If anything this game has potential. Move that out of your way and you will see a game far beyond any game that has ever been made or even thought of. This game is simply magnificant on the largest scales I have ever seen. Watch as thousands of men battle it out in an epic fight to the death. Or conquer the world in the grand campaign. Ambush your enemies, assassinate generals, forge diplomacies, crusade, jihad, and wage total war on your enemies! Medieval 2 throws you into one of the bloodiest ages in recorded history in a strategic fight for world domination or the survival of another bloody day. Yeah, it was great.… Expand

No other game conveys the true epic nature of warfare in the middle ages and beyond. Rome Total War was an epic game, and after playing this for a day solid its every bit better. The Creative Assembly are a fantastic studio, and Sega are in real danger of becoming a very good publisher.

Clearly based on the Total War Rome engine, but simply better, smoother and prettier. AWESOME.

Absolutely amazing. This game is a huge leap in the Total War series. There are 100's of different units, lots of empires you can play that have all unique units. The graphics are amazing, and the men on the battlefeild actually fight in good detail, unlike previous Total War games. It's a must buy for a RTS (Real-Time Strategy) and TBS (Turn Based Strategy) fan.

I have mixed feeling with this game. I am glad that devs continued to explore the TW franchise further and the Medieval period is much enjoyable, al lest for me. The graphics are great, and the sense of individualism for each solider in the unit, gives the game great sense of reality. The battles not only look good but they also feel right. However, facing numerous bugs during the game play makes me want to go back to old RTW and play some of the communities mods. And while most of the bugs are not critical, they do cause a great deal of frustrations. One this is for sure, this game is in desperate need of a patch! In the other hand, I have not noticed any crashes, slowdowns or other performance issues with the game. I wish I have waited unit the patch came up; I would have had much higher opinion about the game.… Expand

My new favorite game, infinite playability, Great AI with the new patch, incredible graphics, good sound, great soundtrack, everything is amazing.

Excellent and long game that I still have yet to finish in the long Grand campaign. The AI in the game can sometimes be pretty stupid but I have been on the verge of wipeout from one of the AI on hard mode. I wish there were more multiplayer aspects in the game though, and the naval battles are pretty lame but nothing that isn't bypassed. For those that are saying that it is a "dissapoinment" from Rome, it's the same game but with different textures. That means same problems, same graphics, same AI.… Expand

I have played Rome: total war, and now this awesome game, medieval 2. I think that a lot of people are missing that this isn't a second Rome, its a second medieval and its not the same. The cavalry charge in this game isent weak like most people say its 10 times stronger. you can kill a hole group of heavy swordsmen with a blink of an eye if you do it right. but you have to expect that its really hard to master the cavalry and yes, they are very bugged when running after routing units, but if you try and put up the game speed you will see that they kill them eventually (but they may do reaaaaaally wierd things). All the grafics are great and all the infantry works fine so except from the cavalry this game is awesome.… Expand

I've always wanted a nice medieval game, one that puts you in the settings of the era. Medieval 2 did this very nicely, not only was i suprised at the depth of the game, but i was completely blown away by the sound and graphics. if you zoom close to the battle, you will see how it feels to see the sky full of flamming arrows, you will hear them zipping past your ears, and the screams from your co next to you as they burn in fire from the arrows. You will hear the knights charge from a distance, the pace from the horses picks up and the sound they make thunders from the distance. Sound and Graphics really wins the day, although AI can be a bit buggy, but the quality of the sound + Graphics earns every point from me.… Expand

My favourite game ever - epic battles, tactical gameplay on real-time and turn-based levels - an all-round masterpiece.

A return from the excellent total war series. Excellent gameplay and graphics. Experienced total war players (like me) will enjoy the improvements to the graphics, and the tweaked combat. Even as I write I'm torn between 9 and 10. Some troubles with your soldiers AI are about the only problem with this game.

