Start of the war, when they want, but end up - when they can.
Niccolo Machiavelli
Dying of the plague in the stowed tent near Krakow, Governor Mal Monomakh recalled the siege of Novgorod. Using the departure of the main Russian forces, a detachment of the Hungarians made his way through the gullies and spring thaw in the heart of the Principality, and attacked the capital, protected only by a small militia. Gloomy March morning Hungarians went on the attack. Defenders managed to set fire to the siege tower and battering ram to smash subservient to, and then in turn went to the stairs. Brutal from the long wait and scanty food, Croatian mercenaries stubbornly climbed up, and the men-militia pushes them off the wall blows copies and shields, and then just kicks. Chadyaschimi wreckage of the towers, littered with corpses streets, slanting the rain, whipping the gray roofs of houses, and tired people in his coat, doing the dirty, difficult but necessary work - so Mal, the then prime captain, remember this day.
The standoff ended with the bloody battle of powers under the Bucharest and its capture, the remains of the royal family fled to Jerusalem, seized by Hungary during his crusade. The refugees settled in quite firmly, despite the declared Muslim jihad, and eventually even chop off a couple of provinces in Egypt. Novgorod militia invaded Poland and got stuck there, spraying force covered by the plague and the excitement of the city. Duke of Milan, the Vatican excommunicated for the destruction of fellow Catholics, did not rest on the defeat of the French and left the horns and legs of the Holy Roman Empire. Mongol hordes on the move taken and plundered Yerevan, but then clashed with the Turks and slowed progress on the west, and the Spaniards ousted the Moors from the Iberian Peninsula and moved the fighting on the other side of Gibraltar. Came in 1250 after Christ, the world is mired in a war.
 | Sabres eyes peeled, the horses are fast |
Russia in the game represented the principality of Novgorod and begins with a single province, surrounded by forests and deaf rebels. Gathering of lands is not easy - the distances between cities are overcome in a few days, money is not always enough, from the west pushed around the Hungarians and Poles, and sooner or later comes to Genghis Khan. The basis of the Russian regiments - the cavalry of all kinds. Rapid and label the Cossacks, the boyars sons, equally strong in the room, and in zakidyvanii enemies darts, loyal retinue and sweeps away all life in the royal guard scary helmets with masks. With the infantry, too, all good: dismounted combatants and the boyars, armored archers on the ears, nobles and warriors with halberds. In short, a cross between a European knight armies, relying on brute force and ram stroke, and Muslims who prefer the tactics of "Bay Run". As it is, in fact, been in history. If another accident caused by the names of the characters did not work so ridiculous ...
 | |  | With each volley, and trebuchets kulevrin screen shakes. | | Playing "find the two identical knights." |
Series Total War, especially its recent incarnation - the proof of the viability of PC as a gaming platform, it features a hymn, a lesson to all those who think that gamers are only needed shooters on kinolitsenzii and annual sports simulators. Modest British genius over and over again produce a game that equally captivates fans vargeymov and Civilization, RTS and tactics, just lovers of history, finally. Amazing depth and yet accessible, a kind of "layered" design.
If you do not feel like spending a month living on the passage of the campaign for one of the nations - have the quick battles and historical battles. Confuse indicators of morale, fatigue, lack of arrows? A couple of clicks in the options menu - and here we are playing a simple RTS.
Who wants to take into account every florin, climbs onto the screen of statistics of cities, debit checks with credit, lifts taxes and sit on the provincial governors posmyshlenee yes pouhvatistee. But no one forbids trust computer advisors, if not to throw everything in the urban AI.
Dynastic marriages, advancement in the cardinals the pope, removing unwanted, sowing confusion in enemy cities, and diplomatic intrigues, the fight for precious resources - from the figures of the priests, assassins, princesses, spies, merchants and diplomats on the strategic map dazzled. And that's not counting the armies and fleets! But again, do not want to delve into the details and move this whole fraternity here and there - do not hire. True, miss a lot of interesting and play becomes more difficult.
 | |  | Tatar Mongols come, no nonsense, with a horde. Several stuffed to the eyeballs with armies "desyatizvezdochnymi" generals at the helm. | | Omitted spears - a sign that the packaging will be a blow as it should. |
Here, even the war is not necessary - avtopodschet outcome of the battle works quite honestly, even at the highest level of complexity, and closer to the end of the campaign, when every move is happening on 5 battles are using them more often. And in the sea battles, still, even no choice. Oh well: After how land should be part of any more depressing maneuvers of the two ship in Imperial Glory.
Actually, there was nothing particularly modifying: in Rome tactical mode close to the ideal. More types of troops, guns - but it was all in the first Medieval. Here we come, perhaps, the main lack of the game: the lion's share of such innovations is only introduced to the series in 2004. The veterans also remembered and the Crusades, and a curse to the Vatican, imagined himself as a medieval UN, and the capture of prisoners, with a subsequent purchase, and the invasion of the Horde ... And what a daimyo pleaded not return rollers, about the life of spies and assassins?
