History, graphics, and gameplay mix properly once more under CA's supervision.
User Rating: 8.4 | Medieval II: Total War PC
Medieval 2: Total war is an excellent example of the work that the creative assembly is capable of doing, and it does the total war series some much needed justice after the horrible Rome: Total War games. CA has done it before with the series, but Medieval 2 totally brings back the good times of the first, and introduces an even more addictive campaign. Part of the greatness of the first game was the fact that it didn't bother skimping on gameplay, and decided it was going to give you fistfuls of it along with some decently good graphics, and let your imagination run wild! Well medieval 2 is a little less with your imagination, but you can really love the beautiful battle scenes and well balanced gameplay. Some fixes that I believe made the game gold from Rome was the increased optimization of the engine that made me feel like I was playing a game that lagged much less, even though it looked much nicer, and improvements to the functions of missile units with the removal of radically fast paced combat that made Rome a frag fest. The missile units in Rome, as we should know, were way overpowered. The standing strategy was to deploy a phalanx, and behind it put archers and onagers (which were 100% accurate, thankfully artillery has been randomized more and is fair now) which mowed down the other team's phalanx. Hopefully you could flank with cavalary!
Now the gameplay is much more dynamic. Cavalry isn't useful for the head on charge, but left unnoticed it can attack the rear of your formation and cause a major headache. Infantry can stand up to missile fire according to how well they look to be armored. For once, looks in the game mean something. Your armoured swordsmen don't die as easily as those peasants, which makes quite a lot of sense. You really can immerse yourself in the detail, and it adds to the experience.
The only disappointment i have is the fact that Medieval II still uses gamespy arcade, which is a god awful multiplayer system. Don't plan on continuous mp!
Overall this is a great game, and well worth the price! It will give you countless hours of campaigning in your quest to unite the medieval world under your banner, whatever the means. 
