I've been an addict of real-time battle games since I first bought Command and Conquer. From Age of Empires to Starcraft, I've played them all and they were great fun. MTW makes them seem like kid's games. I'll never be completely happy with them again.
It's all fun - the turn based aspect being much like Civilization - but the battles are what makes it addictive. Battlefield strategy means everything, and even if you have superior troops, bad strategy can lose a battle for you. I can't even begin to list all of the factors that will sway a battle, but maybe if I recount one of my battles, it will give you some insight on how awesome this game is.
When a Crusade moves through one of your provinces, it's pretty destructive. At the very least, you will lose 25% of all of your troops in that province as they leave to join the Crusade. A lot of times, I think it's just a way for the offending faction to weaken you before attacking. MTW prompts you on whether or not to let a Crusade pass through your province. If you decline, the Crusade attacks you. And a crusader army can hold many more units than a normal army. They also fight with more vigor.
In my first game, the French wished to send a Crusade through one of my provinces, and I refused. My army in that province was about 500 troops, the Crusade army numbered over 4000. I saved my game and then started the battle. It didn't last long. Lined up toe to toe on an open field, they ran me over in no time. I loaded it up again, but this time, I tried something different. I lined half of my infantry up behind a large woods so that the French would have to attack through the woods. I put the other half in the woods, up a hill to the left. They were hidden (a very neat and useful feature). As the French approached the woods, they sensed something was wrong. Where before they simply attacked me, this time they hesitated. Worried that they would see my hidden troops, I charged with my unhidden footsoldiers, but then brought them back quickly before they engaged. The French fell for it. They charged into the woods after my troops. I let them come until they were halfway through and then hit them with the hidden troops in the middle of their column. It sent them into a panic. The front half of their army was still charging, but now they did not much outnumber my troops which they were chasing. I turned on them and engaged. That part of the battle was close. My hidden troops, however, destroyed the middle third of their army which was still trying to recover. The rear third, still out of the woods on the far side, wavered. At this moment, I bought my cavalry around the right side of the woods and into the left flank of the rear third. They routed. Now, with my hidden troops and my cavalry freed up, I brought them through the woods and into the rear of the front third of the French army which was just about to overcome my troops fighting there. Totally surrounding them, they were soon destroyed, including the General. After that, the rest of the French reserves were not too keen on fighting and were easy prey.
What other real-time battle game can you defeat enemy forces when you are outnumbered 8 to 1? I don't know of any. If you are a war buff, and you are not currently playing MTW, you are not having as much fun as you could be having!
One more thing. One of the things that makes the battles great in MTW is the terrain. Most battles happen in hilly areas and the elevation can be used to your advantage or be your downfall. I rushed out to buy Rome Total War, but was very disappointed as this aspect seemed to have disappeared in that game. Most battles seem to take place on large, open fields, and the terrain means little. IMO, MTW is much better. I wish they would make more expansion packs or just update it or something. I've been playing for over a year now and am just now finally starting to get tired of it. Too bad.
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Reviews with images
One Star
It only came with the Viking cd and disc two of medieval total so can’t even upload it.
