Total War: MEDIEVAL II – Definitive Edition

Love this game. That being said I am forced to reboot it often during the game due to the graphics.

Only reason this review is negative is because the game is seriously outdated for modern computers and regular TW players will struggle to navigate things like the clunky camera controls. On all other aspects, this game is phenomenal and probably the peak of TW.

Consider this review more of a plea for a Rome TW-style remaster with modernized controls and stability for modern systems. If that happened, this would easily be a far better game than the average modern TW

One of the best games of all time. I originally bought this game on disc in 2009 out of a salvation army. I played it endlessly in my childhood. Here as an adult I still come back (as you can see) and run a campaign or three. If you want to see total war at its pique, maybe not graphically but as a tactical medieval battle simulator, god please give it a try.

very good strategic game, still great now.

classic nostalgia a great game if you are new to the total war series arguably the best of the historical total war installments but it is a little clunky compared to the newer installments and the diplomacy is atrocious but other that that its definitely a fantastic game.

Total classic, one of the best in the series. Building up a kingdom from the dark ages into the age of discovery feels rewarding. Factions feel unique varied. jihad and crusade mechanics really spice the game up. The battles are fun, but have a tendency to be slow and grinding, some factions start in large regions making progressing painfully slow. Graphics still look pretty good. It is recommended if you are into this kind of thing,

Everyone has their reasons for their favorite Total War game. This one's been called Best-in-Class and the Granddaddy of the series. I won't argue with those points

In terms of a sandbox experience, this might be the most versatile of the series.

I only wish the camera and AI were a little better. Then again, some of the AI exploits make this game a joy to play. The ability to push away monster armies with a box of spears blocking the gateway is fun to watch.

Soundtrack, visuals and game play are all there. Definitely worth your time to look into.

fun.

there are some iffy game mechanics, however, it's still a solid total war game.
It's fun, and it honestly has a better country system, showing upfront the countries strengths and weaknesses.
however, things like camera, and just overall polished-ness leaves a little to be desired: not anything to be desired from an old game, but some to be desired nonetheless.

best game of my childhood, adolescence and maturity - steam says I only played 50+ hours but I have thousands on the "free" version kids from E Europe usually play.

The game is really fun and the battles really make you feel like an actual medieval era general. Definately recommend this game to history and strategy lovers. detailed review-

graphics- the graphics is not the best its not bad either. 8/10

tutorial- kinda hard, had to watch a lot of videos to get a hold of the controls and gameplay mechanics. 5/10

campaign- Its peak . Not too easy , not too complicated. just perfect. 10/10

Battles- has to be the best thing about this game. the battles are fun and engaging. sometimes you can lose even with a superior army just because of lacking tactics. sometimes you might actually defeat an superior army with sheer tactics and strategy. 10/10

content- a lot of factions . campaign mode,custom battles,quick battles, historical battles, multiplayer mode,a lot of units for all factions, wide range of difficulty settings what else do you need ! 10/10

replayability- 10/10 . tons of factions.

performance- 10/10 had no issues with a mid spec pc. theres also great video settings for those who need.

overall- 10/10 . Worth every single penny.

Best total war game set in the most interesting time period for a strategy game in human history. It lets you understand the reason why country borders are where they are today and why europe became the way it is. The game is a buggy mess though, the AI is barely functioning, making constantly terrible decisions, diplomacy barely functions (every AI will always just backstab you no matter how things stand) and siege battles are just a game of luck, hoping the pathfinding will work well enough for units not to kill themselves. So, creative assembly, PLEASE do a reforge of the game instead of another uninspired flop! Just fix this game and I will buy it 100%!

Quite simply, this is the G.O.A.T of Total War games. With the moddability it offers, you can sink hundreds of hours into it. Anyone who has an interest in TW should play this at some point!

