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Four games in one!...

4 Rating: 4, Useful: 37 / 38
Date: September 01, 2007
Author: Amazon User

Okay, first off about the multi-player hotseat thingie..don't really know about it and not my cup of tea so in this review I won't touch on it because quite frankly this is a game I really wouldn't want to play with anyone else. It's a "me" game.

With that being said, this is a nice addition to the Total War franchise. Sure, there are mods you can pick up to tweak it, but nobody makes a mod better than the folks that actually designed the game. In each of the campaigns you have cool triggers that add a dynamic flavour such as Richard and Philip II reinforcing the crusades in the Holy Lands and the Baron's Alliance in the Brittania campaign.

I had some preconceived notions about Kingoms, in that I fully expected some dinky little maps and about 5 hours playtime per campaign. Ohhhhhh no sir, these are full fledged campaigns with lots of territories and tons of time to eat up. They are all quite large, but the Americas campaign map is vast and was extremly fun playing the Apachean tribes. Nothing says "yippie" when your apache dog soldiers are charging and doing that Indian war cry you've heard in every John Wayne movie.

There is no big upgrade over Total War II...ergo, there is no major graphic or engine overhaul, it's simply more campaigns to play - a lot more. One of the nicest things I liked on the new campaigns is that you get a few of the top end units to start so you don't have to wait years to see how that Greek Fire Thrower works or get the uberest Templar Cavalry.

I have had no technical problems on Vista 32-bit with Dual core 2.13ghz, 2gb RAM and NVIDIA 7600 video card.

Not much more to say that hasn't been showcased in previews and you can read from the description up top (which is accurate except the multi-player thingie which I really don't care about) other than if you liked Total War 2 then you are going to really love Kingdoms.

Pros:
- Same good looking graphics as Total War 2
- Sound is amazing with new songs for each of the factions and campaigns
- Tons more units
- Very big campaign maps

Cons:
- Ummm...perhaps the multi-player capability which apparently isn't that great.

Be Aware

1 Rating: 1, Useful: 34 / 45
Date: October 15, 2007
Author: Amazon User

I have been a loyal fan of TW since Shogun but I doubt I will buy another. This XP will install securom onto your PC without your permission and unless you are very computer savy you will not be able to remove it. Securom is known to conflict with many other programs (including other anti-piracy programs ironically enough). The only way we can fight this nonsense is to "vote with our wallets" and not purchase games that employ such tactics.

At the very least, SEGA should clearly state on the box what is installed on your PC when you install the game and the consequences of that action. Then you as the buyer would be able to make an educated decision about whether you still wanted to purchase it.

Good, but....

3 Rating: 3, Useful: 17 / 19
Date: September 05, 2007
Author: Amazon User

I have more than got my money's worth from the original. Will I with this release? Perhaps. As others have noted, it really is a collection of mods - but then I don't do multiplayer anymore, so poor functionality in this respect doesn't bother me.

I had a lot of difficulty installing. It kept on getting hung up trying to install patch 1.3 saying the patch 1.2 had "modified the files" (well DUH!). I tried doing a clean install of the original game and had the same result. These processes took a lot of time and produced a lot of frustration. Eventually I had do do another clean install, then install 1.2 & 1.3 manually - then the individual campaigns installed correctly using the install engine. as usual, the official sites were of zero value in troubleshooting. I reduced the rating to reflect these problems.

So far, I have nearly completed the Crusades campaign as the Kingdom of Jerusalem. At medium difficulty for game and battle it hasn't presented much of a challenge. I still have issues with the attack ratings of some of the units - armoured knights and quality archers should DEVASTATE light infantry, but they don't. Historically, a light infantry man (not a spearman) had about as much chance of killing an armoured knight as a guy throwing rocks has at disabling an M1 Abrams tank. While we're on that topic, just because a knight's horse got killed didn't mean he was out of it or dead - he simply fought on foot, and quite effectively too - but this is not reflected in the game.

The bottom line: is it worth $29.95 plus shipping? Yes. Buy it. I look forward to trying some of the harder factions and campaigns.

