What keeps you playing?

[Tyer032392]

I love going back to the medieval times, and to me, the unit, terrain, and city detail in Medieval 2 is far better Empire, and maybe even Napoleon. But, I also loved the fact that if you created armies without generals, those armies could rebel against you.

[Mo74]

Thanks guys for all those replies; I might even be tempted to go back to M2 now rather than progress onto NTW after ETW. I rushed through M2 as the release of Empire approached so I kind of feel I missed out.

Anyway, what did you think of the battle AI in M2 compared to say ETW? Do you have any great memorable moments?

[King Rufus]

The mod community is massive. Back in the day rome had hundreds of mods. Now empire and med2 have taken the mantle, however med 2 still has alot of new mods due to come out. Dominion of the sword and europa barbarium 2 mods which should be released in the next year or two really are going to add to med2's gameplay.

A Westeros (Game of Thrones) mod is also due to come out!

[AFF92]

Medieval 2 has a good balance of everything. This is the last total war with great sieges along with beautiful cities (cathedrals and mosque towering over the walls, looks awesome). Unfortunately, Empire had very poor siege mechanics that were bugged. Also, Medieval 2 has the unit and weapon diversity between factions. Also, the campaign map unfolds over time and gives you very opportunities. The Mongols and Timurids add a huge twist to the map (unless you are too far West to be affected). Also, the Americas being discovered adds new exotic locations that are rich but very dangerous. Gunpowder brings changes in warfare, such as making castles seem obselete.

A wonderful game mechanic that often gets overlooked is the whole Catholic church system. Many times I try dilligently to do the wishes of the pope in hopes that he will protect me in return. It is a cool give and take system, with the threat of excommunication being rather serious in the relations with other Catholic factions. On the other hand, I have had the Pope threaten to excommunicate Catholic powers that declare war on my faction and he also gives financial incentives. Good relations with the pope keep the people happy and keeps those nasty inquisitors out of your lands (many an agent of mine has been tried with heresy and killed needlessly). To make matters even more interesting, the pope is often replaced. Sometimes the newly elected pope thinks highly of my faction, and other times he hates my guts. When that happens, its time for a ridiculous, expensive crusade! Again, its a really fun system to play and I love the Catholic factions because of it.