. Originally announced in August 2001, the game was released in North America on 19 August 2002 and in Europe on 30 August for Microsoft Windows.

Following a similar form of play to Shogun: Total War, the player builds a dynastic empire in Europe, North Africa and the Middle East, spanning the period of 1087 to 1453. Gameplay is both strategic and tactical, with strategy played out in turn-based fashion on a province-by-province level, while military units of varying types and capabilities fight against each other in real time on a 3D battlefield.

Medieval: Total War received acclaim from reviewers; several critics commending it as a milestone in gaming. The real-time battles were praised for their realism and the new feature of siege battles but also received some criticism for unit management. The depth and complexity of the strategy portion was also received well by reviewers, together with well integrated historical accuracy. The game was a commercial success, topping the British video game chart upon release.

• 1Gameplay
• 4Expansions and versions

Gameplay[edit]

Medieval: Total War is based upon the building of an empire across medieval Europe, North Africa and the Middle East. It focuses on the warfare, religion and politics of the time to ultimately lead the player in conquest of the known world.^[1] As with the preceding Total War game, Shogun: Total War, the game consists of two broad areas of gameplay: a turn-based campaign map that allows the user to move armies across provinces, control agents, diplomacy, religion, and other tasks needed to run their faction, and a real-time battlefield, where the player directs the land battles and sieges that occur.^[2]

The strategic portion of the game divides the campaign map among twenty factions from the period, with a total of twelve being playable. The initial extent of each major faction's territory, and the factions available, depends on the starting period of the game, Early (1087), High (1205) or Late (1321), reflecting the historical state of these factions over time.^[3] The factions themselves represent many of the major nations at the time, including the Byzantine Empire, France, England, the Holy Roman Empire and the Turks.^{[citation needed]} Several factions, such as the Golden Horde, emerge during the course of play at their historical time.^[4] These factions, together with several other factions appearing at the start of the campaign, are unavailable to the player in the main campaign. Each faction varies in territory, religion and units; however, factions of the same culture share many of their core units.

In addition to the main campaign, Medieval: Total War also features a game mode where the player can undertake various historical campaigns and battles. Historical campaigns allow the player to control a series of famous battles from a war of the medieval period, such as the Hundred Years War and the Crusades, playing as historic commanders like Richard the Lionheart. Individual historic battles have the player controlling a historical figure in an isolated battle that occurred in the era, such as controlling William Wallace through the Battle of Stirling Bridge.^[5]

Campaign[edit]

The main campaign of Medieval: Total War involves the player choosing one of the fourteen playable factions and eventually leading them in conquest on the strategy map. Each of the factions controls a number of historical provinces, which on the map contain a castle and, if located by the sea, a port as well. In the campaign, the player controls construction, unit recruitment and the movement of armies, fleets and agents in each of these provinces, using these means to acquire and defend the provinces.^[6] Diplomacy and economics are two other aspects the player can use to advance their aims, as well as having access to more clandestine means such as espionage and assassination. Religion is very important in the game, with the player able to convert provinces to their own religions to cement the people's loyalty. Another campaign mode is available, called 'Glorious Achievements', in which each faction has several historically-based goals to achieve, which score points; the faction with the most achievement points wins the game. The campaign mode is turn-based, with each turn representing one year, allowing the player to attend to all needs of the faction before allowing the artificial intelligence to carry out the other factions' moves and decisions.

The campaign is carried out in a similar fashion to Shogun: Total War, but features many enhancements. The game is set mainly in Europe, but also features the Middle East and North Africa.^[4] Production can occur in every province, with the player building from one of the hundreds of connected buildings and units in the game's technology tree. Income to develop provinces and armies comes from taxation of the provinces and trade with neighbouring provinces. There is no specific technology research, but several advances, such as gunpowder, do become available over time. Castles provide the basis for more developed construction in the game, with players having to upgrade to the next castle level to be able to build more advanced buildings; upgrades such as a curtain wall and guard towers can be added to individual castles.^[3] Many buildings have economic functions, such as trading posts that generate money, while others are military buildings and allow the training of more advanced unit types. Whilst there are many common unit types, several unique units are available. These units are either restricted to a single faction or are dependent on the control of a particular province. Each unit possesses different strengths and weaknesses.

Each faction has a variety of different generals, some related to the royal family and in line to the throne, and the rest members of the nobility, who command units in the field and can assume offices of the state. Each of these characters has a base ranking for several attributes, such as command ability and piety, which affects how they carry out duties on the battlefield and governing the provinces. These attributes, and other factors such as health, are influenced by “Vices and Virtues”, defining the character's personality and actions.^[3] These traits can be acquired seemingly randomly, or may be given to the character through actions in the game.^[4] Non-military units, collectively referred to as 'agents', may be trained. The types of agent a faction is able to produce depends on its religion, but all factions have emissaries, spies and assassins available to them. Emissaries conduct diplomatic tasks such as start alliances between two factions, or bribe foreign armies; spies allow detailed information to be collected from foreign provinces or characters, while assassins can attempt to kill both foreign and domestic units. Factions also have access to various religious agents to spread their religion, and Christian factions can marry their princesses to domestic generals or other factions for political reasons.^[7] Occasionally in the game, a character will be trained bearing the name of a famous historical figure, with better than normal starting abilities. A general such as Richard the Lionheart, El Cid or Saladin will be a capable military commander, while a bishop such as Thomas Becket will have higher piety than normal.^[3]

