Customer Reviews

Medieval Games

5 star:		(3)
4 star:		(5)
3 star:		(3)
2 star:		(4)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

Overall we found this to be a very fun party game. And very different than some of the other party games out there. We even had some of the neighbors over to play and everyone seemed to have a great time. Some of the younger children took longer to get the hang of it, but the older ones picked it up more quickly.

Pros
* Very good graphics. We play on a 52 inch Samsung LCD, very colorful and cartoony
* Great variety of games, swordfight was a lot of fun, everyone kept going back to that. jousting pay off ending was good. they kept trying to see how many different ways you could make your opponent fall down. for some reason, horse racing was one of my favorites.
* Great sense of humor. we spent several minutes just clicking the characters to see what they said. There are a lot of comic references for adults too. the character voices are really well done.
* Everyone liked the storybook board game except for certain things (see below)

Cons
* Can't skip the computer's turn, this would really make the game go faster so there isn't so much waiting.
* Computer characters seem to be really really good at some games and not as good at others, most of the time we had 4 people to play, and it was definitely more fun to play against other people
* It took a little bit of time to get used to how the game played. A game like this should be a little easier to get into, but overall we found it to be great fun.

I bought this game the day it came out. My son is 11 years old and is interested in battle/dueling games for the WII. I thought he might enjoy the game. The game, however, has some problems that prevent it from being a big success with the younger or older crowd.

On the positive side, there are MANY mini-games to be played, and the game takes advantage of the WII motion controllers. The jousting is especially good, as is the dueling. The board game had potential as an enjoyable past time. I think, however, for the game to work, you need 4 human players, and this goes to the heart of the problem.

The CG characters compete against the human players, and compete on an expert level. In the archery mini-game for example, my son and I score about 500 points apiece, while the fun-loving CG characters scored over 1500 points. In the axe throw, only the CG characters mastered the art of hitting the moving targets, the target for the human players jumped erratically. In fact, in most of the mini-games, we scored 3rd and 4th place, while the CG characters were always 1 and 2.

My son complained that the game was unfair, and I have to agree. I'm glad that the Computer Players had a good time, but of course they didn't pay for the game.

I cannot find a way to reduce the number of players to eliminate the computer players. The game calls for 4 players, and if there is only one human, that means playing against 3 very good computer players who are really having a good time together.

Perhaps there is a way to eliminate the computer players in the board game. If someone discovers it, please post and let me know.

This game is best if always played with a group of people. It is not a good game for anyone who might want to play it by themselves. There will always be four players even if the computer has to play three of them. You can't skip the computer's turn(s) so this makes the game play time slow and boring. I also haven't found a way to skip the instructions for an individual game, and they are shown at the beginning of *every* turn. I agree with another reviewer that the controls are sloppy and awkward to use. The characters are charming the first time you hear their canned comments, but after a complete game they become annoying. The computer supplies comments made by the characters regardless of whether a person is playing them or the computer. The jester, for example, is a whiner the entire time. If I'm playing with a group we can supply our own comments and I'd rather not hear from the computer. Overall, I found the animation was awkward at times, the characters were irritating, the controls were sloppy, and the use of the game was limited. If you are very patient, have a lot of time, and always play with others this would probably be fine for you. Be sure to have at least three human players to the computer is only one character, and get ready to lose a lot until you learn the controls.

I played this game at a relative's house for part of an afternoon. I will not be buying this one myself.

The GOOD:
(A) The graphics and theme are well handled;
(B) Many of the games are fun.

The BAD:
(A) Getting to the part where you actually play a game is frustrating. Too much stuff to get through before you can actually have fun. Especially the built-in board game. You spend 75% of your time getting to the 25% which is the fun actually game-playing stuff.
(B) Most of the games are inherently 4 player, so the computer fills out the ranks. Unfortunately, the computer players trounced us everytime we played. There was no obvious way to choose skill levels or handicaps for the computer players.
(C) Some of the games require pair of players--this didn't work well for 3 players, as whoever got paired with the computer had a huge advantage. Other games were played tournament-style (single elimination), so whoever played the computer first always lost.


I really wish Medieval Games was more like Lumberjacks--then it might have been a 4-star game. Most importantly, I would actually know how fun the games were (or weren't) because I would have spent my time playing the games instead of wading through filler.

