A fulfilling strategy experience that sucks you in for hours on end.
The main campaign is the real meat of the experience, and is broken into two main parts.
First is the campaign map, on which armies and cities and the general shape of the world is manipulated in turn-based fashion. Through the use of "agents" which vary from priests to assassins, it is possible to become a mighty nation with many allies and just as many enemies. The campaign map has a relatively high learning curve simply because of the enormous amount things possible and the depth of interactions available. When attacking an enemy army or city, you are given a brief overview of the odds of victory and details about the battle, as well as the choice to simulate the battle or fight it on the battle map.
The battle map is a stunning thing, with highly detailed, varied units. Unlike in other strategy games, one unit is not a single soldier but a whole battalion of soldiers, meaning that battles can easily range from small skirmishes to massive sieges involving literally tens of thousands of troops. These battles feature well-equipped AI, and the unit system means that real world tactics and strategy are required for anything short of a wholesale slaughter of your forces, a fact that makes the game very interesting, but also involves a steep learning curve.
Historic battles are also offered, which play out as battles with predetermined forces and starting deployments, enabling you to try to fight the battle a different way. Thinking of charging the French at the Battle of Agincourt? Why not give it a shot and see how it turns out?
Quick battles and multiplayer battles are also available, featuring the ability to decide what type of battle will be fought, where it will be fought, and who will be fighting it.
The depth of features in the campaign, as well as the intellectually stimulating and challenging battles will keep any strategy fan coming back for more. I myself was not a fan of turn-based games prior to this, but find myself losing track of time because of this game. If you are a strategy fan, either real-time or turn-based, this game has a balance that will leave satisfied and craving for more.