Truly excellent game, the graphics are stunning, the sound is well put-together and, despite the huge amount of content rammed into the strategy game in Rome, Medieval 2 has done a very good job of giving players far more options and freedom, allowing for almost total sandbox gameplay, which is what makes it so replayable. The vast variety of what players can do makes this game almost second to none in its genre. The only thing I would take a mark off this for is that siege battles are often a complete nightmare, with regiments often disobeying orders or, even more irritating, half a regiment remaining on one side of a wall while the other stays on top, refusing to do anything while you furiously try and redirect it. This really frustrated me, but apart from that, the campaign is an excellent experience and the in-battle gameplay is astounding. Based on this, It well deserves a 9/10… Expand

Unforgivable bugs make the game nearly unplayable. Veterans of Shogun: Total War will remember units ignoring orders issued to the unit group. Well, 3 releases later, CA still hasn't figured it out. AI is practically incapable of launching a siege, typically knocking down the first ring of walls and not bothering to move on to rings 2 and 3. Once repelled, the sieging attackers stop their rout just outside the city walls, making you hunt them down one by one before victory is declared. Cavalry doesn't charge or run down fleeing enemies; infantry units fan out into large clouds when ordered to attack, creating a front line consisting of 5-10% of the unit; AI battle strategy seems to consist of standing still, being picked apart by arrows, and trampled to death from the front, rear, and sides as you visibly march your armies around its forces. Difficult to believe the game underwent minimal (if any) beta testing. Sega should have released a flexible engine and allowed the mod community to design the rest. (Did I mention a bugfix mod exists solely to correct critical errors CA was too lazy to fix? One community member even sent CA a corrected version of the game files, and the developers still implemented the fix incorrectly in the patches.) Do not buy, and don't buy Empire: Total War until you've played a bit of the game and can verify the same mistakes aren't repeated for a 5th time.… Expand

Well, first of all, the problem in sieges where infantry will fan out when ordered to attack so only 5 guys at a time go at the enemy, archers on top of walls or inside the city fire 3-7 arrows and usually in random directions, making ranged combat while defending virtually impossible. I get the whole cavalary charge thing, makes perfect sense, but why the hell can't they take down routed enemies? I have to tell them to move past the fleeing enemy, and when they're on top of them, then tell them to attack so that they actually do anything. Also, cavalary has the same problem as infantry while inside cities, they fan out in a cloud when ordered to attack. Other than those bugs, the game is divine.… Expand

This looks like the best Total War game yet! My only problem is why they have to include sexual themes in it. A deffinit buy for me.

Great Graphics, some bugs, great gameplay overall, love the addition of the new world, A+

I have always been a big fan of the Total War series, and this game just puts me over the top! The graphics are smooth and sweet. The action is ten fold that what it was in Total War 1! If you're into strategy games, buy this!

Excellent game, bringing together a great combination of history with fun gameplay.

When the units obey your orders, Medieval II is an amazing spectacle and a fun game to play. Not only are thousands of hand-chosen soldiers fighting at your command, but cities rise and fall at your leisure based on war, diplomacy, sabotage, and assassination. This game isn't perfect, but it deserves far higher than an 8.6 average rating, so I'm throwing in a 10 to make up for the lack of enthusiasm.… Expand

I am also a long time Total War series fan, and I'll admit I had very, very high expectations when I heard M2TW was coming out. After playing Rome Total War for two solid years, I was hesitant on just how the next game could hope to compete with Rome. Wow, was I surprised. Medieval 2 takes all the great elements developed from Rome and improves on them lock, stock, and barrel...or sword, shield, and pike! Visually, the game is just stunning. You only need try one demo battle to see that for yourself. Not only that, the gameplay is addictive, fun, and challenging, especially on the harder difficulty settings. Everything from the music, to the interface, and even the manual and packaging is top-notch. Admittedly, the initial release of the game contained some show-stopping bugs. However, with the first, and now second, patches available, the game now plays as it was intended. And it's worth every dime. I definately would highly recommend this game to any serious strategy gamer who is sick of the tired, boring, and now just stupid RTS gaming engine that most modern "strategy" games employ. It's truly an awesome game.… Expand

This game is much better than the first few. You can actually see your soldiers and tactics also work. The new combat system and agents really improve gameplay along with things like the pope and crusades.

