Medieval II: Total War

 PC
User Score
8.9

Generally favorable reviews- based on 949 Ratings

User score distribution:
  1. Positive: 856 out of 949
  2. Mixed: 72 out of 949
  3. Negative: 21 out of 949
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  1. Meatcritic
    Oct 26, 2008
    3
    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 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
  2. RichK.
    Nov 30, 2006
    4
    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 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
  3. LysanderS
    Sep 20, 2009
    3
    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 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
  4. turkolainen
    Apr 20, 2012
    2
    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    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
  5. ZioR.
    Dec 10, 2007
    0
    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 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
  6. shinequalivingston
    Nov 16, 2006
    0
    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
  7. theirrelephants
    May 15, 2016
    4
    Build pretty cities and stare at them amazed on the strategic map.

    Then realize the single player campaign is garbage because CA can't write AI to save their lives. You can win any siege with 1-3 units of any kind and ballista/cannon towers. Move unit outside of walls. Enemy will charge in. Walk back inside castle. Enemy slowly retreats while getting hit by tower fire. Rinse and    Build pretty cities and stare at them amazed on the strategic map.

    Then realize the single player campaign is garbage because CA can't write AI to save their lives. You can win any siege with 1-3 units of any kind and ballista/cannon towers.

    Move unit outside of walls. Enemy will charge in. Walk back inside castle. Enemy slowly retreats while getting hit by tower fire. Rinse and repeat. Uninstall game in anger.

    Shogun Total War (1) was better.    … Expand

Awards & Rankings

6
#6 Best PC Game of 2006
11
#11 Most Discussed PC Game of 2006
4
#4 Most Shared PC Game of 2006

Critic Reviews

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Metascore
88

Generally favorable reviews - based on 39 Critic Reviews

Critic score distribution:
  1. Positive: 39 out of 39
  2. Mixed: 0 out of 39
  3. Negative: 0 out of 39
  1. PC Gamer
    90
    A bigger, prettier, and more addictive game that leaves even the series' most recent efforts in the dust...If you think "Rome: Total War's" battles looked good, especially for the number of units on-screen at once (i.e., thousands), Medieval II will blow you away. [Dec 2006, p.28]
  2. PC Gamer UK
    94
    Mesmerisingly challenging... If there's another wargame that blends geopolitics with tactics this brilliantly, or portrays war so memorably, then I'm unaware of it... The new king of wargames. [Dec 2006, p.56]
  3. Pelit (Finland)
    94
    Take the contents and theme from Medieval. Mix them with eye candy from "Rome," add some spice and you have a winner on your hands. [Dec 2006, p.82]
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