Where Medieval stumbles is in its increased focus on the Grand Strategy elements of the campaign. These features aren’t revolutionary but they do speak to the attention paid to making Medieval II a cohesive experience. Knights have a weight to them as they charge across the battlefield. Cannons and arquebus the units have incredibly well-done animations even though those units will be absent for most of the game. When you upgrade a unit’s armor at the barracks it actually changes its model with new armor. Medieval II Total War thrives on its minor details. Medieval II’s design focus centers on solidifying the series’ successes so far and improving the quality of Rome’s systems while adding a cohesive atmosphere to the game. If the original Medieval Total War expanded and refined Shogun’s gameplay then Medieval II does the same to Rome Total War. But does the vanilla Medieval II experience hold up in its own right? It’s the first Total War game that is a direct sequel, specifically to Medieval Total War (Duh) and is the last Total War game to allow true Total Conversion modding.Īnd perhaps it’s best remembered today for those Total Conversion mods which haven’t been surpassed due to the limitations of the newer Total War game’s engines. Released in 2006, Medieval II Total War is sandwiched between the beloved Rome Total War, and the series’s first major misfire, Empire Total War.

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