Possibly the greatest strategy game, surpassing the original M2TW and even Europa Universalis in replayability and fun.

User Rating: 9 | Medieval II: Total War Kingdoms PC
By yakaspat | Review Date:
The Total War fan community, of which I have been an avid member now for years, was a little nervous about the release of the Kingdoms Expansion pack so soon after the release of the original Medieval II Total War (M2TW) game. As I said in my review for that game, the launch was a bit bumpy and it took two patches before some key balancing issues were resolved. When Kingdoms was announced, I bit my nails and hoped we wouldn't have a repeat.

But, Creative Assembly really pulled out the stops with Kingdoms, blowing the fan community, and the professional game magazines, away. And at the same time, the game developers released a "Retrofit Mod", created and tested by the game studio, to update the original M2TW with the new and improved game balance changes, too. I rejoiced.

Kingdoms is really four games in one. The game comes with an entirely new and improved unit and AI balance from the original (again the original can be updated with the official RetroMod), four brand new campaigns, over a hundred new game units (to add to the hundreds of the original!), and THIRTEEN new factions. With the 21 original factions, and 13 more, the replay value of this game is limitless. Indeed, I'm staying up every night till 2am just to try them all out!

The game AI is vastly improved, the visuals are jaw dropping, and the flavor and flare of "medieval" plays out perfectly. Never before have I played a game this immersive and this fun, not to mention challenging on the harder game settings. Medieval II Total War Kingdoms is a highly recommended addition to any strategy gamers library and also a good pick for someone new to the series.

Total War!

Other Helpful Reviews for Medieval II: Total War Kingdoms

  • Rating:8.5

    Total War rides out again, in a big way.

    By Lord_Lykouleon | Review Date: Aug 29, 2007 | PC

    Now before I go any further, I have a passionate love for the Crusades, so there might be some historical bias for this. As you can expect from the Medieval II engine, the game looks and sounds wonderful, so I won't e... Read Full Review

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  • Rating:9.5

    Those that don't like Total War, have never tried Total War.

    By b00gjuice | Review Date: Jan 27, 2009 | PC

    I'm mad at myself for never playing a Total War Game until Jan 2009 (mostly because I wrongly thought it was a click-fest RTS..wrong). With the upcoming "Empire: Total War" hype full swing, I decided to try out Medieval ... Read Full Review

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