Total war series

[ramza]

I have found Medieval 1 gold and Medieval 2 gold for 10 euros and 15 euros respectively. Should I buy them?

 

Are there other games from the series that I should look for?

[Deadly_Nightshade]

Yeah, they're both good games. Rome is also great of you can find that.

[Morgoth]

Shogun, Medieval 1 and Rome.

 

But stay away from Empire. For now.

[Hurlshort]

I would take Medieval 2 over 1, as the graphics are seriously enhanced. But I never played the original, so I can't comment on anything left out. MTW2 is awesome though, I like it better than Empire.

[Pidesco]

The problem with M2TW is that the AI just can't keep up with the more complex campaign map.

[Monte Carlo]

On balance, I'd say MTW2 as well.

 

The campaign map on the original MTW is, however, beautiful. More abstract, with that wind noise in the background... I love it.

 

So, why MTW2?

 

As already suggested, the graphics in the battle mode are much better. The visceral crunch of your cavalry hitting the flank of a unit of spearmen, and seeing them rag-doll into the air, is pretty cool. Furthermore, the expansion pack is good (even though it doesn't convert into the vanilla game). The AI point is also well made.

 

The answer, however, is out there and it's free i.e. the Grand Campaign Mod, which morphs all the features of the Kingdoms XP into a massive campaign spanning 600+ turns. I'm halfway through a game at the moment, it's an epic and satisfying undertaking. Am looking forward to invading the Americas in a hundred or so years time.

 

If you like the Medieval srtting, tactical combat and empire-building then it's a fantastic package, especially as the mods are free and the game / XP is in the bargain bin.

 

Highly recommended (when modded as described).

 

Cheers

MC

[Kaftan Barlast]

Rome and Empire is my recommendation. And Medieval 2 is just an update so youd do better to get that one and never touch MTW1

[Cl_Flushentityhero]

I would just wait for Empire to be patched up and get that.

[Purkake]

I like Rome the most, it has a lot of different weird units and doesn't have gunpowder weapons which make combat really boring.

[Wrath of Dagon]

MTW1 battles were a lot less arcady than Rome, and the battlefields seemed more real and less like battle arenas. I tried the MTW2 demos and the battles seemed the same as RTW, so I would go with 1.

[Calax]

the biggest difference between MTW and it's successors is that the MTW1 didn't have the campaign map have you adjust armies positioning within a province. Instead you'd just take an army and drop it into the next territory and initiate the siege.

 

I liked RTW the best so far but didn't play with MTW2 much. Empire is currently the least complicated of the series but you have to know the general basics of the game series in order to play it. MTW2 to me seemed to have WAY to many units for me to keep track of, and I SUCKED at the battles so the computer often did better than me in terms of outcomes.

[Bokishi]

Empire has the best graphics

[Gorgon]

My favorite is Empire total war 2 with the crusades or teutonic adons. The theaters are much smaller which means the campaign map contains lots more bottlenecks and strategic areas. Also you can play a game and finish it in one sitting without getting bored managing 50 provinces.

[Rosbjerg]

^ I think you mean Medieval Total War 2, right?

 

I would recommend that (the above) as well! I've played all of the different games and each have alot of charm.. my favorite is without a doubt Shogun, but it's too old at this point to really be enjoyable for a newcomer imho.

 

MTW2 has the most developed mods (along with RTW), with some very of interesting ones on the way, as Monte Carlo mentioned the Grand Campaign Mod is the ultimate mod if you want to play the Vanilla game with the added features of the expansions.. I find MTW2 to be the best games in my possesion with this mod.

[Kaftan Barlast]

You should know that the rumours about ETWs supposed bugginess are grossly exxagerated. The way people are talking about it here its like its some russian indie game that crashes if you click too fast.

 

 

Ive had a total of 2 crashes for aboot 50h playtime, and that was alt-tab related and 3 patches ago.

[Rosbjerg]

I like ETW alot as well, but if I had to choose I think MTW2 is the better game.

[Pidesco]

You should know that the rumours about ETWs supposed bugginess are grossly exxagerated. The way people are talking about it here its like its some russian indie game that crashes if you click too fast.

 

 

Ive had a total of 2 crashes for aboot 50h playtime, and that was alt-tab related and 3 patches ago.

 

It isn't about the crashes it's about the gameplay bugs, which sour the experience quite a bit, especially if you're playing the campaign.

