An exceptional game that brings history alive with enormous flair and clarity.

What’s really most interesting about all of these changes, however, is that you now need to pay attention to all major aspects of the game to win, even at lower difficulty levels.

Take the contents and theme from Medieval. Mix them with eye candy from "Rome," add some spice and you have a winner on your hands. [Dec 2006, p.82]

Mesmerisingly challenging... If there's another wargame that blends geopolitics with tactics this brilliantly, or portrays war so memorably, then I'm unaware of it... The new king of wargames. [Dec 2006, p.56]

A kingly mixture of action and strategy - not only a top RTS but the PC game of the year. [Christmas 2006, p.76]

This is the latest and most outstanding title in the Total War franchise, any history RTS buff or fan of the series would be psychotically imbalanced should they choose to pass on this.

There is a metric ton of game to be enjoyed here, and I heartily recommend it to anyone with a lick of interest in the subject matter. Small annoyances, like a mediocre overworld interface and the occasional unit AI breakdown in the RTS battles, are nowhere near enough to diminish this game’s overall genius.

As a word of warning, if you were not ready for a long haul then I would recommend playing the shorter campaign; the big one is an epic.

While the slightly glitched real-time battles may not be all that much different from Rome's, and naval battles and new multiplayer options are still conspicuous by their absence, there's simply no way that any selfrespecting strategy fan can spend this Christmas doing anything other than rampaging across the world on a whirlwind of medieval conquest.

Though familiar, MTWII is breathtaking in its depth, fiendishly challenging in all the right ways and a big old phlegmy spit right in the eye of anything else foolish enough to claim ownership of the strategy crown.

The best PC strategy game I've played for ages, since Rome: Total War in fact. Even if you aren't entirely happy about the period covered, it being something of a retread, there's so many new features and depth in this release to make any comparison with the first Medieval: Total War rather pointless.

A bigger, prettier, and more addictive game that leaves even the series' most recent efforts in the dust...If you think "Rome: Total War's" battles looked good, especially for the number of units on-screen at once (i.e., thousands), Medieval II will blow you away. [Dec 2006, p.28]

A bewigged, flouncing, educational "Rome." Wonderful stuff. [Christmas 2006, p.88]

Breathtaking in scale, Medieval II will keep you glued to the screen.

The variety of units is amazing and it's easy to get caught up in multiplayer skirmishes. Granted, infrequent AI bugs may cause a few annoying moments, but that can easily be fixed with an update in the near future.

One of the best strategy games of the year, and arguably one of the best ever.

The beautiful visuals and the turgid music and sound coalesce to create epic battles.

Best viewed as a refinement on an already phenomenal product.

Grand, ferocious and full of drama, the battle elements combine with Medieval’s excellent take on diplomacy to create a fully-rounded experience – one that will pay off for years to come.

What strategy gamer wouldn’t want to lead thousands of armored knights onto the field of battle?

The gameplay and graphics are really very good and the value is through the roof here.

The relation between the actual battle in real time mode, and managing an empire in turn based mode, is pure bliss.

Fans of the Dark Ages will definitely get a nice playing experience, and for them as well as for the rest of the RTS fans, Medieval 2 can easily be considered one of the best games this genre has to offer.

"Epic" doesn't quite begin to describe the scope and scale of the latest Total War game--there's a lot of strategic depth, with plenty of amazing combat to enjoy.

It's true that the developers really missed an opportunity to rework the interface but the graphics upgrade and new campaign options are more than enough to satisfy the legions of Total War fans.

It’s probably the best game of the series despite its more modest score. It is more challenging, the battles are more interesting and balanced, and the graphics and sound are fantastic.

There's no better entry point to the "Total War" series than Medieval 2. [Jan. 2007, p.94]

Medieval II: Total War would’ve easily been much more memorable if it wasn’t for a few questionable balancing and AI issues that sadly knock its spot from receiving a better score. It is still the most rewarding and exciting Total War experience though.

Despite some missed opportunities, Medieval II: Total War is still, hands-down, the best strategy game you can buy today. The scope is epic, the battles look legendary, and the increased use of non-military units and the smart incorporation of the politics of religion are welcome additions.

Overall, Medieval 2: Total War is an excellent real-time/turn-based strategy experience and definitely warrants a look, if not a sure-fire purchase, by fans.

A success despite a few frustrations that pop up along the way and is a must buy for both fans of the Creative Assembly’s previous efforts as well as strategy fans in general.

Aside from a very few niggling discrepancies, it’s an almost flawless experience – one which, having demanded a heavy investment of both time and thought, richly pays off. [Christmas 2006, p.83]

Medieval II is a good game a couple of patches away from true greatness. As it stands now, it's a beautiful, well-crafted experience with some minor balance issues. [Feb. 2007, p.56]

The depth of the diplomacy, the many well-balanced factions, the intelligent layout of the interface, that all indicates to me a game design crew that really had its stuff together. While I don’t think as a game reviewer it would be appropriate for me to penalize a game for being too involved, I do think the pace of this game, the amount of plotting and planning versus the amount of payoff, is a little out of whack.

This latest title in Creative Assembly's Total War franchise revisits the second game if the series and gives it a new lease of life thanks to a host of tweaks and revisions. [Christmas 2006, p.108]

A lot of bang for the bullion -- whether you crave a detailed toy-soliders-in-1197-AD simulator or a complex, rewarding Civ-style strategy game, this Total War is a total package.

There are still some strange artificial intelligence quirks in both the turn-based and real-time aspects of the game, and it appears that the Total War franchise is starting to steer away from more casual players who would prefer a little less realism in their game. Still, Medieval II presents a great challenge.

Longtime fans of games like "Rome: Total War" may fault the game for not adding more, but if you're looking for a solid strategy title, Medieval II: Total War delivers.

A wonderful achievement both technically and, more importantly, in the level of historical detail that it contains.