Rebellions can occur if the loyalty of a particular province falls too low, with a rebel army appearing in the province to attempt to assume control from the owners. Civil wars may also take place if several generals commanding large armies have sufficiently low loyalty.^[8] In the event of a civil war, the player is given the choice to back either the current rulers or the rebels. It had been planned to allow other factions who had established a prior claim to the throne by marriage to princesses to join in a civil war to claim the throne for themselves; however, this was never implemented.^[4]Naval warfare is carried out upon the campaign map, where ships can be built and organised into fleets. These fleets can be used to control the game's sea regions and form sea lanes, allowing trade and troop movement between provinces that have constructed a port. Fleets can engage in sea battles with foreign fleets, although unlike land battles these are resolved by the computer.^[3] Religion plays an important aspect in Medieval: Total War, with religious differences between the Catholic, Orthodox and Muslim factions affecting diplomacy and population loyalty. Catholic factions must also respond to the wishes of the Papal States; factions gain favour by refraining from hostilities with other Catholic nations and responding to Crusades, else they run the risk of excommunication. The option to launch a holy war in the form of a Crusade or Jihad is open to both Catholic and Muslim factions.^[4]

Warfare[edit]

The battle system takes place on a 3D battlefield in real-time, instead of the turn-based system of the campaign. Battles are similar to those in Shogun: Total War, where two armies from opposing factions engage in combat until one side is defeated or withdraws.^[4] Warfare in Medieval: Total War occurs when the player or the artificial intelligence moves their armies into a province held by a hostile faction. The player is then presented with the option of fighting the battle on the battle map, or allowing the computer to automatically resolve it. Alongside the campaign battles, players have the option of both historical and custom battles, where the player controls what climate, units and terrain will be present on the battlefield.^[9]

During battles, players take control of a medieval army containing various units, such as knights and longbowmen, each of which has various advantages, disadvantages and overall effectiveness. Players must use medieval tactics in order to defeat their enemy, using historical formations to give units advantages in different situations. All units in the game gain experience points, known as 'valour', which improves unit effectiveness in combat as it increases.^[7] Every battle map contains various terrain based upon that of the province on the campaign map, with separate maps for each of the borders between provinces – four hundred unique maps are available for the game.^[5] The climate, surroundings and building style for every map varies depending on the part of the world it is located in; for example, a map based in the Middle East will have a hot, sunny climate, sandy terrain and Islamic architecture.^[10]Sieges are an important aspect of the game introduced to the Total War series, occurring when the invading army elects to attack the defending army which has retreated inside the province's castle. Upon starting the engagement, the attacker has to fight their way through the castle's defences, winning the battle once the enemy units have been defeated.^[5] Each unit in the game has morale, which can increase if a battle is going well for their faction, or decrease in situations such as sustained heavy casualties. Morale can drop low enough to eventually force a unit to rout off the battlefield, with the player having the option to attempt to rally the men back into the battle through their general.^[5] Each side's army can capture routing enemy units and ransom them back to the owning faction, with important generals having greater ransom values.^[4]

Multiplayer[edit]

Medieval: Total War features a multiplayer game mode similar to that in Shogun: Total War, where players can engage in real-time battles with up to seven other players.^[1] Players create and control armies from the factions available in the game, where players can use them to compete in online tournaments or casual battles. The campaign mode cannot be played multiplayer; this feature was later added to the Total War series in Empire: Total War – but only at the beta stage, before being later removed.^[11]

Development[edit]

Medieval: Total War was originally announced by The Creative Assembly on 3 August 2001, with the working title of Crusader: Total War.^[12] Development of the game started shortly after the release of Shogun: Total War.^[13] Early in development it was decided to change the name to Medieval: Total War; this was to have a name that better reflected the scope of the game.^[14] In a press release, The Creative Assembly announced that the game would be published by Activision instead of Electronic Arts, the publisher of the previous games.^[15] The Creative Assembly also outlined the features of the game, including the game covering the medieval era from the 11th to 15th century, with players being able to participate in various historical scenarios of the time, such as the Hundred Years' War.^[14] Media releases over the subsequent months gave screenshots of the game, with more information on Medieval: Total War's features. The game uses an updated version of the game engine used in Shogun: Total War,^[10] allowing larger battles than previously possible with an increased troop limit of ten thousand.^[16] The improved game engine also allowed more battle maps than previously possible, now based upon where the conflicting armies are located on the strategy map.^[17] Other new battlefield enhancements included terrain detailed with villages and vegetation and improved castle siege mechanics, with players now having to focus on destroying the walls before assaulting and capturing the castle.^{[citation needed]} The game features improved artificial intelligence from Shogun: Total War, with the individual unit AI and the tactical AI—which controls the overall army tactics—separated to more effectively control the opposing forces.^[3]

The Creative Assembly's creative director, Michael de Plater, stated in an interview that 'We were never 100 percent satisfied with the name 'Crusader'...it didn't cover the full scope or the rich diversity of the game'. The focus on the medieval period was chosen because 'it was perfectly suited to the direction in which we wanted to take the gameplay....we wanted to have great castles and spectacular sieges.'^[10] Designer Mike Brunton wrote before the game's release that sieges were one of the most important features to be added to the Total War series, explaining how it led to increasing the troop limit from twenty in Shogun: Total War to over a hundred in Medieval: Total War.^[13] For increased authenticity, research was carried out into the medieval period aspects such as assassinations and historical figures. Leaders from the period were included in the game; to represent their personalities and actions the 'vices and virtues' system was incorporated into the game, designed to make characters more realistic in their actions.^[17]

