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Intro
 Shogun:
Total War was one of those titles that I always reminded myself to try, but
never got around to. Sure, I tried the demo, but it seemed too complicated for
its own good. Then again, those were the days when the Myth series showed simplicity
in 3D strategy gaming and I had thralls on the brain, instead of samurai. However,
I appreciated the cool engine it possessed, and when it was announced that a medieval
version would later be released, I found it a tantalizing proposition and chose
to follow closely. The day the demo was released, I was hooked and waited impatiently
for the full release. Despite the fact that there was little hype surrounding
it, my own anticipation for it made my expectations so high that I wasn't sure
if any game could match them. Well, not only did Medieval: Total War match
them, it stormed them over with rows of cavalry and foot soldiers - and I'm loving
every minute of it.
Gameplay: 9.5/10
If there is anyone
out there who remembers Interplay's Castles series, they will recall a
very rich strategy title that focused on politics as much as it did on warfare.
A king had to be kind with taxes and answer questions correctly whenever someone
approached him with a problem; otherwise, territories would revolt and inner turmoil
would stop the expansion of the kingdom. I played Castles - but mostly
Castles II -- to death. I remember the single bitmap image of my character
rising as king, and even though months and months of accumulated gameplay resulted
in a single image, I didn't care; it was and still is one of the finest games
I've played to date.
Since my victory so long ago on my 286, I have been
patiently awaiting a third installment of the series. Castles III has been
on the top of my Most Wanted list since the release of the sequel, but alas, it
was never to be. The result is more than a decade of wanting, waiting, and thinking
of all the cool things it could feature as technology progressed. I never thought
my dream would see the light of day until Medieval: Total War (M: TW).
This is indeed a spiritual successor to the classic series, and whether Creative
Assembly realized it or not, this is the legacy of Castles, and what a
legacy it is.
Similar to Castles, the king's political savvy is
just as important as his military might. While it was a joy to behead the Pope's
annoying ambassador in Castles, it's even more so enjoyable to assassinate
a general before a fight to demoralize his troops, or to marry off a daughter
into an enemy so that peace can be made. Some of these options were found in Shogun,
but the medieval setting has allowed for some new and extremely cool features.
Since religion was so prevalent during the period, Catholicism and Islam
play a major role in the game world. If you're Catholic and you feel that a general
may betray you, or you need to show a neighboring territory that you're not to
be messed with, send an official of the Church to try them as heretics. If they
are found guilty, they can be killed, and if a territory is found to be filled
with heathens, an Inquisition will begin and slaughter numerous people. Another
perk of being Catholic is that if a group is excommunicated from the Church, a
Crusade can be called against them and massive amounts of troops will have the
ability to ask to move through neighboring provinces to attack the infidels. Not
to be outdone, those who follow Islam can wage Jihads on lands that were once
theirs and send massive amounts of troops to retake their lands.
Similar
to Shogun and Castles, M:TW features a world map where troops,
religious figures and other personnel like daughters, spies, and emissaries, are
moved around and dropped off into particular territories. The game is also played
out in years, so if war is initiated in an area, it won't be until the next year
that the battle will commence; the same goes for building structures, setting
taxes - a main source of income -- along with trade, limited production, and training
troops. The world map will also show uprisings, changes in power over territories,
nations fighting, and world events. This is also where news items are displayed,
such as problems at sea, natural disasters, and historical events, like the various
Crusades, Marco Polo's adventures, and the discovery of the compass. The inclusion
of such events really makes the timeframe more integral to the game, instead of
it just being a means of having medieval soldiers to fight over land.
While the world map is turn-based, the combat is real-time and very intense. As
mentioned, assassins and religious figures can be sent in before combat to demoralize
and harass troops, and bandits can also harass stationed soldiers. The aforementioned
bandits and loyalists are people who are unhappy about high taxes, new leadership
(for recently conquered lands), or other grievances and while they may be peasants
at first, they can reach mind-boggling numbers and with very experienced troops.
Fighting is also done en masse, and in later years, players will have thousands
and thousands of troops participating in combat; if a particularly army is too
large for a conflict, the rest of the soldiers will act as reinforcement and a
flag can be placed where they should go once they are called upon. While the option
is given to switch out the troops acting as reserves with those on the battlefield,
the ability to switch orders isn't available, so if there are multiple archers
with Vikings in the middle, trying to group the archers together will also group
the Vikings with them, and this can get incredibly frustrating. Another qualm
is that waging war with a kingdom outside of your immediate area is extremely
difficult; if a large amount of spies and assassins have been caught from a certain
nation and you feel it's time to take out the whoop-ass stick, moving your troops
into other provinces, even those controlled by your allies, will be seen as an
act of war. Other than waging a Crusade against an enemy, the means of attacking
far-off foes is more trouble than it's worth. Frustrating at first, these transgressions
are often overlooked once a 45 minute siege on a castle results in a battlefield
littered with dead bodies and debris flying off the walls as catapults pound away,
or watching as your line holds off massive amounts of troops and eventually wins
the day with superior tactics - thanks to the several formations and troop arrangements
available - or by killing the enemy general and having the remaining troops flee
due to low morale, and thankfully, you can even save your replays to show to friends.
