Medieval Total War & Viking Invasion Expansion Pack (PC)

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Summary

Developer:: The Creative Assembly Ltd
Publisher:: Activision

This bundle consists of:

Medieval Total War - Viking Invasion (Expansion Pack)
Medieval: Total War

Medieval Total War - Viking Invasion (Expansion Pack)

Medieval: Total War - Viking Invasion is the expansion pack to the award-winning Medieval: Total War, and takes the action of the game to a new level and a new time. In 793AD the Vikings attacked the monastery at Lindisfarne in Northumbria, killing the monks and nuns, destroying one of Northern Europe’s great centres of learning, and carrying off every precious object they could prise from the dead hands of the monks.

Viking Invasion starts at the time of this frightening - for the people of Britain - event! The Vikings are coming to wage Total War.

Features:

Three new playable factions - the Aragonese, the Sicilians and the Hungarians.
New units for many factions, including elite Arabic Faris cavalrymen, Russian Druhzina Cavalry, Hungary Jobbagy Infantry, and the fearsome, amazing Organ Gun - a Medieval “machine gun” of sorts!
A new pre-battle system that allows you to scout out enemy forces and organise your reinforcements before a battle.
Boiling oil in sieges! Beware of sending your men to attack the castle gates!
Tweaks, changes and improvements to gameplay, including a couple of new buildings on the technology tree!
A brand new Viking Era campaign with a completely new map of the British Isles and Scandinavia
8 new Viking Era factions, including the Saxons, Welsh, Mercians, Northumbrians, Scots, Picts, Irish - and not forgetting the Vikings!
A new Viking Era technology tree - including Drinking Halls, Sacrificial Shrines, a Warrior Hold and a few surprises.
New Viking Era military forces, including Huscarles, Saxon Fyrdmen, Viking Thralls, extremely scary and shield-bitingly fearsome Berserkers - and more!

Medieval: Total War

Medieval: Total War is set in the four centuries spanning from the preaching of the first crusade in 1095 to the fall of Constantinople in 1453, Medieval: Total War takes everything that was compelling about the critically acclaimed Shogun: Total War and adds new levels of depth, accessibility, gameplay and strategy.

This period of history saw the emergence of the modern world through a time of brutal conflict and social upheaval. This is the time when the nations of Europe emerged from the endless struggle between competing feudal overlords; when Richard the Lionheart and Saladin fought for control of the Holy Land; when there was a Holy Roman Empire that was neither Holy, nor Roman nor even an Empire; when the English and French learned to really hate each other during the Hundred Years War; when Kings took and held their thrones by the power of the sword; when knights ruled the battlefield until English archers shot them down with their rightly-feared longbows; when a Pope could grant forgiveness of all sins for killing the Church’s enemies as brutally as possible; when knights and their ladies practiced courtly love; when children as young as four were married off in dynastic and territorial treaties; when there was more than one Pope, each claiming to be the true leader of the Church; when plague — the terrible Black Death — killed around a third the whole population; when heretics and witches were burned by the thousand; when the Mongol hordes lurked to the East; when heroes like Joan of Arc and Robin Hood passed from reality to myth and back again; when everyone sensible knew the sun went round the earth; when Spain was ruled by Moslem lords; when life and death were a sword’s length apart; when great cathedrals were built all across Europe; when war itself was on the eve of a great change — the widespread use of gunpowder; and when the Renaissance burst into life.

The period is also rich in larger-than-life characters who carved their names across history – from military giants such as Richard the Lionheart, Saladin, Frederick Barbarrosa and Kublai Khan; to legendary warriors and rebels such as William Wallace, El Cid, Robin Hood and Joan of Arc. The great deeds of these characters will be woven into the gameplay.

Medieval: Total War will give the player the chance to experience the Middle Ages in all their blood-soaked magnificence. Battles will rage across deserts, mountains, plains and forests. Massive armies will lay siege to mighty fortresses and pound them into the dust with catapults and cannons. Players will command medieval armies of knights, men-at-arms, archers and siege weapons and to make his royal family the masters of Europe.