[Tigranes]

ETW still hangs in the balance - i.e. will CA actually fix the naval invasions and make the AI a little more dynamic? That's really all they need to do - then within the next 6 months we will see mods for diversified units, better unlocked factions, battle balancing and proper family trees. If such things turn out as projected ETW will easily be the best TW game.

 

For now? I had the most fun playing MTW1, but those graphics can be hard to look at now. Can't comment on the latest MTW2 mods but I'd take MC's word for it.

[Kaftan Barlast]

They've never been able to implement naval invasions. If they could have done it, it would have been in the games by RTW. We are just going to have to accept thats its not possible until CA completely rewrites the engine.

 

 

 

And what are these gameplay bugs? The only one Ive found is that theyve switchedstats between 2nd and 3rd ships of the line. Everything else has been smooth. Diplomacy usually doesnt work, but I cant remember a TW game where you could negotiate with the AI, they'll never ever give up land or more advanced technologies no matter what... unless, they came with the offer

[Purkake]

They've never been able to implement naval invasions. If they could have done it, it would have been in the games by RTW. We are just going to have to accept thats its not possible until CA completely rewrites the engine.

 

I have tried to take all the islands in the Mediterranean in Rome and advance my stuff past everyone in peace. The damn AI came with boats and killed my dudes pretty soon. They do do it, but not very well or often.

[Tigranes]

Rome did fix naval invasions eventually; a greater problem was the fubared landbridges. And ETW *should* have 'rewritten' the engine.

 

What I've really wanted them to do with 3D ever since Rome is a completely different and more advanced concept really - the ability to actually build fortifications on 3D maps and really have supply zones, chokepoints, fortifications and merchant routes that make sense; imagine the CA campaign map being, say, 2-3 times as large (and thus encompassing a smaller landmass, we have too much already anyway), then being able to build walls, markets and such Age of Empires-style. Then have battle maps correspond to this. It would be a much more complete integration of campaign and battle modes, a proper use and reason for going 3D, and a lot more fun to boot... oh well.

[Calax]

Rome did fix naval invasions eventually; a greater problem was the fubared landbridges. And ETW *should* have 'rewritten' the engine.

 

What I've really wanted them to do with 3D ever since Rome is a completely different and more advanced concept really - the ability to actually build fortifications on 3D maps and really have supply zones, chokepoints, fortifications and merchant routes that make sense; imagine the CA campaign map being, say, 2-3 times as large (and thus encompassing a smaller landmass, we have too much already anyway), then being able to build walls, markets and such Age of Empires-style. Then have battle maps correspond to this. It would be a much more complete integration of campaign and battle modes, a proper use and reason for going 3D, and a lot more fun to boot... oh well.

They took a step backwards in this department with everything having the same layout based upon the type of terrain you're on... if you fight near a river it will ALWAYS have a bridge and two fords, plain will always be a nearly flat plane etc etc.

 

Tho that idea sounds cool it'd be HARD to implement.

[KTTdestroyer]

I have found Medieval 1 gold and Medieval 2 gold for 10 euros and 15 euros respectively. Should I buy them?

 

Are there other games from the series that I should look for?

 

I think i enjoyed most Medieval 1 and Shogun. Rome was not bad eaither but just to easy and the same goes with Medieval 2, you dont have to win the game, the game wins for you

Edited April 22, 2009 by KTTdestroyer

[Gorgon]

You should know that the rumours about ETWs supposed bugginess are grossly exxagerated. The way people are talking about it here its like its some russian indie game that crashes if you click too fast.

 

 

Ive had a total of 2 crashes for aboot 50h playtime, and that was alt-tab related and 3 patches ago.

The bugs that caused certain computers to lock or crash have been fixed, although the slowdowns associated with calculating a trade route remain. It can get quite extreme if you are one of the major trade factions and have a lot of routes and a lot of trade partners. You get as much as a 4-5 second delay every time you click on one of your ports or on your capital. As stated above the enemy can't land troops with ships, so any area isolated by water doesn't need to be guarded.

 

Playing as a mostly land based faction eliminates the trade route problem though, no slowdowns with Russia, the us, the ottomans, or the Maratha for instance.

Edited April 22, 2009 by Gorgon

[Rosbjerg]

One of the first games I played as Britain, the Spanish and the French both launched an invasion on my mainland - so landings do happen - but they seem to be extremely rare.