I bought this game thinking it would be more like Go Play Lumberjacks but was SEVERELY mistaken! The game is a standard mini-game collection however if you buy this game prepare for a lot of waiting and frustration. Like other reviews have said this is a 4 player game. period. If you don't have 4 people the computer is kind enough to play the remaining characters for you. The problem is that these characters are VERY VERY good at the games. You will loose to them...bad! For a game geared towards adults I wouldn't mind that so much but this game is meant for kids as much as adults and watch how fast your children get sick of a game that they are constantly coming in 4th (3rd possibly if you play as well) on. There is no way to turn off the computer controlled players (Like on Go Play) and no way to have less than 4 characters (Like on Go Play). I know my daughter was all excited about this game before I bought it and now has absolutely NO interest in it after getting pummeled by the computer over and over and over! In addition to the computer being very good at the games, to unlock all the games you have to play the "story" mode. This in itself is terrible as you have to play through 5 rounds of turns for each player (for a total of 20 turns). Now if you're playing by yourself that's 5 turns for you and 15 for the computer. This is a lot of standing around waiting and then watching (with some participating) as the computer plays YOUR game, against YOU, and much better than YOU and there is nothing you can do about it. Oh and did I mention that you actually have to win this story mode to unlock anything. Good luck there!

This is definitely a game I wish I would have rented first as it was a total waste of money! If you have a lot of patience and like to be beaten repeatedly by the computer then by all means go buy this game. Also, if you have 4 people to play with at all times then it might not be that bad either. However if you have kids, don't enjoy watching the computer play your game more than you get to, or like to actually stand a chance of winning, save yourself a ton of frustration and just go buy Go Play Lumberjacks instead. You'll save about 5 bucks and have a ton more fun!

I could not wait for a review for this game & paid the price. Do yourself a favor & rent this one first!

Most of the mini games are funny & entertaining to watch, but the play control on most of them is lacking. When you try to move your jousting lance, there is severe delay between moving the Wiimote & what happens on screen. When you battle another character, you swing your sword 3 or 4 times, but the on screen character only swings once. Very fustrating.

Also waiting for the computer controlled characters to take their turns on the game board is not fun. No matter what you play, there are always 2-4 characters involved & this can be a pain, especially in the target games were you have 4 cursors flying aroung the screen trying to hit the same targets.

There is some great humor to be had here while trying to catch pigs or being attacked by a killer squirrel (with a huge nod to the killer rabbit from Monty Python fame), but overall these moments just are not enough to save the game from the poor control issues.

I bought this game as a surprise for my kids. Age 11 & 14. It was only $10 so I didn't have very high expectations, but they both loved it and continue to come back to it. Good clean game with lots of different scenes.

This game was bought for Christmas for my son, and he did not immediately play it. First time he played it he didnt like it, then he tried again in a different mode and liked it. It has things like arrow shooting, jousting, catapult shooting, dancing, pig tying, chemistry, sword fighting, beast fighting, etc. He enjoys it but says the controls are sometimes hard to do with the Wii.

My 6 year old son recently purchased this game with his birthday money at Toysrus. We were shocked it was only $[...]. He wanted a battle game of some sort and this seemed less violent than other games. He honestly loves it and plays it everyday after school. He hates when the princess beats him. We like to play as a family also. The other reviews make some great points about the game not advancing when your character is out so you have to sit and watch the whole race, puppet show etc. That kinda drags it on. But in general for an inexpensive game it is a blast for our kids who love going to Medieval Times and now they can have their own Medieval competition here at home.

Full disclosure: I'm not a big video game player. The last time I seriously played video games the controller only had two buttons. My wife, however, got a Wii a couple of years ago and has been begging me to get into playing something with her. I ran across this game and thought it might be a good fit for us because it was described as being a party game (think "Mario Party") set in a Medieval storybook world. It may not be the most challenging or complex game around, but it is something my wife and I can both play and enjoy, and that was really all I was looking for. In that respect, the game delivered for me. The controls are a bit difficult sometimes, and the computer does seem to be nearly impossible to beat on the archery mini games, but not so much so that the game as a whole is unplayable. Serious gamers, or people who think the Wii is only for families or noobies, probably won't care much for this, but considering what I wanted it for, and the price I paid, I'm pretty satisfied.