A demonstration of the game was released on 26 June 2002, featuring tutorial missions and a full single-player mission.^[18] The game was released on 19 August in North America and on 30 August in Europe. The Creative Assembly released a patch on 5 November 2002, which was targeted to fix the several bugs that were still present in the game.^[19] A new historical battle based on the Battle of Stamford Bridge was later released by The Creative Assembly, made available through Wargamer.^[19]

Reception[edit]

Medieval: Total War received 'favorable' reviews according to the review aggregation website Metacritic.^[20] In the United Kingdom, the game went straight to the top of the video game chart after its release, staying at the top for two weeks.^[30] It ultimately received a 'Silver' sales award from the Entertainment and Leisure Software Publishers Association (ELSPA),^[31] indicating sales of at least 100,000 copies in the United Kingdom.^[32] The United States charts saw Medieval: Total War reach fourth in its second week after release, behind Warcraft III, The Sims and its expansion The Sims: Vacation.^[30][33] It sold over 100,000 copies in the region by August 2006, but was beaten by its successor Rome: Total War's 390,000 sales there.^[34]

Reviewers praised the many different factors adding to complexity of the campaign, ActionTrip noting that 'Medieval adds a new strategic balance to the game, which teaches that great empires come with an even greater responsibility'.^[35]Eurogamer praised the way the player had to manage production queues, guard the loyalty of important generals and make use of spies and assassins, calling the level of control 'far ahead of anything seen in the previous game';^[6] many other reviews shared a similar view.^[25][28] The number of factions in the game, each with their own historically accurate units and territories, was commended, with IGN and Game Informer stating it 'gives the game huge replay value',^[24][28] with GameSpot adding 'the strategic portion now has a lot more options'.^[25] Many reviewers gave praise to the fact the historical setting of the Middle Ages was said to be well integrated into the game; PC Zone acknowledging the 'brutality and instability' of the era is well included in the game,^[36] with GameSpot praising the religion in the game, 'religion played an enormous role in shaping history, and so it is in the game'.^[25]GameSpy stated that the different historical starting positions made the games attention to detail 'impressive and noteworthy';^[26] the historical battle system was also highly received from Computer Gaming World, stating that they successfully 'provide an authentic glimpse of the past'.^[22] However, GameSpot commented on a problem with a lack of information, 'you'll have a tough time keeping track of all the goings-on in your provinces', suggesting this could be solved through a more informative interface.^[25] Overall, reviewers highly complimented the strategic gameplay, many saying it was similar to a Civilization-style game.^[35][6][26]

The battle system in Medieval: Total War was considered by many reviewers to be the highlight of the game. In their review, Eurogamer felt 'The sensation of scale and drama in these conflicts is incredible', praising the visual effects and combat.^[6] The different battlefields and their environments were praised by IGN, with ActionTrip agreeing that 'Medieval: Total War looks better than Shogun', adding that the terrain and units are more detailed than those in Shogun: Total War.^[35][28] GameSpot praised the realistic battles, mentioning that the real-world battlefield considerations like fatigue, ammunition, facing, and morale included in the game was a 'welcome change'.^[25] GameSpy also stated the 'chaotic' battles were appropriate to the era, but criticised the siege aspect, claiming it to be 'too plain and underwhelming', with a lack of detail compared to the other 3D elements.^[26] The soundtrack to the game was well received by IGN, 'The soundtrack is full of rousing context-sensitive orchestra moments which get you in the mood for bloody slaughter' commenting it is fitting for a game that 'delivers body counts like no other'^[28] ActionTrip also admired how the game's music changed pace as the battle commenced, praising The Creative Assembly for its 'masterfully placed audio and visual effects'.^[35] The artificial intelligence for Medieval: Total War was thought to be much improved over its predecessor, CGW mentioning the AI was intelligent enough to prevent brute force alone from winning fights.^[22] Criticism was received on the larger battles giving low frame rates and performance,^[25] while ActionTrip also noted several unit management issues with path-finding and unit facing, stating 'it's demoralising to see archers facing the wrong way'.^[35]

Medieval: Total War received very favourable reviews, despite a few criticisms, gaining high distinction from the industry. GameSpot summarised by saying that while the game 'isn't well suited for the casual gamer', most strategy gamers will 'find a lot to like in it, for a very long time.'^[25] Although GameSpy described Medieval: Total War as 'hit[ting] a few bumps in the road', they mentioned the game has enough to keep players interested for many months.^[26] Eurogamer was enthusiastic in pronouncing Medieval: Total War 'a milestone in gaming'.^[6] IGN closed by stating that the game 'delivers an encompassing experience', while CGW finished by proclaiming 'there simply isn't enough room in this magazine to extol its virtues.'^[22]

Medieval: Total War was the recipient of a number of industry awards. PC Gamer UK named it the top game of 2002, replacing the previous entry, Valve Software'sHalf-Life. In awarding the distinction, PC Gamer stated: 'It was the only contender.'^[37] The game received an EMMA award in Technical Excellence for its audio by Jeff van Dyck, commended for having a 'game soundtrack and score that is lush, well-mixed, and adds dynamically to the gameplay. The extensive diverse musical tracks sound authentic and fully engage the user.'^[37] The game received a number of distinctions from game publications, such as the 'Best Strategy Game of 2002' award from GameSpy, mentioning 'It's not that Medieval is just two great games in one. It's two games that feed off of one another for the ultimate rush.'^[38] The Creative Assembly itself was also awarded the European Computer Trade Show PC Game Developer of the Year award, for the production of Medieval: Total War.^[39]