A brilliant game from a brilliant company, Creative Assembly has found an award winning formula. The game focuses on managing a nation into an empire and commanding armies throughout the land makes this an enjoyable and rewarding game. With 17 playable factions, each with its own strength and weakness give this game an astounding amount of replay value. There are many strategies you can employ on and off the battlefield whether it be flanking an enemy unit or manipulationg religion to call crusades against a bothersome opponent. An overall graphically appealing game with a perfect balance of medieval era warefare strategy/tactics and diplomacy. Note: It is worth mentioning that there are many fan sites with mods to enhance or change certain gameplay aspects.… Expand

People are complaining about 'buggy' cavalry, when really it is fixed. I was stumped at first, until i worked out the new formed/unformaed charge system. In rome a cavalry unit could be charging one way, and quickly turn around and smash into an enemy flank, without stopping. Is this realistic? in med2 a charge has to have time to gather speed, and stay fairly straight to be effective, and I much prefer this........ to the idiotic AI, simply put the difficulty to very hard/very hard, and you will have bigger armies coming at you while your supposedly 'equal' troops are inferior, and that erquires some clever tactics. good times, brilliant game.… Expand

This game is great, it is adventurous and exciting, it captures your imagination and in the mean time lets you command and kill thousands of soldiers. My only complatint is the AI is sometimes retarted and the campeign can be slow. Besides that its like being right there in the heart of a battle.

Fantastic game for strategic players.

Best Game i've ever played. It posesses many of the old Total War traits which is exactly what makes it so good. Major improvement in the area of sieges (love those castles) and maps. Best part of all, the AI has become much more developed and realistic. Overall its a nice improvement

Excellent game. I've been playing several other RTS games and was absolutely shocked at how good this is even compared to its predecessors. This deserves to be on every strategy players game shelf and hard drive.

I've got mixed feelings toward Medieval II. I prefer this time period to the Rome setting and there are numerous improvements to the engine, like the graphics. There are bugs that really can take away from the enjoyment in battles, like major pathfinding problems. The campaign map, or perhaps the campaign as a whole, grows a bit tedious once you have a growing civilization. I'm only picking out some negatives here, though. With a few patches to iron things out - not just fixing bugs, but adding some features and removing some things - I can see Medieval II becoming a very, very great game. But, like I said, at the time of my review I'm a bit mixed towards it.… Expand

The AI can be largely improved, mainly the separate auto-management of units, agents, and taxes is missing. The game is the most spectacular mixing strategy and real-time tactics, but it lacks adequate management tools when the number of countries controlled becomes high. Turns become lenghty. Pathfinding needs reworking, as being real-timed makes it all too easy to lose a turn just by mistake.

Since I never played the earlier games from the developer I think I see Total War 2 with different eyes than some of the other commentators. Being a huge Civ strategy fan as well as a fan of various RTS games I truly enjoy Total War, it's like two good games in one; Deep strategy and awesome RTS battles. Cavalry attacks can take out half an enemy unit in a few seconds if done right, just makes sure your cavalry unit is in good formation before you order the attack. After a few seconds, pull them back, regroup and repeat. I don't think it's a bug.… Expand

I really like this game, i was a big fan of Rome Total War and when this came out I had to be the first to have it. I dont really have a problem with the calvery charge cause I never use horsemen anyway. I am all infantry, I love the heavy infantry and archers that the English provide. top notch. I would recommend this game to anybody with a beasty enough computer to run it. Awsome game, my favorite at the moment.… Expand

The Vanilla game itself is ok, but AI is bad. What gives this game the edge is the community. There are literally loads of mods that you can download, and each of these is truly massive! Don't believe me, just check out the website forum and look for links to mods. Or Just Google "Medieval 2 mods". Then read for yourself. Well worth your money! (If not for the vanilla, then for all the mods!)… Expand

One of the things I missed in Rome:TW was the economic perspectives of Medieval:TW, but in this game, they have found a great balance, by taking the best elements of Rome and Medieval 1 and making the best historical strategy game to date. I can't wait for Empire:Total War.

