Until the release of Creative Assembly’s Shogun: in 2000, mainstream real-time games had always kept a discrete distance from realism. There were games that sought to replicate the factors involved in war realistically, but these were limited to a handful of niche products, commonly in the form of turn-based games. The major part of the genre stuck doggedly to unworldly settings, with mainstream offerings like the Command and Conquer series, as well as Blizzard’s multiple offerings. All these games shared one common element - the tactics needed to succeed were invariably utterly unrelated to any kind of real tactical know-how. If you knew the best units to build, as well as being familiar with the oddball strategies of the particular game being played, then victory was assured.

Shogun, however, was different. It utilised tactics that were taken straight from the history books, gaining special insight from Sun Tzu’s Art of War. At the core of the battles was a paper, scissors and stone system - archers beat spearman, cavalry beat archers, and spearman beat cavalry. This was fleshed out to include various infantry troop types for different situations, heavy and light cavalry, mounted archers and musket units. Also included were special troop types like samurai and monks, which were dedicated to direct assault.

This commendable troop variety was only half the story, however, since the terrain could be exploited to ensure maximum tactical advantage. The key to victory was retaining the high ground. Archers could fire further, while melee units received combat bonuses for fighting downhill. Forests too could be used to conceal troops and attack unexpectedly. Troop positioning was also of great importance, with units receiving bonuses for attacking another unit from behind or from the side. Underpinning all of this was an excellent morale system that could result in larger forces turning tail and fleeing before a superiorly managed opponent. Killing an enemy king or general dealt a huge blow, with all units in the enemy army taking a morale check. Certain unit types were almost guaranteed to flee before others, and battles that had seemed only moments before to be balanced on a knife-edge could suddenly become a rout as fear swelled throughout the army. All these factors meant that Shogun: Total War was the first mainstream title to realistically model a real battlefield, and it was implemented in such a way as to render the game hugely enjoyable. The game sold well, and ever since the expansion pack was finished all eyes turned to the sequel. Medieval: Total War is now here, and I for one am not disappointed.

Medieval is a much larger game than its predecessor, in almost every aspect. The game map contains many times the number of conquerable provinces than the original Shogun did, reaching from Ireland in the west, to eastern Turkey, Jordan and Russia in the east, Scandinavia in the north and north Africa in the south. Twelve factions battle over this massive area, split into three major subgroups - Catholics, Orthodox and Muslim. Factions of the same religious leaning will generally get on better. For instance, as a Catholic faction attacking a fellow catholic group will result in a warning from the Pope, with further transgressions resulting in the excommunication of your king. This opens the door for all Catholic factions to attack you with impunity. This is not an insurmountable disincentive, however, as the death of your king or the Pope results in the slate being wiped clean - it is at best a limited obstacle, should you want to use your armies to drive the French into the sea.