Features

400 years of Medieval warfare — from the preaching of the first crusade in 1095 to the fall of Constantinople in 1453. Guide your kingdom’s fortunes through the early dominance of the Feudal Knights and Longbowmen to the emergence of gunpowder and the advent of Heavy Siege Cannons and Handguns.
Spectacular battles featuring over 10000 troops in real-time 3D terrain - battle over hundreds of distinct battlefields from the lush farmlands of Western Europe to the arid deserts of Northern Africa.
12 playable factions – each with distinct playing styles and unique units, including: the English, German, Byzantine, French and Turkish Empires.
Over 100 different unit types – including: Teutonic Knights, Highland Clansmen, Saracen Infantry and Bedouin Camel Warriors.
Famous characters – including Richard the Lionheart, Joan of Arc, Saladin, William Wallace, Frederick Barbarrosa and Robin Hood.
RPG-style character development — Kings, Generals and Heirs develop vices, virtues and abilities that reflect their actions throughout the campaign.
Historical campaigns – Historically accurate campaigns, including: the Crusades, the 100 Years War and the Mongol Invasions.
Breathtaking 3D Castle sieges – a vast array of siege weaponry, including: Siege Cannons, Mangonels and Ballistae can now pound castles and fortresses into the dust.
Multiplayer & Online Games — Join the Total War community to crush your friends and make new enemies all over the world.

Epic-Scale 3D Battles

Epic battles with over 10000 warriors fighting at any one time!
Over 100 unique units that adopt historically accurate tactics.
Fully destructible buildings, castles and fortifications.
Improved AI with new battleplans and tactics.
Reinforcements can now be strategically deployed.
Highly detailed terrain, including: forests; deserts; mountains and plains.
Winning the game will involve learning how to get the best out of the new combinations of units.
The epic scale 3D battles in Medieval: Total War will build on and extend the technology already seen in Shogun: Total War.

Sieges

Medieval: Total War features spectacular real-time sieges.
Mangonels, Trebuchets, Siege Cannons, Catapults and many more ancient siege weapons can pound castle walls, towers and keeps into the dust.
Fortresses now boast extra fortifications, including: ditches, palisades and ring walls.
Castle towers can be upgraded to house archers, artillery and siege weapons.
Buildings and fortifications reflect the architectural styles of
three different cultures: Islamic, Byzantine and Western European.

Deep strategic gameplay

Medieval: Total War is also an in-depth turn-based strategy game.
In order to conquer Europe, players will need to manage the affairs of their kingdom by forging strategic alliances, creating trade routes, researching technology, constructing castles, deploying naval power, training warriors and generals and suppressing revolts.
Several new and innovative features expand and improve upon the gameplay in Shogun: Total War.
Marriage treaties now allow a player to make his character the heir to many provinces or an entire country!
The detailed strategy map now includes the physical features of the European landscape – with battlefields able to be strategically chosen by attacking a region across different borders.

12 Playable Factions
Not all the factions will play in the same way. Leading the English to victory will make different strategic and tactical demands on a player’s skills than doing the same with, say, the Turks.

Each faction has its own unique mix gameplay options, units, goals, abilities, buildings, historical characters and historical great works.

RPG-style Characters
Each nation has a cast of royalty, generals and governors who can not only lead armies but also develop personalities and skills over the course of their lives in the game. Royal characters are tracked for their position in the line of succession to throne. Characters will also gain a selection of quirky (and colourful) vices and virtues over time, all of which impact on their ability to lead troops or govern the peasantry!

Special Characters
A host of new special characters, including generals and governors, princesses, bishops and cardinals, diplomats, papal envoys, heretics, witch finders, inquisitors, famous artists, and natural philosophers (scientists). These characters can trigger religious wars, negotiate treaties, create famous works of art or make incredible scientific discoveries.

Glorious Achievements
These are projects that are so important they bring fame, glory and wealth to the nation or faction that undertakes them. The Glorious Achievements include, for example, magnificent buildings, such as the great Cathedrals, the Crusades, establishing an empire overseas and funding the discovery of the New World.

Multiplayer & The On-Line Community
Medieval: Total War is not designed to be solely a stand-alone experience.

The online game is as important as the one-player version. In this, the game again builds on the experience gained from Shogun Total War. There’ll be multiple types of battles, including King of the Hill, Assassin and Last Man Standing. Map and campaign editors will allow players to create their own battles and scenarios. Provision will be made for downloadable extras for the game, including new units, new legendary objects, new campaigns, new battles and new historical characters to be downloaded from the games web site.

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GAME Reviews
Customer Reviews Customer Reviews

Medieval Total War; Author: Tony Gorman ; Published: 21/03/2003

Jonny Austin checks out Medieval: Total War, in which war comes to Europe in the time of knights, chivalry and really, really ugly people.

When Shogun - the first in the Total War series - appeared, it cut a swathe through other realtime strategy games. Appearing from nowhere among dozens of identikit Command & Conquer clones, it was a breath of fresh air. Not because of its setting - samurai wars in feudal Japan - but because it married accessibility with a staggering depth to great effect. Suddenly it wasn't just a case of who could mine the most ore and build the biggest army. Now you had factors like terrain, weather, troop formations and morale being of the utmost importance.