One of the best games i have ever played! it has awsome graphics and sound. I fully recomend this game to anyone who loves the total war series. It's just plain brilliant and very addictive.

Pure fantastic strategy, need I say anymore...? Essential.

An in depth, inthralling Real time strategy turn based game that keeps you intrested much longer then Rome total war did.

Great game, I love the up-close and personal view where you can see your army in actions. Siege battle is awsome as well. 10/10!

I played All of Total War Games, and I can say, by far, this is the best one, I will not inclide the bugs because they release patches so there is no reason to complain about them, the game is great. graphics=10 gameplay=10, for newplayers, it might be hard to learn, but I'm sure people will enjoy it.

Awsome game, good graphics. the gameplaying is great.

A game that will make you feel like conquering the world. Out of all the total war games this is a personal favorite. Updated graphics bring units to life on the battlefield. Finally the player is able to recruit new units and buildings without a general present in the settlement. Ai is amazing for the most part on the battlefield however total war games have allways had issues with the Diplomacy option. This game is no different. You may get rejected for no conceivable reason when trying to be diplomatic toward another nation. This is one of my small gripes and nothing really serious is wrong with the game.… Expand

Fantastic game, limitless playability and excellent graphics among the best rts games I have ever played. A good all round winner, the bugs don't cause me many issues if you keep your eye on what your units are doing.

This is one of CA's best (with Rome Total War) games, it beats Empire, it beats Napoleon (which was rather a pile of garbage so that wasn't hard) and it beats Shogun2. It's from CAs good days, when there were modders and not every unit had to be sold as a dlc and it has a high replay value. I still like Medieval 2 better than anything that came after it.

An almost perfect game. A superb blend of RTS and Turn based strategy. Medieval 2 has stolen more gaming hours from me than any other title. Ever. Period. Coupled with the amazing addons from the community it surpasses (in terms of playability and longevity) any other game in my collection - and I have a big collection of games. The AI can be buggy at times, but this can be forgiven by the pure enjoyment of a huge siege or battle. However, the turn based part of the game is no slouch and is a deep and rewarding experience. If I was told I could only play one game from now until eternity it would be, without shadow of a doubt - Medieval 2. A Modern masterpiece.… Expand

This game is great.Greater than most games, decent game-play, but not as much mods as Rome:total war. I like playing as the English because I am English!

Way too many bugs. Especially the bug where you order your men to attack, and only a handful of a 120 man unit actually do any fighting. Or maybe the bug where your cavalry breaks an enemy unit, but decide to stand still while the routing unit runs away, and then when you order them to chase the unit down, they run around in circles instead. Clearly, this game needs patching, but we can't even rely on the developers to do this! Just like Rome, the game community does the patching itself. Maybe the unofficial patch for Rome that fixed some 200 plus bugs could be remade for this game.… Expand

Vanilla mode this looks just like Rome:Total War but only worse. Given, graphics improvements and sounds match the period, I can't help but notice so many familiar flaws while either trying to run down infantry with my cavalry, OR, battling it out with naval engagements, which, by the way, blows. Let's not even get into diplomacy here, someone's definitely dropped the ball. Overall, it could've been a pleasant and award winning game. A disappointment. Lets' only hope Empire:TW will keep TW series afloat.… Expand

