The units in the game include various types of troops including archers,
spearmen, infantry, and cavalry. Balance is maintained by a
unit/counter-unit system (e.g. spearmen do well against cavalry, archers do well
against spearmen, cavalry do well against archers), and units are further rated
on weapon quality, morale, and the quality of leadership (not yours, the on-field generals'). The AI does a good job of providing a worthy opponent,
and understands the strengths and weaknesses of its units and how to maneuver
them in combat. However, good tactics alone will not carry the day, as
unit quality, experience, and morale have a large impact on a unit's combat
worthiness.
It can definitely be said that the battles in Medieval: Total War are on a
grand scale not found in many other strategy games. The engine is able to
support over 10,000 troops on the field of battle, and it can be fascinating
just to watch large battles unfold. Each individual man is animated, and
although they look a touch clunky at the closest zoom level, this is
understandable given the scale of the battles and the finite processing power of
PCs. Should a man fall in battle, his corpse will remain where he fell,
not just until a little decay animation is played, but for the entire battle.
Pitched battles will leave behind heaps of corpses that will litter the
battlefield along the ebbs and flows of the battle lines.
If there's one disappointing aspect of the battles it is the castle sieges.
Castles in the game are fitted with archer towers that will rain a steady stream
of arrows at your troops if they get too close, but for the most part castles act
as a pen to contain the enemy forces. A siege consists of taking out a
section of wall with your siege engines, thus letting the enemy out and you in
to engage in battle. There is no manning of the ramparts, ladders and
towers, or battering rams. Just knock down a wall and run around in the
confined quarters of the castle yard hacking at the enemy and you'll take over a
castle.
In addition to the real-time battles, the game has a campaign mode as well.
The game spans the entire Medieval period from 1087 through 1453, dividing the
nearly 400 year span into early, middle, and late periods. You can select to
play as one of twelve different factions, among them the English, Spanish, and
French in the west, the Polish and Russians in the east, and even Islamic
factions from the Middle East.
The strategic component of the game is turn-based, and during the course of
your turn you'll need to create units and build improvements that will allow
provinces to generate more income or build more advanced units. You can
also collect your units into armies, and move these across the map one province
per turn to conquer new territory or protect your realm. In addition to
the faction-controlled provinces, there are neutral provinces (called rebel
provinces in the game) that are there for the taking by the first faction that
comes along. You'll want to take all of the rebel provinces within reach
as soon as you can, as making war on another faction can carry political
consequences.
Medieval: Total War does a good job of trying to capture the complexities of
medieval diplomacy and religion, and make it playable as a component of the game.
The computer controlled pope carries a lot of power in the game, and can warn
you to call off your invasion of a Christian province under threat of censure
and the declaration of a crusade against you. On the other hand, getting
the pope to approve your crusade will result in financial backing and a swell in
the ranks of your armies as they take on the enemies of the church.
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