Medieval: Total War sees the series take a few steps forward in time, and a couple of giant leaps to the west, settling its gameplay sensibilities in Medieval Europe, where you get to control one of twelve pretty different factions vying for power through possibly one of mankind's darkest and most violent periods.

Of course there's us Brits, who need to keep an eye to the North and one to the West on the dirty barbarians that could invade any moment from Wales or Scotland, while also scanning the seas in case those pesky French decide to try and invade. Or the Saracens with their horses swift, swords curved and beards pointy, or even the mighty Byzantine Empire, which seems to be naturally ahead of the pack in terms of trade and technological advancement.

The thing that really sets Medieval apart from the pack is that for all intents and purposes it's two games in one. Much of the game is played on the strategy map, where you move pieces around in a fashion most reminiscent of RISK. This is where you get an overview of your empire in its entirety, as well as where you manage your territories.

This part of the game is a lot deeper than you may at first realise. You'll need to manage your economy, build towns, factories, churches, mines and numerous other facilities. You'll have to do what you can to improve your territory's farmland and provide facilities for merchants. You'll have to build defences, and most importantly, train troops and build weapons. The types of troops and weapons you can have depends on which discoveries have been made and which facilities you have - it ain't much use building yourself a fancy new cannon before the invention of gunpowder.

The strategy map also opens up a world of political intrigue and Machiavellian maneuvering. Make sure you marry those hideous daughters of yours off before spinsterhood and you can forge strong alliances with those who may otherwise be threats. Or you can send emissaries out with offers of an alliance, or spies to see what your enemies are up to.

Religion also plays a major part, with 5 major beliefs knocking on doors with poorly printed magazine tat and trying to spread their respective words. Crusades are announced on a whim and people flock to see such religious artifacts as 'John the Baptist's skull at age 12' and 'a hunk of bread once eaten by Christ'. Madder than a box of frogs. I kept finding myself 'excommunicated by the Pope for unnecessary hostilities towards fellow Christians' for my repeated attacks on France. In these cases my attitude leaned towards 'Sod you Grandad, this ain't gonna be much of a wargame if I play by your rules is it?' which pretty much sums up the attitude of the time.

When you move an army into a province that is not under your rule, or when someone moves onto your land, hostilities will ensue. These can be skipped - effectively resolved automatically by the computer, but this would mean missing out on the best part of the game - the widescale, realtime butchery of thousands of men.

The battles are incredible - deep, involving, realistic and most importantly, fun. The tutorial gives you a great insight into unit types, tactics, formations and such but nothing prepares you for real war. You may be slogging up a mountain in the Swiss Alps losing legions of men under a hail of arrows, pushing back the swift cavalry of the Egyptians or using powerful siege engines to smash a huge German fort and pour in through the gaps in the wall - rather than sit and starve them out over a number of years (which you can also do).

It's amazing just how much tactics matter in the game. Numbers alone is not enough. I lost around 900 men to a force of about 300 after deciding to invade Hungary, and lazily deciding that the best course of action was to pour my troops across a small bridge straight into their stout spearmen and pinpoint-accurate archers. Doh!

It's a great feeling of power as you slowly become a tactical mastermind though - crushing armies much bigger than yours with canny thinking and smart troop deployment. Archers can cut down foes from a great distance but are easily wiped out by cavalry, so by placing a row of spearmen (deadly to cavalry) in front of them you're less likely to lose them, and pouring troops out of their hiding place in the woods down into the valley atop unsuspecting foes, while your general and his unit of elite knights attack from the rear after taking the long way round that nearby ridge, is a highly fulfilling feeling.

For the most part, the computer AI is very respectable, although the occasional mad move did make me wonder a bit. Like when the French sent a formidable force of 49 men over the channel and into Wessex to go up against my king's flagship army. Now that was fun.

Graphically, Medieval is obviously pretty impressive. Weather effects leave a lot to be desired but the terrain is beautiful, and having thousands of soldiers battling it out on screen at any one time (even if they are mere 2D sprites) always looks incredible - while the sound (a mixture of Gregorian chanting, 'period' music and shouted medieval insults) is perfectly fitting.

Medieval: Total War is the best strategy game you'll play all year. In fact, it's possible to argue that it's the best since Shogun appeared a number of years back. It's easy enough to get into, but you'll be still learning its nuances and uncovering greater depths a year from now, and one day you may even end up ruling the whole of the old world. Just don't get too carried away and start to gain an unhealthy level of enjoyment and a mad look in your eyes at the mere notion of massacring the French.

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