The editors of Computer Games Magazine named Medieval the eighth-best computer game of 2002, and called it 'rich in atmosphere and compelling for long hours.'^[40] It was nominated for PC Gamer US's '2002 Best Turn-Based Strategy Game' and Computer Gaming World's 'Strategy Game of the Year' awards, which ultimately went to Combat Mission: Barbarossa to Berlin and Freedom Force, respectively.^[41][42] The latter magazine's editors highlighted Medieval's 'grandeur and flourish in simulating European history'.^[42]

Expansions and versions [edit]

The Creative Assembly announced the development of an expansion pack, Medieval: Total War – Viking Invasion, on 7 January 2003.^[43] The Viking Invasion expansion pack adds a Viking campaign taking place from 793 to 1066, set upon an expanded map of the British Isles and western Scandinavia.^[1] The campaign replaces the original factions with earlier Anglo-Saxon and Celtic kingdoms such as Wessex, Mercia, Wales and Scotland, as well as the Vikings. The Viking faction is designed to raid the British Isles; to achieve this the faction has access to faster ships and gains money for every building destroyed upon the battle map.^[44] The Anglo-Saxon and Celtic factions have the goal of repelling the Vikings and ultimately controlling the British Isles. New historical units were included with the expansion pack, such as the huskarls.^[45]Medieval: Total War: Viking Invasion brought several enhancements that were also added to the original campaign: flaming ammunition giving the player an option to set alight enemy castles,^[44] and a pre-battle deployment screen, allowing the player to organise their forces and view the terrain and opposing forces before the battle begins.^[45] In addition, three new factions were added to the main Medieval: Total War campaign, along with ribauldequin artillery and the game's patch.^[44] The expansion pack was released on 7 May 2003 in the United States and on 9 May in the United Kingdom.

Activision, the game's publisher, produced a combination of Medieval: Total War and Medieval: Total War: Viking Invasion, called the Medieval: Total War Battle Collection, released on 7 January 2004.^[46]Medieval: Total War Battle Collection contained both games, patched to the latest version, and their manuals. On 30 June 2006, Sega, the company that took over the publishing of the series, released a collector's edition version of the Total War series, called Total War: Eras. The edition included patched versions of Shogun: Total War, Medieval: Total War and Rome: Total War, together with their expansion packs, a documentary detailing the creation of the game series, and Total War memorabilia.^[47]

Reception[edit]

Viking Invasion received 'favorable' reviews, albeit slightly less than the original Medieval: Total War, according to Metacritic.^[48] Reviewers felt the new gameplay features for the Vikings were the most important enhancement of the expansion pack,^[53][56] with Eurogamer commending the Vikings' raiding system as something that fixes what 'the original Medieval lacked'.^[51] ActionTrip praised the new campaign as being a challenge for players: 'even on the normal difficulty setting, Viking Invasion is a very challenging game', a view shared by other critics.^[56][58] The pre-battle screen was commended by GameSpot, calling it a 'handy new feature.' GameSpot also praised the new additions to the original campaign, mentioning they have 'made castle sieges more interesting'.^[53] The main criticism for Medieval: Total War – Viking Invasion was the graphics, with both ActionTrip and Eurogamer stating that they were 'starting to feel a little bit creaky'.^[51] A lack of new multiplayer options was considered by GameSpot to be 'unfortunate', mentioning that 'a multiplayer campaign option would have been a great new feature'.^[53] Overall, the expansion was received well by critics in the industry. IGN concluded by saying fans 'won't be disappointed with the Viking Invasion',^[56] while Actiontrip finished stating; 'the graphics are beginning to look old' but the challenge made the expansion 'worth it'.^[58] The review by GameSpot finished by saying 'overall, the expansion is a great addition to Medieval', and Eurogamer concluded with praising the addition it made to Medieval: Total War: 'It's a worthy expansion pack to a truly excellent game'.^[51]

The editors of Computer Gaming World nominated Viking Invasion for their 2003 'Expansion Pack of the Year' award, but it lost to Battlefield 1942: Secret Weapons of WWII.^[59] It was also a runner-up for Computer Games Magazine's 'Expansion of the Year' award, which ultimately went to EverQuest: Lost Dungeons of Norrath.^[60]

References[edit]

