Burning people at the stake shouldn't Be This Fun...

Author's Rating:

Pros: Superb gameplay and tactical experience.

Cons: The beautiful people are also the tiny people (graphicswise). Strange sound effects.

The Bottom Line: 
If you have grown up with strategy games, this is the title for you. If you love the knights, castles, and European history, this is where your money belongs.

Author's Review

Medieval


The grandchild of Shogun: Total War, Medieval offers a gameplay experience for the war gamer that is unlike any other medieval warfare simulation I have ever seen. Besides providing very impressive battle scenes, this game delivers a unique political machine that must be run by the player. One must embrace all of the aspects of the medieval world besides warfare: trade, religion, espionage, crop output, and even marriage. Finding a balance between all of these elements is what will make strategy gamers salivate. Besides having an incredible tactical side to it, Medieval is also rich in artwork and maps on which the battles are fought. The sound is another story but is not a major concern of mine.

Graphics: 8/10

The graphics of Medieval are exactly what I would expect out of a turn-based decision making/Real-time battle waging: grainy and miniscule. This, however, is not a drawback as it may seem. In order to see all of the action that is taking place on the varied (and beautiful) terrain sets, the units must be small. There are also smaller particle effects such as rain or arrows filling the sky, but are too small to appreciate. The units on the tactical map function like pieces from the game Risk. The downside to this is that they too are very small and one can easily mistake a title of office for a princess. Do this, and your heirs will be inbred.
What truly impressed me about Medieval, graphics wise, is the artwork. There are sketches of people in everyday Medieval culture: people building cathedrals, children being born from your queen, and enemy spies being captured and executed. However, this does nothing to help you see the tiny people on the battlefield. It functions as mere eye candy.

Sounds: 8/10

There is a rich score of medieval music (which I personally enjoy) that sets the mood for the game. While your troops charge into battle, you will hear a powerful chorus in the background. Music even changes depending on where your soldiers are fighting. Suppose your warriors are assaulting a castle in Cairo. Music will start playing that identifies that specific culture.
The sound effects are subordinate compared to the music. The cries of agony that escape from the lips of your dying soldiers can barely be heard. I could almost make out a few metal weapons hitting eachother, or that could have just be my washing machine. The sound effects seem to have been overlooked, but are not integral to a fun gaming experience in a war game.

Gameplay: 10/10

While somewhat soft in audiovisual presentation, Medieval is a very entertaining and innovative game. There are so many ways to go about playing the game, as well as civilizations to play as, and units to use, that each new campaign started will be a story of its own depending how it is played. You are the king. You may do as you choose. If you like, you can play as the British, build up a massive army, and carve a kingdom out of France, Spain, and Germany. You can remain neutral and turn your kingdom into an economic empire, staying out of the conflicts of others and engaging in peaceful trade overseas. The way you play the game is entirely up to you. However, there are many things that you will have to take into account as you go about doing this. There are many powerful forces that are at work in Europe such as the Church, natural disasters, and even the horde of Gengish Khan.
Ideally, a player can respond to these situations in anyway that they deem fit. With problems such as wars arising between nations, it is necessary to find allies across Europe that you can come to rely on, although this is the not always the case. You will have to send out emissaries to propose treaties to other kingdoms. In order to strengthen the loyalty of your generals, you might offer them your daughter's hand in marriage or give them a title of office. Is there a pesky foreign dipolmat you think is spying on your lands? You can hire the help of assassins to slay them in the shadows. Are the Christians invading your lands? If you are a Muslim faction, you can declare jihad against them (stereotypically jihad is thought of as a barbaric war in the name of religion. It is simply a call to arms to reclaim land that has been taken by an aggressor.) If you wish to create an empire, you will need a navy to defend your waters and ferry your troops around.

Replayability: 9/10

What is very striking about Medieval is the replay value. Even if one has conquered Europe in the single player, which should keep them occupied for a few weeks, there are several other factions to choose and master. They have their specific strengths, weaknesses, and own special units that can be used in battle. For example, the British special unit is the Longbowman. It has one of the greatest attack ranges and is capable of taking out mounted units. However, Longbowmen are very poor melee fighters and have to be protected by infantry units. Every unit has a specific point and counterpoint that take time to understand, master, and exploit.
Another element that adds on to the replay value is the multiplayer experience. Online, one does not deal with the sometimes predictable moves of the computer. One combats fellow humans, which provide an interesting gameplay experience. Humans are greedy, humans are deceptive, and humans run on emotions. The war games that follow are highly entertaining, especially if you play with people that you know.

Overall: 9/10

What drives Medieval is gameplay. A bit short in some areas, this is still a very fun game to play. Some may feel that Medieval is nostalgic of Shogun, but the difference is depth. There are simply more options available. Options to kill. Options to dominate. Options to wait in darkness to strike at your friends. Options to wage total war against the nations of the civilized of the Medieval world.