Expansion pack

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 8 / 10
Date: September 01, 2007
Author: Amazon User

It' an expansion pack for medieval 2.As such it's a nice addition.
As for multiplayer, I did not read reviews that stressed any advancements
in that area. Total War has always had a board game feel,with real time
combat.The first two even used Risk style counters and movement.The
new editions are exactly what an expansion is,new units and campaign
elements. A total redesign is not what you would expect. I like the new
editions and have not been deceived into thinking this was supposed to be
revolutionary. Total War is a terrific game,and that is why I purchased the
expansion. If I did not like it the way it was then I'm sure I would not
purchase this edition.

Don't Listen to the one or two stars

4 Rating: 4, Useful: 7 / 9
Date: September 04, 2007
Author: Amazon User

Look, to be perfectly honest someof these people are not being fair with this game. Yes, it's four mods, BUT they're four excellent mods of the best standards. The four new campaigns are HUGE and have excellent replay. The new factions are great(especially the Teutonic Order)and as are the new units. For all of those who are hesitating DON'T. Buy it, I promise you won't regret it

Kingdoms expansion

4 Rating: 4, Useful: 7 / 9
Date: September 02, 2007
Author: Amazon User

Use must have "Medieval II - Total War" to play the Kingdoms expansion. The Kingdoms expansion uses core game elements from the Medieval II: Total War game, therefore, if you purchased M2-TW from a retail location "in-the-box," then purchase Kingdoms at a retail location "in-the-box;" if you downloaded M2-TW from the internet then download Kingdoms from that same internet provider (e.g., Steam, Direct2Drive, and Digital River, etc.). To play the retail "in-the-box" version of the Kingdom expansion, you will need a DVD drive (the newer the better). The Kingdoms expansion will AUTOMATICALLY upgrade "Medieval II - Total War" up to version 1.3, eliminating the need to obtain and install "Medieval II - Total War" update patches 1.1 and 1.2 before installing the Kingdoms expansion. Be sure that your graphic card and RAM are adequate to the task. Also, be sure to update your graphics card driver, if necessary.

The Kingdoms expansion includes four sub-modules: the Americas Campaign, the Britannia Campaign, the Crusades Campaign, and the Teutonic Order Campaign.

The Americas Campaign contains the following factions (all of which may or may or may not be playable in "campaign mode," but are playable in "custom battle" mode): English Colonies, Chichimec Tribes, Apachean Tribes, the Mayans, New France, New Spain, the Aztec Empire, the Tlaxcalans, and the Tarascans. In the "custom battle" mode, one can select either "high" or "late" period (not "early"); and one can select one of seventeen (17) battle maps.

The Britannia Campaign contains the following factions (all of which may or may or may not be playable in "campaign mode," but are playable in "custom battle" mode): England, the Baron's Alliance, Ireland, Norway, Scotland, and Wales. In the "custom battle" mode, one can select either "early," "high," or "late" period; and one can select one of twenty (20) battle maps.

The Crusades Campaign contains the following factions (all of which may or may or may not be playable in "campaign mode," but are playable in "custom battle" mode): the Byzantine Empire, the Kingdom of Jerusalem, the Principality of Antioch, Egypt, the Mongols, the Turks, and Venice. In the "custom battle" mode, one can select either "early," "high," or "late" period; and one can select one of nineteen (19) battle maps.

The Teutonic Order Campaign contains the following factions (all of which may or may or may not be playable in "campaign mode," but are playable in "custom battle" mode): Denmark, the Holy Roman Empire, Lithuania, the Mongols, Norway, Novgorod, Poland, and the Teutonic Order. In the "custom battle" mode, one can select either "early," "high," or "late" period; and one can select one of eighteen (18) battle maps.

Of interest to modders, the Kingdoms expansion includes SDK tools, including a "Battle Editor" for the creation of custom battle maps, and an "Unpacker" tool which allows one to open data packs, and then edit and/or replace some of the individual files. Also included is "CinEd," allowing one to create movies using battle replays.

Not As Advertised

1 Rating: 1, Useful: 24 / 55
Date: August 30, 2007
Author: Amazon User

The Medieval Total War series always was, and continues to be one of the best RTS in the industry. I have no issues with the platform.

What I do have issues with is the false and misleading advertising that surrounded this expansion.