1. ^ ^abc'Medieval: Total War'. Total War. Archived from the original on 26 May 2011. Retrieved 24 July 2016.
2. ^'Welcome to Medieval: Total War'. Medieval: Total War (manual). The Creative Assembly. August 2001. p. 4.
3. ^ ^abcdefAdams, Dan (9 January 2002). 'Medieval: Total War (Preview)'. IGN. Retrieved 24 July 2016.
4. ^ ^abcdefgPark, Andrew (14 June 2002). 'Medieval: Total War Updated Preview [date mislabeled as 'May 17, 2006']'. GameSpot. Retrieved 24 July 2016.
5. ^ ^abcdMcGovney, Brian (18 June 2002). 'Gettin' Medieval'. GameSpy. Archived from the original on 13 December 2004. Retrieved 24 July 2016.
6. ^ ^abcdefFahey, Rob (19 September 2002). 'Medieval: Total War'. Eurogamer. Retrieved 2 April 2009.
7. ^ ^abCanker (11 August 2003). 'Medieval: Total War Review'. GameWatcher. Retrieved 24 July 2016.
8. ^Shiban, Ala. 'Medieval Total War Review'. Gamers Hell. Retrieved 23 April 2002.
9. ^'Battles'. Medieval: Total War (manual). The Creative Assembly. August 2001. pp. 44–45.
10. ^ ^abcGameSpot staff (5 December 2001). 'Medieval: Total War Q & A [date mislabeled as 'May 17, 2006']'. GameSpot. Retrieved 24 July 2016.
11. ^Breckon, Nick (12 December 2008). 'Total War Delay brings Multiplayer Campaign Mode'. Shacknews. Archived from the original on 14 June 2011. Retrieved 30 April 2009.
12. ^IGN staff (3 August 2001). 'Crusader Total War Announced'. IGN. Retrieved 24 July 2016.
13. ^ ^abBrunton, Mike (17 August 2002). 'Medieval: Total War -- Volume I'. GameSpy. Archived from the original on 13 December 2004. Retrieved 24 July 2016.
14. ^ ^abWalker, Trey (5 November 2001). 'Next Total War game renamed'. GameSpot. Retrieved 24 July 2016.
15. ^IGN staff (16 November 2001). 'Activision Gets Medieval'. IGN. Retrieved 24 July 2016.
16. ^The D-Pad Destroyer (21 August 2002). 'Hands-On: Medieval: Total War'. GamePro. IDG Entertainment. Archived from the original on 12 February 2005. Retrieved 24 July 2016.
17. ^ ^abBrunton, Mike (24 August 2002). 'Medieval: Total War -- Volume II'. GameSpy. Archived from the original on 13 December 2004. Retrieved 24 July 2016.
18. ^Walker, Trey (26 June 2002). 'Medieval: Total War demo available [date mislabeled as 'August 29, 2002']'. GameSpot. Retrieved 24 July 2016.
19. ^ ^ab'Medieval: Total War Support'. The Creative Assembly. Archived from the original on 22 August 2008. Retrieved 31 March 2009.
20. ^ ^ab'Medieval: Total War for PC Reviews'. Metacritic. Retrieved 24 July 2016.
21. ^Hoogland, Mark. 'Medieval: Total War - Review'. AllGame. Archived from the original on 14 November 2014. Retrieved 25 July 2016.
22. ^ ^abcdLiberatore, Raphael (December 2002). 'Medieval: Total War'(PDF). Computer Gaming World (221): 114–115. Retrieved 24 July 2016.
23. ^Edge staff (September 2002). 'Medieval: Total War'. Edge (114).
24. ^ ^abBrogger, Kristian (October 2002). 'Medieval: Total War'. Game Informer (114): 93. Archived from the original on 25 February 2005. Retrieved 22 April 2009.
25. ^ ^abcdefghChin, Elliott (27 August 2002). 'Medieval:Total War Review'. GameSpot. Retrieved 24 July 2016.
26. ^ ^abcdeSuciu, Peter (2 September 2002). 'GameSpy: Medieval: Total War'. GameSpy. Retrieved 11 April 2009.
27. ^Lafferty, Michael (9 September 2002). 'Medieval: Total War Review'. GameZone. Archived from the original on 1 October 2008. Retrieved 24 July 2016.
28. ^ ^abcdePolak, Steve (26 August 2002). 'Medieval Total War'. IGN. Retrieved 24 July 2016.
29. ^Harms, William (December 2002). 'Medieval: Total War'. PC Gamer: 96. Archived from the original on 15 March 2006. Retrieved 25 July 2016.
30. ^ ^ab'Medieval: Total War Tops Sales Charts in UK and US'. GameZone. 13 September 2002. Archived from the original on 2 December 2008. Retrieved 24 July 2016.
31. ^'ELSPA Sales Awards: Silver'. Entertainment and Leisure Software Publishers Association. Archived from the original on 21 February 2009.
32. ^Caoili, Eric (26 November 2008). 'ELSPA: Wii Fit, Mario Kart Reach Diamond Status In UK'. Gamasutra. Archived from the original on 18 September 2017.
33. ^Calvert, Justin (12 September 2002). 'Madden backs off'. GameSpot. Retrieved 24 July 2016.
34. ^Edge Staff (25 August 2006). 'The Top 100 PC Games of the 21st Century'. Edge. Archived from the original on 17 October 2012.
35. ^ ^abcdeJojic, Uros '2Lions' (29 August 2002). 'Medieval: Total War Review'. ActionTrip. Archived from the original on 5 April 2016. Retrieved 24 July 2016.
36. ^Korda, Martin (9 September 2002). 'PC Review: Medieval: Total War'. PC Zone. Future plc. Archived from the original on 5 July 2007. Retrieved 24 July 2016.
37. ^ ^ab'The Creative Assembly awards'. The Creative Assembly. Archived from the original on 19 June 2008. Retrieved 1 May 2009.
38. ^'GameSpy's PC Strategy Game of the Year'. GameSpy. 2002. Archived from the original on 21 December 2004. Retrieved 24 July 2016.
39. ^'ECTS: Awards Winners Announced'. Gamers Hell. 30 August 2002. Retrieved 1 May 2009.
40. ^Staff (March 2003). 'Best of the Year 2002; 12th Annual Computer Games Awards'. Computer Games Magazine (148): 58–61.
41. ^Staff (March 2003). 'The Ninth Annual PC Gamer Awards'. PC Gamer US. 10 (3): 48–50, 54, 58, 60, 66, 68, 70.
42. ^ ^abStaff (April 2003). 'Computer Gaming World's 2002 Games of the Year'. Computer Gaming World (225): 83–86, 88, 89, 92–97.
43. ^'ACTIVISION'S MEDIEVAL: TOTAL WAR(tm) EXPANDS NORTHWARDS WITH VIKING INVASION(tm) EXPANSION PACK'. Shacknews. 7 January 2003. Archived from the original on 17 May 2005. Retrieved 24 April 2009.
44. ^ ^abcRausch, Allen (14 April 2003). 'GameSpy: Medieval Total War: Viking Invasion (Preview)'. GameSpy. Retrieved 24 July 2016.
45. ^ ^abButts, Steve (14 April 2003). 'Medieval Total War The Viking Invasion [sic] Preview'. IGN. Retrieved 24 July 2016.
46. ^'Medieval: Total War Battle Collection Announced'. GameZone. 7 January 2004. Archived from the original on 25 February 2005. Retrieved 24 July 2016.
47. ^Goldstein, Maarten (29 June 2006). 'Total War: Eras Announced'. Shacknews. Retrieved 24 July 2016.
48. ^ ^ab'Medieval: Total War - Viking Invasion for PC Reviews'. Metacritic. Retrieved 24 July 2016.
49. ^Liberatore, Raphael (August 2003). 'Medieval: Total War - Viking Invasion'(PDF). Computer Gaming World (229): 80. Retrieved 25 July 2016.
50. ^Edge staff (June 2003). 'Medieval: Total War - Viking Invasion'. Edge (124): 105.
51. ^ ^abcdFahey, Rob (7 July 2003). 'Medieval: Total War - Viking Invasion'. Eurogamer. Retrieved 25 April 2009.
52. ^Brogger, Kristian (June 2003). 'Medieval: Total War - Viking Invasion'. Game Informer (122): 117. Archived from the original on 23 September 2009. Retrieved 25 July 2016.
53. ^ ^abcdChin, Elliott (8 May 2003). 'Medieval: [Total War] Viking Invasion Review'. GameSpot. Retrieved 24 July 2016.
54. ^Rausch, Allen (10 May 2003). 'GameSpy: Medieval: Total War - Viking Invasion'. GameSpy. Retrieved 25 July 2016.
55. ^Lafferty, Michael (27 May 2003). 'Medieval: Total War Viking Invasion Review'. GameZone. Archived from the original on 2 October 2008. Retrieved 25 July 2016.
56. ^ ^abcdAdams, Dan (3 June 2003). 'Medieval: Total War - Viking Invasion'. IGN. Retrieved 24 July 2016.
57. ^Harms, William (August 2003). 'Medieval: [Total War] Viking Invasion'. PC Gamer: 60. Archived from the original on 15 March 2006. Retrieved 25 July 2016.
58. ^ ^abJojic, Uros '2Lions' (10 June 2003). 'Medieval: Total War - Viking Invasion Review'. ActionTrip. Archived from the original on 2 April 2016. Retrieved 24 July 2016.
59. ^Editors of CGW (March 2004). 'Computer Gaming World's 2003 Games of the Year'. Computer Gaming World (236): 57–60, 62–69.CS1 maint: Extra text: authors list (link)
60. ^Staff (March 2004). 'Best of 2003; The 13th Annual Awards'. Computer Games Magazine (160): 58–62.