My childhood game, favourite and first from that series. Epic intro, epic music

This is my favorite Total War Game. The mechanics are great and the battles will always be my favorite in the series. I feel that the ability to customize the games are unmatched in the series and this is probably in my top 5 game of all time.

game ctd's sometimes, otherwise it's still as good as it was, maybe better (total warhammer is TERRIBLE)

great stagery game with great graphics and easy to play

the only thing i would improve with the game is that the map could have more provinces other than that its one of the best in the total war series

This is a great classic strategy & tactics game with full open-ended campaigns and immersive battles. An oldie but a goodie. It's crashing on me a lot but I like the game so much I'm playing anyway

A CLASSIC in archaic war games, with mods available to create fantasy worlds (including Tolkien based worlds)

Amazing game! I'd suggest for anyone who likes the total war series or wants to get into it, both the campaign and custom battles are great! A lot better than shogun two, game-wise, not by graphics though.

I felt possessed to go back to this classic game. Nostalgia for the old Total Wars I guess. Its old, not gold, but something more and less. Its buggy, diplomacy just doesn't work. Units like Pikemen and gunpowder units just don't work exactly like they should. Yet, its stunning, despite the rough edges it still looks good even years later. The massive city and fortress maps still light up my imagination. There is such an ambition in the game some of which I genuinely miss.

Personally I loved the castle vs City concept the game deals with, the idea of do you wish to build this position up as a bastion of defense and military production, or focus on economic and specialized production. The inclusion of 5 whole separate curve balls (Mongols, Fire Arms, Black Plague, Timurids, and the new world) all help the process of going from the exciting early game into mid and late game still bring up issues and problems you can't just buy your way out of.

This isn't to say all experiments work. From the AI being terrible at dealing with the beautiful complicated fortress maps, to cannon towers blowing up your own units if you try to use the tiered walls. All the pike style units just give up being pike units so easily they do it when charged by horsemen in the front. Some factions are just factually better than others. Sorry Hungary. Diplomacy is utter broken, the AI commits on Normal to absurd wars and will not agree to peace except at the oddest times no matter how outnumbered. Alliances are functionally only for delaying the betrayal slightly. There are also mixed bags. The old reinforcement system does prevent doom stacks of elite units to push too fast, needing to take on lesser units or slow progress. This def slows the game from slipping into the boring "I have already won" end game. However, it makes loosing units for silly reason not just a minor issue but deeply annoying.

Frankly as much as I love this game, as much as it still feels magic. If you're not here for nostalgia or to see the franchises history, a better game can be found in the warhammer total war games. However, it saddens me immensely that none of the more recent history games, and even the warhammer games, share this games bold experiments and willingness to try new things.

Its not perfect, but it has an ambitious hopeful spirit, one that I miss from the franchise, when I could expect the new game to change things in revolutionary ways. While some of that is in warhammer 3 (The diplomacy rework is a radical and amazing change) none of that can be found in Pharoah or three kingdoms.

This is a great game! Once you finish the vanilla there are so many amazing mods that are updated regularly. If you haven't played it yet, it still holds up amazingly.

I have played this game for years and what keeps me coming back is both the simplicity and the gameplay loop that has me saying "5 more minutes" then 2 hours passes by

for people who have tried Civilization and want more depth or difficulty , look no further

I try to explain to my friends this game is Game of Thrones minus the magic& dragons , whether you are using diplomacy to keep invaders away , backstabbing your allies after making a treaty with them or you kill all your prisoners as a way to send a message to your enemies

this game has it all and allows you to make your own storylines with your factions royal families, they use real life people but after a while the names will matter less and what will matter are their bonuses such as Leadership , Trade or keeping the Peace

Storm Clouds Gather Over Europe (Again)

Many would consider Medieval II one of if not the greatest Total War game ever made. I am not sure of its greatness. I find it a hard game to write about in the wider context of the series. It expands on settlement building and religion mechanics in ways to more actively engage players, it evens out character management, and it may have one of the greatest graphical glow-ups of any of the games, but there are noticeable subtractions even from the original Medieval which, in a franchise often lamented as “one step forward, two steps back” by the community, I’m surprised I don’t see more mention of.

