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Medieval 2: Total War Kingdoms

Crusades

Chronicling the early bits of the still-brewing conflict between Christianity and Islam in the middle-east, the Crusades campaign has European knights in the form of Kingdom of Jerusalem and Antioch locked in bloody war against Turkish and Egyptian factions. The Byzantine Empire is also playable; non-playable sides in the conflict include Venice, France, England and the Mongols, keeping things interested in the eastern borders of the area.

Crusades campaign features "Hero" characters - named leaders of each faction with special abilities usable in the real time battles. These heroes include such notable historical characters as Richard the Lionheart and Philip II Augustus. Each faction also starts out with a special "power center" region (Jerusalem, Antioch, Constantinople, Baghdad and Cairo). As this region is the only place to recruit certain elite troops, loss of the faction's power center causes great shifts in the balance of power in the region and can trigger reinforcements being sent to recapture the region. Control of enemy power center is usually also listed as a victory condition for the factions.

Driving the Muslims all the way to the Great Pyramids.

Ooops, they declared a Jihad. That would be a Bad Thing.

While there are initially less fortifications around the middle-east, generals can construct additional permanent forts that can support a number of garrisoned troops without upkeep funding. Each faction can build forts only in their own territory, but these forts can be captured and should they end up under enemy control, they will affect the income from the surrounding region.

Crusades is probably the most clear-cut campaign diplomatically - two Christian factions fighting two Islamic factions, both bent on bashing each other's skulls to dust in the name of their favorite deity. Byzantine Empire mixes things up a little, but in some ways they feel like the odd man out in this conflict.

Teutonic Order

The fourth part of the expansion is the Teutonic Campaign. If you are not a history buff, you might go "Teutonic...who?", so to clear things up, the Order was a faction of European knights who set out to re-educate the pagans of the northern Europe around the Baltic Sea. The campaign features a small but well-armed Teutonic army forcibly converting the Lithuanian Pagan state, with Denmark and Novgorod appearing as other playable factions. Additionally you can unlock the Holy Roman Empire and Poland for play in this campaign. Non-playable factions feature Norway (with the possibility that Denmark will form the Kalmar Union with Norway during the campaign) and the Mongols.

The campaign also features random appearance of additional European Crusader armies controllable by the Teutonic Order. These armies are on a mission to butcher some Pagans, and offer great monetary rewards if you help them in their quest (and keep them alive). On the flipside, Lithuanian council of nobles dishes out similar rewards for killing them, painting a nice crosshair on their already cross-bearing chests.

Hanseatic League also makes an appearance. They are not a faction, but are present in five regions, and whoever controls these regions have a chance that they will be offered the Hanseatic League Headquarters - a special building offering financial benefits to the faction.

Crusading Nobleman seeks help - reward offered for dead Pagans.

Teutonic Order charging out of the castle to break a siege.

Each major side also has a few special features. The Teutonic Order doesn't have the usual family tree; this makes them less vulnerable to assassinations, as there will always be a line of succession - when the faction leader dies, the most able general available will rise to be the new faction leader. The Order is also mostly limited to building fortresses and citadels, and civilian settlements are limited to the city level. This means the only way to keep the finances out of red is to source additional funds - for example by plundering enemy cities and assisting the adventuring crusaders for the rewards they offer.

Lithuanians initially field a couple of special Pagan unit types, and are limited to city and castle level settlements with the special ability to build several different Pagan temples. During the campaign, Lithuanians also have the option of converting to Christianity; this will cause civil unrest and loss of the Pagan units and buildings, but in return it will unlock new building options, and ease tensions with the surrounding Christian factions.

Page 1: IntroductionPage 2: Campaigns: Americas and BritanniaPage 3: Campaigns: Crusades and Teutonic OrderPage 4: Graphics and Hardware RequirementsPage 5: Final Thoughts and Scores

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