External links[edit]

• Medieval: Total War at MobyGames
• Medieval: Total War - Viking Invasion at MobyGames

At its best, the Total War series casts a spell over you. Your empire rises from nothing, surrounded by enemies who are poised to trample it into the dust. Each decision on the strategic level is a gamble on the immediate future, where “one more turn” isn’t just a stepping-stone to a new upgrade, but a perilous step onto thin ice. Each time you take to the battlefield is another do-or-die moment, a possible Hastings or Austerlitz that can open the road to conquest or plunge you into a desperate fight for survival.

But the Total War series has also been defined by massive, abrupt swings in quality. While the series has been on a linear trajectory in terms of graphics, the quality of the games underlying those vivid battlefield vistas has varied wildly. Total War at its best is interactive Kurosawa and Kubrick. At its worst, it’s a middle-school history textbook as told by Drunk History and filmed by the cast and crew of The Patriot.

So before the series (temporarily) leaves history behind for the grimdark faux-history of Warhammer fantasy, let’s put into order the times that Total War was at its best… and why sometimes its lows were so very low. We’ll save the worst for last, because if there’s one thing that every Total War fan loves, it’s an argument over which games were the biggest disappointments.

Total War: Shogun 2

Claim to Fame: Of all the Total Wars, it’s the Total-est.
Hidden Flaw: Secretly conservative and unambitious

If you could only play one Total War, if you could only have one for your desert island exile, it should be this one. Shogun 2 is where all the series’ best ideas have been gathered into one game, and married to a gorgeous aesthetic inspired by its setting. And with its Fall of the Samurai expansion, Shogun 2 also turned into the best gunpowder-era Total War.

All Total War games have had impressive graphics for their time, but Shogun 2 remains beautiful even today. Its look owes more to films like Kurosawa’s Ran and Kagemusha than to reality, and gives each battle a vivid, dreamlike quality that’s unmatched by any other Total War. Once the battle is joined and the last reserves have been committed, Shogun 2 is a game where you can just zoom to ground-level and watch individual sword duels play out amidst all the lovely carnage.

The series’ return to Japan and its self-contained strategic context also solves a lot of other problems. The factions are all roughly balanced because they are from the same civilization and share the same level of development. The narrow and mountainous geography of Japan also gives the perennially hapless campaign AI a chance to succeed.

Medieval 2 Total War Kingdoms Campaign Map

No other Total War game does a better job combining the fantasy, the history, and the game design. This is the series at its very best, its arrival at a goal it started chasing with Shogun and Rome.

Total War: Attila

Claim to Fame: Tries (and succeeds!) new ideas
Hidden Weakness: It’s about as balanced as Caligula

After Rome 2, it was hard to be optimistic about the future of Total War. Shogun 2 succeeded because it took a couple good ideas from Napoleon Total War and ignored just about everything else the series had tried since Rome. Was the future of Total War just going to be repackaged hits?