There's also the ability to hide in the trees and ambush the enemy, the advantage
of higher ground, the dexterity of your men, and so much more.
If all
of this sounds good to you, then you're in luck because M:TW is stocked.
There are single battles, historical battles, historical campaigns that include
the 100 Years War among others, and the full-fledged campaign that can be played
out over hundreds of years and won by either conquering all the lands or achieving
certain goals; you can even decide which time period you want to start in, if
you prefer to jump right in and use hand gunners and cannons, as opposed to working
from the ground up with archers and woodsmen. It's a shame that multiplayer is
limited to last man on the hill, as me and my Danes were looking forward to stomping
Nick and his puny English empire. There's so much in the game that it's hard to
get into, and I'm sure I'm missing something, but I don't know of any way I could
really do this game justice. The only way I can sum up my experience with Medieval:
Total War is such: I've waited over a decade for this game, and it has surpassed
all my expectations.
Graphics:
9/10
The World Map is reminiscent of Risk in that provinces have thick outlines
and terrain is slightly drawn on them. In the beginning, it's not too difficult
to keep track of everything, but as the years go on, pieces tend to clutter, making
your units difficult to spot. However, provided the right structures are built,
units from other provinces can be clicked on and their properties displayed. This
is helpful in judging whether to go to war or not with a particular army, and
if you do, you're in for a lovely 3D spectacle. Imagine a lush setting with hundreds
of bodies piled up on the battlefield and hundreds more soldiers fighting tooth
and nail, all while archers fire volleys into the crowd, and catapults, cannons,
and ballista let loose their artillery. Watching a cannon ball roll or rock bounce
off the ground into a mass of troops is always a must-see as troops will scatter
and be trounced by the projectiles; there's even the option to follow a projectile,
which looks like a first-person mode, causing the to camera swoop back when it
goes too far ahead of your point of view. Witnessing
castle sieges is also an exhilarating experience as some of the larger fortifications
can take large amounts of time, pain, and troops to wear down, all while the weather
is taking its toll on your troops with light rain or heavy storms battering your
archers and gunners, making it harder for them to fire. Zooming up provides a
cool view, and although seeing some troops stand around makes you want to scream
at them to hop to it, it's still fascinating to see a hundred spearmen charge
into a hundred cavalry. Great stuff indeed.
Sound: 9/10
The music is
absolutely top-notch with period pieces getting the mood just right and thumping
bass making the battles even more of a rush. The voice-overs are also good quality
with battlefield commanders announcing the death and retreat of generals; I mean,
who hasn't wanted to hear a man call his enemy the son of a whore? Hearing the
clanking and savage fighting of hundreds of troops, with boulders crashing and
guns firing, all makes for an excellent mix of fear and exhilaration. A good narrator,
similar to the one heard in Myth, to introduce the Historical Campaigns
would have really topped it off.
Control:
8/10
This is, for the most part, very strong. The confusing camera controls
can be adapted to relatively quickly, and so can moving mass amounts of troops.
Thankfully, M:TW uses the banner system seen in Shogun and the WarHammer
titles that have large amounts of troops under the direction of a single banner
and directing the move of it will direct all of them. These banners are also shown
at the bottom of the screen and will show vital information, such as if they are
under fire from archers, if they are retreating, if they are wavering, in combat,
marching, or marching fast. There are
some slight problems though; even though there's a list of troops on the World
Map to select your units from, it can be time consuming whenever you have large
amounts of men sprawled all over the map with several per territory, and you can't
select a particular one because an enemy's emissary is in the way. The previously
mentioned problem with grouping is also a bit of a pain as trying to gather groups
up on the field will only set way-points, and if they are spread apart in the
pre-battle setup, unwanted troops will be grouped up with the desired troops as
well. Formations can also be a pinch, especially when you drag out a formation
for troops to get in and double clicking to make them run cancels out your order
and makes them run in whatever their preset mode was, causing a standard mass
of lines to form a square.
Even with these problems, you will note that
the score is still considerably high for this area and that is simply because
there is so much to do and such a good job was done in streamlining everything
that these problems become smaller niggles more than anything else. There are
even the options to customize the world map to show only important events, show
everything, auto train troops, auto tax provinces, etc. It's impressive that Creative
Assembly managed to get it to work as well as it does.
Overall:
9.5/10
Giving out such a high score is something we reserve for only the
best games, and I feel that Medieval: Total War is such a game. The replay
value here is enormous and the enjoyment seems to be unlimited. The minor nuisances
I had with controls and other aspects were easily overlooked by the outstanding
game that sat before me. During my campaigns I cheered, I cursed, I killed, I
sent my own sons to their death, and I loved every minute of it. This is a rock-solid
title through-and-through and comes with the highest recommendation possible.
This is one that won't be leaving my hard drive for many years to come. A must-buy
for any strategy fan. [
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