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19 of 22 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
much better than "Medieval", February 5, 2004
Really I wanted to love "Medieval" but got sick of it quickly for the following reasons:
1. Endless instances of "a heir who escaped detection" has arisen to slosh up your rear. This, admittedly, was cool the first time, but not over 10 times in a single game! Sheesh!
2. Mass revolts in nearly all your provinces (typically about 1160) for no discernible reason.
3. Neighboring provinces declaring war on you (or refusing an alliance) in the face of all historical logic or (more irritatingly) the logic of that moment in the game. I thought the AI, at least as far as the part that makes broad strategic decisions such as whether to enter or withdraw from war, was really poorly written. I mean, there could be a province you have surrounded for HUNDREDS of years as an ally without touching (say, Poland) -- and furthermore you've lent them aid repeatedly in the past, and you've completely got them surrounded by a million guys, and they'll attack you for no reason. It seemed like the way the AI was written was that as soon as it sees you're pretty much wrapping up a war with one foe, another would attack, no matter who or with what chances of success. Like clockwork. This got really annoying.
4. The Pope stuff about being excommunicated got really annoying after a while, especially when you had not been the aggressor in a war, or when you were merely defending your own turf. This excommunication stuff should also have been limited to one or two instances per game.
Fortunately, little of these annoyances plague Viking: Total War. I am happy to say that it can boast nearly all of the best elements of "Medieval," but for the most part without the annoyances outlined above.
Another thing I liked about the game is that the "Easy" level was inarguably easy. This can be nice when you just want to see what the end of a game is like. Although the manual says playing as the Welsh is the hardest, actually I had little difficulty with them. The Picts -- now that was unpleasant. Just a gradual chipping your way down south, with no "breaks" whatsoever.
Another thing I really like about the game is that I think it gives you a much clearer and more useful grasp of the history of the period than does the original "Medieval". You begin to understand, for example, why the Anglo-Saxons, though by no means wusses, were so helpless in the face of Vikings -- when you see the advantages of HOW the Vikings attacked.
One thing I wish this game would have had more of is the occasional historical notes (such as about Thomas a Beckett or the Albigensians, or whatever). These really lent a convincing atmosphere to "Medieval," but sadly, in the expansion there is only one (at the beginning).
I also think you should have been able to cross the North Sea and attack the Vikings. This was another disappointment.
But on the whole, the best so far.
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16 of 20 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Battle Axes, Brew & Plunder!, December 24, 2004
You sit hunched near the prow of the Longboat, listening to the oarsmen gasp as they heave against their burden and shove the boat bearing steely death through the North Sea. There is a close, deadly chill, but the sea is cloaked with a thick and heavy fog that roils up off the whitecaps like steam, as if the furnaces of Hell churned beneath the waves. The Huskarls were blessed by the Jarl's priest hours ago; they clutch their battle-axes and snarl through their teeth, their faces streaked with a cow's blood, the berserker rage upon them.
Soon the dragon's prow will gouge into the Saxon shore; soon your berserker-band will leap across the side and crush skulls, spill blood, scatter the feeble enemy, rape and pillage and burn and plunder. You will drink the enemy's blood in a cup forged of his feeble skull and sing of Valhalla. You will not sully the honor of your ancestors. You will stare up to heaven and cry out in victory under the eternal one-eyed glare of Odin the All-Father.
********
The Omens warn of Death and Destruction. Just a fortnight ago, you watched as the heavens were filled with fire. The earth itself has turned against your people; the fields lie fallow, the crops barren, the yields puny. The people starve. Dogs run feral in the woods, even in the streets.
Your Saxon grandfather's grandfather hacked his way into this unforgiving wilderness, pushed the barbarian Celts back into the western hills, forged a life and a kingdom. You wear that uneasy crown even now, but God---how that cold iron crown digs down into your skull. The Christian priest speaks of the armor of the Lord, but how much more would you give for stronger steel and more men against the coming of this new scourge: orange-haired giants stealing throught the fog in their dragon ships, wielding steely scythes of death, slaying your men and defiling your women. They wear horned helms like the Demons the priests preach against. They are barbarians, savages, bloodthirsty monsters. They are the scourge of an uncaring God: they are the Vikings.
*******
A year ago I picked up "Medieval: Total War" (the original, without the Viking Invasion expansion). Several beer barrels of coffee and three sleepless nights later, I decided Medieval was the single most addictive videogame I had ever played. I picked up the full Battle Collection last week, armed only with the modest expectation of a minor tweak to the basic game that would enable me to send hordes of screeching, beer-guzzling horn-helmed warriors roaring across Anglo-Saxon England.
Boy was I wrong.
Here's what you need to do: if you just got Medieval Total War: Battle Chest, you absolutely must load up Viking Invasion. It's not just an expansion: it's a massive overhaul to the MTW game engine that boosts immeasurably the original's playability, and (sigh) addictiveness. The flaws that hampered the original---and occasionally brought the game to a screeching halt or aborted it altogether---have been fixed.
Now there are four ages to choose from: the original three and the Viking Age (from 793 A.D. through the Norman Conquest in 1066). Apart from the Viking-era powers circa 793 A.D., you can now play an additional three factions: Hungary, the Kingdom of Sicily, and Aragon. The expansion includes a horde of new units to further your ambitions and smash those who oppose your imperial will: Slavic footmen, Hungarian Jobbagy, Russian Druhzina cavalry, Arab infantry, ferocious Heavy Steppe Infantry, the brutal Organ Gun, and of course the Viking units: miserable Viking thralls, doughty Viking landsmen, Saxon Fyrdmen, and fierce Viking huskarls.
Best of all, the design flaws that made the original Medieval: Total War nearly unplayable as the game progressed past 1300 have been fixed or eliminated:
1) Rebellions: In the old game, I would curse as constant rebellions turned my imperial map into a bloodbath of red, leaving islands of rebel armies knotted across my kingdom. Invading? You could count on a massive "rebel" or loyalist army left in your wake---piles of chivalric knights and feudal footmen boasting technology not available to the most advanced power on the gameboard!
Rebellions will still break out, and if you leave a region undermanned or overtaxed for years there's always a chance some long-vanquished pretender to a throne will resurface to unite the disaffected---but overnight rebel super-armies are long gone.
2) Ragnarok Abort Bug! Happily done away with. The original MTW used to be nasty to abort in mid-game, or when you went to save, or when you looked at the computer crosswise. Since loading up the Viking expansion I haven't had the game abort once.
New Stuff: Using archers against an enemy building? Light `em up with flaming arrows! Digging in against an enemy siege? Laugh it up as the gatecrashers scream in agony as you dump boiling oil on them.
The sleek new Battle Summary screen is also nice: now you get a full-screen display with a 360-degree view of the countryside, pictures of both unit leaders, details on both sides (if you've got spies or watchtowers), and an option to tailor your units before you get them on the battlefield.
A quick word about the Viking era itself: ever wanted to dispense with all the careful maneuvering, throw the battle-axes and ale kegs into the dragon-prowed longboats and just sail off to raid and plunder the British isles, and generally kill people and break things? Play the Vikings.
Enough talk! Open up the doors to the Temple of Odin! Raise your tankards to Loki in the drinking hall! Let the raids commence!
JSG
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5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Handy improvements to the reg. game, December 12, 2003
The viking period is interesting for the most part. It doesn't have the depth of the regular game but has some new units that are fun to play around with. The real value of this expansion are the upgrades for regular Medieval Total War. You now have a very helpful pre-battle screen to help with reinforcement selection, sizing up the enemy, etc. There are also a lot of new units added to the game. For anyone that liked MTW this is well worth the money.
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