Attila takes a look at that trend and veers off in a new direction. It changes the basic rules of the Total War series in order to do justice to the death of the Roman world. Cities burn, regions are devastated, and an endless onslaught of nomadic tribes attempt to burrow their way into the Roman empire and carve out a place in the sun. Meanwhile, Roman generals turn against successive emperors, and the Huns hit like a tsunami.

Attila might be the most inventive and exciting design Total War has ever had, particularly at the strategic level. For once, dynastic politics don’t feel like a waste of time, and the different types of factions give the game a real “clash-of-civilizations” feel. And unlike the original Barbarian Invasion expansion for Rome, Attila gives the non-Romans their historical due so they aren’t just interchangeable hordes descending on the fading light of civilization.

That said, there’s no other Total War game where you can feel the darkness drawing-in the way it does in Attila. It lends a real sense of gravity to those battles. Lose a battle in earlier Total War games, and you suffered a setback. In Attila, a lost battle likely means that a city and its inhabitants are about to disappear. No pressure.

Medieval: Total War

Claim to Fame: Perfects the early Total War design
Hidden Weakness: There’s not all that much to that design

In its second outing, the Total War series attained near-perfection. I’m still not sure a more balanced Total War game has ever materialized. The Risk-style map is easy for the AI to manage, and the different starting positions of each kingdom and empire allows for some true AI superpowers to form and challenge players late in the game.

To this day, I have an almost Pavlovian distaste for all things Byzantine because of an especially painful game in which they slowly, inexorably rolled my English empire back from Poland and Egypt all the way to the Channel. Yet those bitter memories are tempered by all the apocalyptic battles we fought along the way as my increasingly beleaguered armies fought a doomed holding action across Europe against the tide of imperial-purple death.

The other thing Medieval did brilliantly was portray a world completely torn to pieces by religious strife. Jihads and Crusades marched back and forth across the Mediterranean, each a terrible force in the right hands but driven by a ceaseless need for conquest that almost invariably led them to disaster. The logic that governs other military campaigns (most importantly, knowing when to stop) doesn’t work with militant religious expeditions. So huge armies of zealots march to their death repeatedly over the course of this game, throwing the game into chaos.

The role of the Pope in Medieval: Total War also deserves special mention as one of the most enjoyably infuriating villains of any strategy game. Just when things are starting to go well for a Catholic ruler, the Pope can always be trusted to screw things up for the next ten years, which makes Medieval a pretty good argument for the Peace of Westphalia.

Medieval is a triumph of simplicity, and it took a decade for Total War to come close to matching it.

Napoleon: Total War

Claim to Fame: The greatest hits of the horse-and-musket era
Hidden Weakness: Has very little to do with actual Napoleonic warfare.

On the heels of the disappointing Empire, Napoleon did two things to right the listing Total War ship. First, it got specific about its era. Rather than being a vague pastiche of 18th century warfare, it focused on the armies of the Napoleonic wars and the career of the man who gave the era its name. That makes for a better and more manageable strategy game than Empire but, it also means something far more important: extravagantly detailed military uniforms!

Napoleon still doesn’t completely come to grips with warfare in the horse-and-musket era. When the campaign begins, none of the foremost powers of Europe have figured out that you can have two and even three ranks of soldiers firing simultaneously if the guys in front take a knee. It takes years of research for someone to have this idea, apparently. Grenadiers also throw grenades at close range, which is Total War at its most endearingly literal.

But it doesn’t matter because Napoleon is such a beautiful, wistful game. The lighting is more dramatic than in Empire, giving all the action the look of the great oil-paintings that memorialize many of the pivotal moments of the Napoleonic Wars. Smoke billows and hangs over lines of blue-coated French soldiers, soldiers march into battle to the sound of fife and drum, and waves of cavalry dash themselves against dense squares of infantry.

After the unfocused Empire, Napoleon gave people what they wanted: huge, bloody battles between fabulously-dressed European armies and the chance to play through one of the most astonishing military careers in history. With its Peninsular War DLC, Napoleon also helped establish a trend of odd, experimental expansion campaigns that would eventually help the series to break new ground with games like Attila.

Continue reading about the best Total War games on page two.

Shogun: Total War

Claim to Fame: Laid the groundwork for everything to come
Hidden Weakness: Not a lot built on those foundations here

It’s appropriate that Shogun lands in the middle of this series. It’s the founder of a great strategy game empire, and I have an affection for it that goes far, far beyond the game itself. What Shogun did was almost unimaginable at the time it came out. It let you control an entire strategic campaign, from any side, but also take command of epic real-time battles? It was a dream made real.

Shogun is also a beautiful, elegant game in a way that few of its descendants have managed to replicate. The hand-drawn map with its miniature figurines representing armies and agents deployed in the field, the throne room from which you conducted your diplomatic affairs, the traditional music that played during battles… Shogun does everything possible to make you feel like you’d been transported to another place and time. On the battlefield, where each province has its own unique map, armies wage war over a mythic topography of Japan, where armies fired arrows from sheer mountain slopes and cavalry rolled like thunder down through deep valleys.

It has its flaws and strange touches like little movies showing ninjas dying tragicomic deaths while on missions, or geisha murdering your rivals with the same delicate fastidiousness with which a cat attends its litterbox. The strategic layer itself is very thin, and the near-identical factions were interchangeable. But those issues are nothing compared to how new and amazing this inaugural Total War was.