Maintaining the campaign gameplay established forevermore in Rome, Medieval II makes settlement types one of the cores of its campaign. Settlements are now divided into Cities and Castles with advantages and disadvantages including unique building chains; Cities generate more revenue but can only train militia grade units while Castles are your (nigh impregnable) unit production centres at the expense of income. This necessitates a balance between the two, but it also isn’t so simple as focusing on the most obvious building choices for each – the later game throws in enough surprises that you can’t afford to neglect barracks buildings in your Cities, for example…

Religious politics and conflict make a return after the comparatively peaceful pan-pagan world of the previous game. Catholicism, Orthodox Christianity, and Islam are the major faiths at play, but the Catholics have the most to play with. The Pope is now an active force keeping watch on all Catholic factions in the game; attacking fellow Catholics or failing Papal missions can result in excommunication, making that faction free game for the rest. Managing your relationship with the Pope is crucial to maintaining friendly relations with your generally hostile neighbours. Building churches and denouncing heretics are not the only avenues available; papal elections, called immediately on the death of a Pope, can see a dramatic rise (or drop) in favour depending on the nationality of the Cardinal (an upgraded form of Priest) elected.

Holy wars are a much more common and accessible mechanic this time around. Rather than spend decades constructing the buildings to furnish a Crusade, you can request the Pope to declare a Crusade from turn one should you wish (Muslim factions have it even easier – any sufficiently pious Imam can call a Jihad) and join up with any character leading a large enough army. With increased movement speeds, no upkeep for the duration, and plenty of mercenaries available, Crusades are a convenient vehicle for conquest, especially since most Catholic factions will have their eyes on Jerusalem as a victory objective.

The core of the game, then, is solid, and it dramatically improves on some of the mechanics from Medieval in terms of accessibility and viability. The character traits system from Rome feels more even-handed than it did in that game, settlements are more varied and also more capable, being able to recruit multiple units in turn (a longstanding addition that vastly improves the pace of campaign activity) and the campaign, long as it is, manages to introduce new challenges at regular intervals, be it the proliferation of gunpowder armies, the Black Death crippling all settlements, or invaders from the east; bespoke cutscenes give these historical milestones more gravitas than a mere text note. Battlefield graphics also get a major facelift: not only do individual soldiers have variable parts, but armour and weapon upgrades will visibly change their appearance too, taking them from padded peasants to armoured enforcers.

And yet, playing Medieval II as part of a marathon has really highlighted the absence or streamlining of features – details, perhaps, is more appropriate – from previous games. Royal bloodlines and marriage is simplified with princesses no longer able to lay claim to other factions’ lands as in Medieval (not that this is really a loss, since such situations seemed exceedingly rare in that game to begin with). Battles maintain the weight that makes them feel satisfying and even incorporate new “finishing moves” in the animation sets, yet also reduce the standard death animations to two from the many featured in Rome. Battlefield control also seems to take a hit with units feeling “sticky” and slow to pathfind (sieges are particularly bad for this – soldiers will park their siege tower at the wall only to climb the ladders the other guys are using); cavalry are the worst offender, often needing perfect conditions to charge properly. Authentic, perhaps, but maybe a case where authenticity overtook gameplay.

These and many other criticisms I could level are nitpicking at best and don’t majorly take away from Medieval II. Whatever is “missing” more so strikes me as being at odds with the game’s high reputation in certain circles of a community which, again, is quick to jump on the bandwagon re: “missing features” in more recent entries. At least, I would label it one of the most polished games in the series and certainly one of the most modifiable; a vibrant modding community has kept Medieval II alive for over 20 years through historical and fantasy settings like The Lord of the Rings and Warhammer Fantasy.

But more on that later…

the game is awesome. controls are a bit outdated, but other than that it's great.

I have many hours logged on all Total war Games, except a few. This one, to this day, remains one of my favorites, despite it coming out in '07. I still go back to it to especially play the expansions, Crusades are my favorite. I just wish they would make a Medieval 3, IDK HOW TF THEY HAVENT YET.

This game combined with the lord of the rings mods "Divide and Conquer" and "Epic Unity Rework" is the best total war experience.

Still playing this game in 2025. An absolute classic imo not without its flaws but you cant beat raising a medieval army and going on the conquest across Europe and beyond.

The saddest part is I have another 150 hours on the android port.

Buy it for Base game
Stay for Third Age Total War

This game is great because it is a pure form of total war with no respawning soldiers and Hard Counters. Good Luck. Not for someone who wants an easy experience. Love this game.

Very fun. I had no idea how great this game was. CA put all of their creativity into this game. Sure it's old but once you learn the system it is so much fun. It's always a treat to learn about all of the different cultures and empires as well too. Thank you for making this game.