Major let down after the fabulous Rome: Total War. The campaign map graphics and unit cards are horrid. The battle graphics and animations are good, but the AI is so bugged most battles are won or lost based on which army gets the most bugged units. Troops regularly get stuck going through breached walls and gates and just - stop - blocking the way of all other troops. About half the time the AI will completely shutdown and the entire enemy force will just sit there and get decimated. Diplomacy is non-sensical with allies regularly attacking you for no reason what-so-ever choosing to attack your largest army and fortified city with one unit of Archer Militia then refusing to agree to peace even when they have been reduced to one city left with no troops and under siege from your army. Makes great screenshots nothing more.… Expand

Fans of the earlier games seem to be carried away with enthusiasm for improvements, without assessing the real problems with this game. Issues are: 1) Lack of guidance about performance tuning, which can completely cripple the real time battles, 2) Severe bugs, such as not crediting your account with significant amounts of money after a major effort capturing a city, 3) Unhelpful information about how to use pivotal pieces such as diplomats (why are there several options for bribery thrown together...that are not accepted?) and merchants (are they supposed to move from resource to resource, or not?), 4) City improvements which, even though financially ok, cannot be selected... the list goes on. Is the game worth playing? Yes. Is it worlds better than a score of other games? No. Use a mid- to high-end computer, and be prepared to spend some considerable time in forums figuring out how it works.… Expand

Mixed feelings about this game. The graphics are certainly pretty enough when turned all the way up; artillery, archery, and cannon fire effects look especially impressive. Music and sound work is also top-notch. In all other respects, it seems inferior to its predecessor, Rome: Total War. Perhaps I am biased towards the Rome time period, but the Medieval II unit selection seems more drab and boring. As already noted, cavalry also has lost a lot of its effectiveness... they will go from charging into the rear of a group of enemy archers, to cantering up and inviting them over for dinner. They play like fast-moving infantry, which is nice but not worth the price premium and certainly not what a cavalry unit should be. The campaign map also seems no deeper than in Rome, with pretty much all of the same problems -- neutral ship blockades, strange time scaling issues, and so on. All in all, this would have rated an 8 or 9 if it were the first game of its genre... after Rome's strong showing, it seems a little weak.… Expand

This game be hitten all up on my grillz homies, i be goin dlown to da mall bein all cool and sh*t and these peeps would be knockin at my crib sayin how east side this game was u heard me son. my peeps would never buy this sh*t and neither should you, you heard me you white people i dont give bout you wiggers so... dont be playin hatin home g's

I'm pretty disapointed. All the annoying things about Rome are still there. What is the friggin point of the princess unit? Why does it take 20 years for a diplomat to reach Russia? Why does naval combat completely blow? After you've taken 9-10 provinces it turns into a micro-management nightmare. Too many spies. Too many assassins. Too much clicking. You end up having the battle of hastings 3 times every turn as computer allies turn on you because you've become too powerful. The battles ARE brilliant. The strategic map needs a major overhaul. How can a neutral navy blockade your fleet? you cant move through them? Ridiculous. Buy it when its 19.99 and then you'll get your moneys worth.… Expand

I've been a fan of this series since Shogun, and I concur that this latest installment has sharp graphics and is generally well produced. However, as far as the grand strategy game goes, the AI still hasn't been fixed. All the bugs from Rome still exist here, and battles against the computer (castle siege in particular), remains pathetic and makes the campaign rather boring. Fix the AI and this game is an instant 10.… Expand

This game is amazing but i still liked the original Total War map and pieces style ie: shogun total war.

Medieval 2 is pretty entertaining it's a shame that at some point it becomes very repetitive and bunch of major bugs won't help at all including the horrible battle- and campaign AI. But this is indeed a beatiful game with epic battles.