That Shogun rates so low on this list is a testament to the ways in which the Total War series grew beyond its origins.

Rome: Total War

Claim to Fame: The first “modern” Total War
Hidden Weakness: How much time do you have?

Wait, what the hell is Rome: Total War doing down here? It’s the game that made the Total War series a blockbuster franchise, so how is it one of the low-points of the series?

Simple: Rome is the snake in the Total War garden. It was seductive and promising, but it also introduced a raft of new ideas and complications that were either poorly-conceived or poorly executed. New Total War games came and went, but the rot behind the edifice remained.

Yet there was undeniable greatness here. The sprite-based armies of the first two games were replaced by unbelievably detailed and lifelike armies of individual 3D models that brought history to life as never before. Watching legionaries go leaping over the ramparts of a Greek citadel and into hand-to-hand combat with dense rows of archers, or seeing lines of infantry and cavalry marching across a European plane towards the last army of a barbarian king gave me chills. The Roman endgame, with its sudden plunge into civil war between the Roman faction, may also be the best finale that any Total War campaign has ever managed.

But Rome is also the game where the series developed AI problems that it would consequently prove unable to solve despite repeated efforts. While the gorgeous 3D battle maps were a revelation, the 3D strategic map proved to be a millstone around the neck almost every subsequent Total War game. The AI factions couldn’t use it effectively, nor could they build the kind of advanced empires needed to support high-level units. The strategy half of the Total War equation was practically lost.

Rome was impressive for its time, but it left a legacy of mediocrity. Rome was a huge success in part because it was so gorgeous and atmospheric that nobody noticed the game didn’t work.

Medieval 2: Total War

Claim to Fame: Medieval again but like Rome this time
Hidden Weakness: Medieval again but like Rome this time

This is a tough game to rank because it shares almost all of its flaws with Rome: Total War but without the novelty and freshness that Rome could boast. On the other hand, it does work ever so slightly better than Rome.

That’s partly down to the setting. Rome tells its story from a position of Roman supremacy. The Romans can keep upgrading cities and units until nobody can stop them. The barbarian factions, on the other hand, are operating with a huge series of handicaps, so a lot of the wars are lopsided. Medieval assumes rough parity between the various medieval kingdoms and their armies, and so at least the fighting tends to be good. Toss in some early pike-and-shot warfare in the late stages of the game, and Medieval features a pretty good tactical game by the end.

Still, it’s all stuff that the series had covered in its recent past, but tied to the terrible design for Rome. While it may be a better game than Rome, it’s not memorable like Rome. Rome is a tragic hero, fatally flawed and hugely ambitious. Medieval 2 is Rosencrantz and Guildenstern.

Empire: Total War

Claim to Fame: Total War attempts grand strategy
Hidden Weakness: It fails

This may be the strangest Total War ever made. On the one hand, it’s wildly ambitious. The action takes place across the Americas, India, Europe, and the sea lanes in between. There is technological progress as the Enlightenment paves the way for Industrial Revolution. It’s the first Total War to really try and represent historical complexity, to wrestle with the double-edged swords of progress and imperialism. No, the campaign AI never really got a grasp on the game or the multi-region world map, rendering a lot of this new complexity dead-on-arrival, but Empire gets credit for trying something new.

On the other hand, there may not be another Total War that gives less of a damn about the era it depicts. Regimental uniforms? Empire has never heard of them, but instead imagines 17th century warfare to be something conducted by a bunch of guys wearing identical wool coats dyed different colors. They carry muskets and rifles, but aren’t too clear on their purpose, since the AI just charges with everything it has the moment it spots the enemy. Sailing ships? Empire thinks they, and the wind that powers them, are too complicated, so it reimagines the Age of Sail as a more sluggish version of Sid Meier’s Pirates. A community theater Gilbert and Sullivan revival shows more care and concern for historical detail than Empire. The jury is still out on which is more fun, however.

And finally…

Medieval 2 Total War Campaign Map Of States

Rome 2: Total War

Claim to Fame: Remember how much you liked Rome?!
Hidden Weakness: Yes, we do.

Credit where it is due: the Emperor’s Edition made Rome 2 a lot better than it was at launch. On the other hand, when you’ve hit rock-bottom, up is the only direction you can go.

Medieval 2 Total War Campaign Map Mod

Rome 2 may no longer be the worst Total War game ever made. It works better than Empire does these days. But it remains uninspired, full of systems that don’t really work well together and held hostage by a sprawling map that’s full of empty space and endless delays. Want to sail a fleet from the Adriatic coast of Italy to the tip of Sicily? That will be three turns, please. Want to make like Caesar and invade Gallia? Hope your legion brought their walking shoes, because that’s all they are going to be doing for a while.

Rome 2 somehow dumps everything that made Rome memorable while also losing the refinement that made Shogun 2 the pinnacle of the series. Dynastic politics remain a feature, but without any engaging systems to help manage them. The Roman Civil War strikes like a bolt from the blue, devoid of any feeling that old allies and friends are somehow turning against one another. Even the battles themselves feel like cartoon versions of history, as flaming arrows turn into 2nd century B.C. cluster bombs, and the Rome 2 version of Egypt appears to be on loan from Age of Mythology.

Rome and Empire may have been flawed, but those flaws stemmed from ambition that went beyond “old game, new engine”. Rome 2 aims low and still falls short. If anything can be said for it, it is that Rome 2 is the game that seemed to shake the series from its torpor, leading to the beautiful, series-salvaging chaos of Attila. Ironically, then, the weakest Total War in the series’ history may be the most important one since the first Shogun.