I just checked, and after four months of playing this i have racked up 272 hours. I do not know how this has happened but this is a testimony to how good these old total war games are. The new ones are cash grabs and are nothing compared to this gem of a game.

Fire, though outdated. Don't be discouraged by awkward controls. You can change a lot of stuff around in the options.

Pretty outstanding base game, but adding the kingdoms dlc and mods is where its at.

Our enemies, the French, are said to be better lovers than fighters. This is true! Ask any cat, dog or farmyard animal!

Couldn't get away with a gem like this in 2025, we just don't make them like we used to :(

Still no MTW3! I am already 40, Total WAR! You do it, or either we gonna do it! :)

Best game. But do not get it from steam.

They constantly send updates, that break the installed mods on a decades old game, that needs no steam fucking upgrades.

Do not buy from steam. They are evil game breakers to make you buy something else.

The best CA has to offer. U can scalp Aztecs, ransom archers, and do tons of stuff here

Literally the best game for history and military nerds. Been playing for years and it never gets old.

I'll be honest this is it, the best of the best. Such an amazing game which you can put 100s of 100s of hours into and still want more. Got bored? Mods. What else can I say oh glorious mods, Medieval 2s community is so so so talented and the mods that are out there will give 100s of hours on their own.

You can play it on pretty much any potato pc or laptop. Hell you can even get it on your phone and play it on the go! Though I do recommend a tablet for that.

Absolute must play in my humble opinion if you love Total War games. It may have it's faults with bad ai, weird pathing and more but there are mods for everything. And it is definitely worth it to do just to experience this amazing game.

Great grand strategy game, a pioneer in the matter, and makes reference to some historical situations which you can interact with, that affects the game directly. Has a mix of history, diplomacy, and of course, war. Easy controls that allow you to handle the armies in a more efficient way. Also there are a bunch of mods that can be added, without affecting the original game directly, which gives the game an added value within the community.

Lame AI during battle mode, specially during sieges, and diplomacy tends to become useless in harder game dificulties since no one wants to interact with you, due to every faction you meet will try to attack you, regardless of the faction you selected. Besides the different missions that you can complete, they are not actually needed to continue the campaign since they do not affect your game, and most of them have somewhat useless rewards based on the difficulty they have to be completed.

Besides some downsides, is a great game. If you are checking Total War franchise and do not know where to start, do not keep looking and get Medieval 2.

I've been playing this game for more than 15 years. Other than it's a great game, I love the turn base system, which allows me to stand up and do RL mindlessly. I can come back 2 hours later and the game is right where I left it. Heroic Victory.

best strategy game of all time a definite must buy for strategy or historical enthusiasts

A perfect game for people into history and strategy games, the game has multiple empires, battles, countries and campaings to choose.
9/10

If I were to compare TW:M2 to anything, i would compare it to a used car: it's old enough to vote, hasn't exactly aged well, occasionally it'll make a noise that concerns you, but it's an experience you'll never forget. Yes, it's not as pretty as Rome: Remastered, or Three Kingdoms, it's not as fast paced or easy to understand, and by zero means is it historically accurate, but it's fun when you can get into it. It's not a game for everyone obviously, but I recommend at least giving it a try if you like Total War style games (or CK)

Classic Total War Experience, 10/10
A remastered version would be perfect.

What I like?
- Want a Total War game with more emphasis on cavalry dominance? Medieval 2's your best bet.
- Very old game but graphics still hold up to this day.
- Potato laptops have a chance to run this game. (Played this on integrated graphics on an i3 intel processor)
- Endless replay-ability. Dozens of diverse factions from Europe, Middle East and even Asia (Mongols).

What I don't like?
- Some units in campaign are not in custom battle mode and vice-versa.
- Mongols and Timurids are playable in custom battle but not in campaign.

Overall: Would recommend.

Scratches the itch for total war strategy. Familiar gameplay and more enjoyable, in my opinion, than the series that brought in heroes and a different art style and overworld style.

horrible controls. horrible game play. too much instruction on unimportant things and little to no instruction on important game play functions

Buy it and enjoy. Steam, please bring back original Rome Total War.