Horrible. Compared to RTW, this game is terrible. Cavalry have become nothing more than targets for enemy archers to waste arrows on. No longer can you charge down an enemy. No longer can you charge down a ROUTING army. Cavalry are incredibly slow, and tend to glitch between having lances out, and having swords out. Then there's the fact that most units, ESPECIALLY in seiges, will ignore your orders, and a handful of the group will run in circles. The addidtions and changes from RTW can be counted on one hand. Useless princesses, which are like terrible diplomats, castles, which aren't exactly worth it other than for their millitary units, the pope, which is like a more annoying Sennate (SPQR). Diplomacy is terrible at best, but the campaign can be fun if you can learn to forget all of the horrible bugs.… Expand

Still a good game, I didn't go to deep for the time being, just few hours playing but frankly speaking I haven't seen a lot of differences with Rome Total War, same global map and interface, same combat map and stategies and no real improvement in graphics. Overall it's a good game for people who liked Total war series but its not a new one, just kind of RTW mod.

I agree that the AI is terrible in all parts of the game. For example the AI attacks a castle/town the same way every time. It either knocks down the gate with a ram or destroys the walls on each side of the gate and then just lines up all the troops and performs the medieval death march. If there are two enemy armies only one will have built rams etc so the second army just sits there or will march all the way around the castle to the breach. So you never have to defend against more than one army at a time. This style of programming is typical. AI is almost always is the last thing on the production list. Games are release with poor AI and great graphics and sound because we as gamers will buy games because they look and sound great. Also creating good AI takes time and good programmers and the industry is only interested in hiring programmers that can make the game look nice. That is what sells games. Only we can change that by not purchasing games with bad AI. But that is not going happen because that would upset the profit margin. This has been going on for a very long time. To bad.… Expand

Very pretty towns and battles. But I dont like the way cavalry charge and then stop 10 feet before the enemy line loosing their charge bonus, then dying as fast as weak infantry. This now means I dont recruit cavalry ( I was a cavalry general in Rome) as they are expensive waste of time. Watch them out going the oppersite direction when ordered to move, (order left they go right) this kind of kills game play. Chase a routing group and the chasing cavalry scatter to the wind, it requires great skill and repeated direction (clicking) for the unit to do as ordered. This is a serious bug not fixed in 1.1 patch. And why does it still take three years to sail across the Mediterranean Sea (Algiers to Genoa) surely the crew would have died of starvation in this time. I look forward to fixes in the next patch as Medieval 2 should be an incremental improvement on Rome.… Expand

Compaired to the orriginal Total War games, this one is terrible. It's slow caimpaign play makes waiting for each battle a chore; the battles may have good graphics however, there is to few of soldiers for them to be truly "epic"; and multiplayer over the internet for this game is virtually dead. I give this game 2 thumbs down, and if I had known this game was this bad I wouldn't have wasted my money on it. It is a dissapointment for the Total War series, they could have done much better.… Expand

A good mix of turn-based and real-time strategy, although the turn-based elements often feel oversimplified. It does have a solid real time combat foundation, but the AI is either really good or really bad depending on the difficulty setting--there is no middle ground. If you are new to real time strategy games, this one has a pretty steep learning curve. Even seasoned players may feel overwhelmed. 17 different factions on top of long and short campaigns give a lot of room for different story paths and immense replayability. One campaign can take days, even months of play time.… Expand

Definately has to be one of the best strategy games I have ever played. Now I know what you're probably thinking; "why an eight then?". First of all, the gameplay offers a massive choice of nations and units each with their own traits, but accessing all of these factions can be a slog at times. The mix of battles, diplomacy, family traits and strategy AI create a truly realistic and immersive game that offers an infinate number of choices to your next move. However, sometimes the game can become a bit taxing to less motivated players (not that I'm complaining) and the AI during battles can often glitch. Whilst these glitches are mostly minor, they nevertheless break your immerson in the game and can be quite annoying when your soldiers glitch about instead of doing as they're told. Nevertheless, despite all its weaknesses, Med 2 is still a briliantly crafted game, its strategy mixed in with impressive graphics and cinematic music will keep you wound up in the Medieval age for hours.… Expand

Although M2TW was released 5 years ago, it's still an incredible game. Want to conquer all of Europe, North Africa and part of the middle east? Maybe even the New World? All of that is possible. And, let's not forget the epic battles with a large variety of troops. Plus, there are also great mods for the game that'll take it to the ultimate step. It's a must buy for every strategy game fan.

