Total War? More like Totally War-some!
Much like its historical predecessors (no pun intended), Medieval II is largely a single-player game. Whilst many hardcore competitive strategy gamers might be put off by this, the sheer scope of the campaign and the almost endless replayability more than makes up for it. To start off the campaign you choose from one of five budding Medieval nations. Many newbies will be overwhelmed by the depth of the game at first, but as the minutes turn into ours and the turns turn into... well, more turns, just about everyone will grasp the mechanics. But that's exactly it, this game is so addictive that it is highly advised to put aside a weekend and start a social-life diet if you plan on purchasing this game.
Being a Medieval Emperor is nothing short of satisfying (in the long run, perhaps, after numerous defeats and setbacks, kind of.) Medieval II gives you control over most of your medieval realm, from building up armies and and waging war, to dancing the delicate dance of diplomacy with enemy nations, from building your settlements to suit the needs of you and the people and keeping on the Pope's good side, and even assassinating foreign kings for rewards of gold and converting the heathen tribes.
Settlement management if fairly streamlined and simple, but this does not stop it being highly detailed. Two settlement types are present in Medieval II; Cities, which have weaker defences and train only militia units but are the economic and religious hubs of an empire; and Castles, which trade off population and growth for impressive towers and skilled soldiers. Knowing which one to build and where is crucial, as you have to find a balance on economy and defence. Also this micromanaging is coupled with keeping the population in order, as with a lack of strong discipline and heavy taxes to the people will often result in the rebellion of a town, leaving you one region smaller and an enemy nation potentially one region bigger.
Agents are still crucial to your success in Medieval II. Clerics, Spies, Diplomats, Assassins, Merchants and Princesses will all be dancing round the map engaging with (and sometimes deposing of) each other, each one serving their own purpose to increase your world ambitions. Priests and Imams convert local populaces, stamp out heresy, and, for the Catholic factions, increase favour from the Pope. Spies and Assassins spy and kill, respectively, helping you gather information and dispose of those certain unwanted characters wondering your kingdom. Diplomats and Princesses can both engage diplomacy, which can help or hinder your plans for total domination (and, with the poor AI, it is often hinder.) Princesses, however, can marry enemy generals to convert them to your faction, or be wed off the neighbouring nations to improve relations (I'd assume that to marry off a diplomat in those times would be frowned upon and probably life-threatening.) Merchants are an interesting addition, as they have no upkeep and directly bring in gold for your kingdom. It's almost humorous to see your little merchant stamped out by a rival merchant, with the little box notifying you of their destruction.
The Pope. That mean, good-for-nothing Son of a God. His power is ultimate, and most Catholic leaders will try to keep in his good books by following any orders he has for them. People who deny His Holinesses' authority and do as they please will see themselves [i]excommunicated[/i], increasing civil unrest amongst cities and a poorer national image from all other nations. Even non-Catholic leaders have to worry about the Church's power, as often a crusade will be called to reclaim a holy city, effectively mobilising Europe's armies against a common enemy. Catholic factions masn't relax however, as if they are on the receiving end of an aforementioned excommunication, a crusade against on of their cities may be called!
But, of course, where would a Total War game be without the massive battles? And, thankfully, Medieval II doesn't let up. Armies will consist of infantry, cavalry, archers, artillery, pikemen, skirmishers, ranged cavalry and musketeers. Each unit has their own strengths and weaknesses, and most have special abilities, but true to the Total War name this does not mean that Mailed Knights > Crossbowmen. Positioning of units, level of terrain, use of ammo and effective ambushes will all have an effective on the strength and moral of the enemy, which can send either them running or you falling. Most enthusiasts would agree that the best moments in Medieval II are the ones when you see your group of heavy knights pummel into the enemy's rear or having your desperate cannon crew fire that shot right into the enemy general.
Conflicts come in two forms; battles, which require more tactical knowledge, and sieges, which are more crucial as a loss results in the loss of a city. Both are entertaining and both require different schools of though, but the end result is always the same - total victory or total defeat!
As technology progresses, more units will be unlocked, and such instances like the invention of gunpowder will eventually find their way onto the battlefield. There is no formal tech-tree as such, but most people will know that if they are stuck with Sergeant Spearmen in 1510 A.D. then they'll know they're doing something wrong.
The AI is somewhat lacking, however, and often supposedly one-sided matches will be quickly won when the enemy charges their general straight into your group of Pikemen. The tactics they use are mostly the same, and they appear to have little regard for their units, as they'll have them running backwards and forwards into certain death, whilst you expertly gun down their forces. This is not to say that it is a complete walkover, however, and often you'll be hard-done to beat an enemy if you've made the wrong decisions, but for a game that is single-player oriented this does come as a disappointment.
It is possible to go on forever about the details, like the addition of guilds and guns, to even the discovery of the Americas, but to avoid this turning into a professional review being bigger than the game itself, I'll leave it up to you to decide whether conquering Russia as Spain is awesome or awesome?