If you really want 4 new mods, of no greater value than those the community freely develops, then you should buy this expansion. If you crave the additional features, units, skill trees, etc then you should buy this expansion.

Unfortunately, a great many of us thought this expansion actually provided true multiplayer campaigns. IT DOES NOT.

PLEASE READ THE CHANGED PRODUCT DESCRIPTION IN THE AMAZON PRODUCT REVIEW!

This expansion affords you a "hot seat" which is basically various players using the same computer. Even this concept is poorly conceived as it turns a real time strategy game - valued for its dynamic gameplay - into a turn based dorkdom where the various players have to log into and out of the game. Did the people who thought this up even know how to turn on a computer? What a rip-off. This intentionally misleading approach renders what could have been an average expansion into one of the greatest disappointments in computer gaming since the days of DOS.

Last spring I marked this as a wish list item because it advertised "a true multiplayer campaign mode". I don't know at what point the brain drain eminating from the purchase of CA by SEGA borked this title, but the result is clear... a mediocre expac of MODs only, combined with broken scope and false promises. This is a horrible leap backwards in game concept. You might have to hotbunk as a Sailer on a destroyer or a sub, but do you really want to on your PC at home?

So buy this if you want to pay for mods, buy this if crave more skill trees and unit types, and buy this if you want to see a trully dis-evolutionary move in gaming...a bizare attempt to turn a computer game into a table top game. Simply amazing in it's ability to be miles wide of the mark. As the entire computer gaming market moves towards ever enhanced multiplayer abilities, SEGA moves MTW2 in the opposite direction...

It's simply breathtaking in its stupidity. I'd ask for a refund, but I've already opened the box...

Strategy, not Grand Strategy

3 Rating: 3, Useful: 3 / 3
Date: September 26, 2007
Author: Amazon User

Although the expansion game is everything advertised, I miss the strategic scope of Medieval Total War (I or II.) There are the four separate games, all on maps that are expanded fragments of the original scope of MTW2. It also updates the MTW2 basic game, and changes it in minor, annoying ways. I guess I was hoping for more new units from the expansion in an update. Overall, once I played most of the scenarios twice, it doesn't draw me back but leaves me wishing for a way back to the big map with the new units, for instance, the Byzantine flame throwers.

Go Aztecs!

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 3 / 3
Date: January 14, 2008
Author: Amazon User

Ok, so if you're even considering buying this then you already know of the greatness that is Total War. Mind you, I am completely biased. I think the Total War series is the best wargame/ strategy series ever created. They constantly improve on their games and surprise me.

The England, Crusade, and Teutonic Crusade Campaigns all rate as 4 to 4.5 stars to me and dont really give us anything too new other than being able to play fun new factions such as the Irish and The pagan Lithuanians.

The real gem for this expansion pack is the Americas Campaign though! It is truly well done (5 stars).

The Armies (in particular, the Aztecs and Mayans) are the most colorful this series has seen. The landscapes range from jungle to desert to mountain passes. The jungle battles contain the best scenary the series has yet presented (though fighting the Chichimecs ("Dog People") in a cactus filled desert is great too!).

I have played all the factions in the new game (multiple times) but continually find myself going back to the Americas Campaign again and again (for a challenge, play as the Tlaxcallans on "hard" settings).

Overall it comes down to this; if you are a diehard fan of the series, you will most likely love this expansion, in particular the Americas and the Teutonic campaigns, if you are a casualy vistor to the Total War series, this game will probably not be worth your time. Stick to your World of Warcraft.

Go Aztecs!!!

Expansion Exceeded my Expectations

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 3 / 4
Date: September 04, 2007
Author: Amazon User

CA has done it again with this fantastic expansion pack. It add four campaigns that are just as exciting as the grand campaign in the original M2TW. Of course there are some people out there that are never happy with anything. The biggest complaint that I have heard is comparing the 4 new campaigns to mods. Well, that is precisely what an expansion pack is and always has been in this series.

These campaigns are not short; they are all at least 200 turns each (some are more). They each feature several brand new factions and many, many brand new units. The AI has been improved on both the battle and campaign maps. Seriously, don't listen to the naysayers. If you have liked CA's titles in the past, you will absolutely love this one too.

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