Awesome game, my favorite of the total war series by far. I cannot wait to see what they do with the next version. Only thing to improve really is the Americas part. 'Nuff said.

Great game but doesnt compares to Rome Total War, in some aspects it improved but in others it downgraded from the prequel, it has great mods such as Stainless Steel and Broke Crescent, and also the long awaited sequel to Europa Barbarorum (Rome total war mod), Europa Barbarorum 2!

Havent played shogun 2 or pre rome games. But this is the best in the series, far better game then rome, and a generally awesome game. AI is not great, but its entirely playable. The people saying you cant charge with cav are stuipid, double click and u charge, how could u not understand this, its in every single game and medieval 2 is no exception. Sieges are great, although u can hold off huge forces with just 5 peasent archers if the enemy doesent have siege weapons like catapolts and cannons. And even then any phalanix form able units can stop any breach with 2 units, but that is still pretty realistic, since generals from the time even said u need like 5 times the invading force if u want to capture a well defended castle, and 2x if u have the element of surprise. Pope can be annoying however, and i am sad you cant turn off the pope, as he will often threaten with excommunication when u invade a christian city after they attack you, even if u have higher rank with the pope. Also if u break a ceasefire or alliance in under like 10 turns of making it u cant get any nation ever to ceasefire without spending like 50000 and a major city. The pope often requests impossable things, eg in french campaign, his first mission was get england to give caen, a major castle that is englands greatest strategic area at the start of the game. He will also slightly down rank you if u dont join the crusades, which often are on the opposite side of the map (im in england and he requested crusades take juesalisim. But aside form those few flaws, im loving this game much more then rome and definatly the later games empire and napoleon.… Expand

My friend brought this game over and I was pleasantly surprised (I prefer more hardcore games like Victoria). So I got the Gold edition from the bargain bin. The hotseat multiplayer mode is great fun if you have some friends and a lot of time to kill. This is a good game but not a great game because: it is still too arcade, the highest difficulty level is still way too easy, the AI is quite bad, the battle autoresolve is very unbalanced and the controls can be temperamental. Good large mods like Stainless Steel 6.4+ address some of the flaws.… Expand

I find this game to be the most frustrating game I've played in my entire life. Why? Among others, there's the fact that: 1. Units tend to disobey your orders ALL THE TIME when in battle 2. economy totally sucks in this game. it's vague, unpredictable and just plain irritating 3. unit damage doesn't make any sense. it's impossible to tell if your archers are doing any damage in battle, or that your cavalry is actually DOING SOMETHING. there is no such thing as a total HP meter to see if you are actually winning or not. too annoying!!! 4. the AI in campaign maps tend to attack you for no freaking reason at all. last time i played, suddenly the Roman Empire just decided to attack me for no reason, along with the Danes and the French. their behavior is beyond idiotic 5. you will be excommunicated for the most simple things. too frustrating 6. conquering lands takes FOREVER. it's too much of a struggle to just take a single freaking city 7. the overal battle system is complete crap. automatically resolving battles is NEVER in your favor 8. you cannot choose every faction by default. this game wants you to complete the 50 hour campaign of 5 factions before you can play as the race you want. why not just make every faction playable by default?? 9. building stuff is lineair and does not have any depth. you build a tannery to get leather armor. you build a fletchery to get archers. you build a stable to get cavalry. this DOESNT feel like i'm building a city at all. it's lame 10. the overall repetitive gameplay. conquering other factions requires you to do the same things 50 times over and over again i can go on like this for a very long time. please, don't buy this game. it's really bad… Expand