Another thing that holds all of the highest modern level and draws no worse than the old days.Another move - this is only to capture the castle - the scoundrels, the Danes landed marines in the rear, a plague decimated the inhabitants, the guild merchants require a truce with Portugal, it's time to marry his daughter, why have four in the morning, dammit? And so it goes on, with dozens of reports of significant and not very events and reboots after an unsuccessful battle, accompanied by quotations from the Bible, Shakespeare and Machiavelli.
| About how many wonderful discoveries to us ... |
Events occurring in the game more or less tied to the historical dates and significantly affect the gameplay: The Great Plague of mown half of Europe, invading Mongol and Timurid seriously change the situation in the Middle East, the invention of gunpowder can recruit gunners and musketeers, and the opening of the New World and does enacts another continent and a nation - the Aztecs. Sorry, it happens at the very end of the campaign, a handful of cities with the majestic pyramids captured very quickly, and enjoy the exotics do not have time. Makings for add-on'a? Very possibly, although it is time to stop thumb the same motives. Napoleon: Total War, where are you?
 | |  | In motion it looks better. Ships and trucks scurrying hither and thither, the surf washes the shore, trees swaying in the wind. | | Notorious elephants can be seen only in the face of Tamerlane, or in a single battle. |
Separation of settlements in the towns and castles - one of the truly significant innovations. In the elite troops of the castles are hired and are available the most advanced defenses (alas, again no moats and drawbridge), but the main influx of money into the coffers comes from the Burg and Peaceful City. But other than the host and low walls, bins homeland is no prikroesh. At the beginning of the campaign map has a certain number of those and other types of settlements. As the seizure of new lands castles remaining in the rear, you can safely turn in the city, at best, as a rule, always enough enemy strongholds to replenish battered troops.
Changed the mechanism of recruitment - the more people in the city, the more troops will stand under the gun in one move. True, if any spearmen breed with almost no restrictions, more powerful units are replenished less frequently. Consequence - even if the enemy held the sea and landing in an unprotected heart of an empire - for the next move was greeted by quite efficient army. A variety of guilds (merchants, thieves, lumberjacks, etc.) that you can build one of the city, in addition to fairly good performance increases of units or revenue, from time to time give favorable assignments. Choose where to establish what is difficult, but necessary.
Merchants - continuous source of specie, especially if you send them to the remote province of exotic goods. However, in this case increases the likelihood that the merchant would start to pocket part of the proceeds. Relationship with the church - a delicate matter. Running errands pontiff is to improve relations with the Vatican, attacked the Catholic neighbors - to excommunication. The trouble is not even the fact that the latter under the pretext gladly takes up arms against the heretics, and the Inquisitor, flooding our province. Despite the titles and ranks, they grab the family members and burning under the approving roar of the crowd. Helps or death excommunicated monarch or pope. Mota on the conditions and train assassins.
 | |  | To the credit of AI, in a battle with the balance of forces will have to fight for the victory. | | Knights Templar and Hospitaller can be hired only to join the crusade. |
Diplomacy has not changed much, except that now helpfully reported a worsening of relations with this or that country, and when the negotiations indicate military strength and reputation of the parties. Too often attack the allies - be prepared that no one you will not want to even trade. But take a couple of armies to the enemy capital, to intimidate and ask for the tribute - a lovely thing.
But all this is, by and large, rat race, which always recedes before no way clouded joy of battle. No, to disperse a handful of gangsters - not the case for the present commander. Only when the army converge on the army, with the Kings in the lead, and from the east reinforcements arrived, and behind his native Paris, and nowhere to retreat, awaken dormant talents and feel like, if not by Charlemagne, William the Conqueror is really sure. At first, all was quiet, even solemn: rinse the wind banners and banners, horses snorted, fighters corrected straps armor and listen to an impassioned speech warlord. A couple of minutes spent on maneuvers and firing: if you're lucky, the computer finds a hopeless battle and retreat - and then only know Runaway Bay. And if not ...
| SECRET! |
Right from the start to play for any of the represented nations in Medieval 2, add the medieval2.preference.cfg following lines: [misc] unlock_campaign = true
How to clean green markers underfoot orders: go in the game folder, open the file medieval2.preference.cfg, and put disable_arrow_markers = 1.How disable "fog of war" on the strategic map: press [~] on the strategic map to display the console, after this, type this command toggle_fow. If you enter it again, "the fog of war" will again be included. How to make a strategic map shows the years, rather than moves: go in the game folder \ data \ world \ maps \ campaign \ imperial_campaign, open the file and delete the line descr_strat.txt: show_date_as_turns How to increase or decrease the duration of the year in relation to the trenches : go in the game folder \ data \ world \ maps \ campaign \ imperial_campaign, open the file and look for the option descr_strat.txt timescale 2.00, and then we put, say, 1.00 - then there will be one move - one year, or 0.5 - two of the one-year (summer and winter), or 0,25 - four stroke one year.
Infantry takes a hit on the center, archers skedaddle after a couple of volleys in all directions, prevents the enemy cavalry flank bypass, in a short and violent collision of grinds foreign knights and Vsesokrushayuschaya battering ram hits the back of enemy spearmen, stuck in our Swordsmen.On the field of chaos: someone chasing crossbowmen, they run away and fire back, trembling troops had stopped, rebuilt and come back, exhausted cavalry again drew them to flee, fire catapults, missiles, and the kernel is not spared his or strangers. When all of a sudden ends and you realize that, and this time won, I want to follow devout Highlanders fall to his knees in the tall grass and give praise to the Almighty, shaking dvuruchnikom.
The game surprisingly beautiful. Each unit, from peasant to the last of the Timurid elephant with a cannon (!) On the back, recreated in all its details and even a little bit, but it differs from others in the unit. With improved animation and the fact that the wounded and dead covered in blood, the sense of "Clone Wars" has disappeared completely. In the fields of daisies in bloom, the trees in the forests were of normal size, snow, fog and rain with thunderstorms occur much more often and look much more plausible - woe to those who rely on arkebuzerov in bad weather.
After the game AI raises many gripes: Knights of idled under fire crossbowmen and infantry stupidly stuck on city streets. But the developers rather spore released an update, and now silicon opponent does not descend - ambushes, comes from the rear, trying to pilfer our troops and to cope with the units separately. This does not exhaust the list of fixes - patch put the necessary, and then Medieval 2: Total War will appear in all its glory. Many useful changes in the interface of the tower, covering the gate and the approaches to the walls, and stumble haphazardly along the fence: to run only when Rome, you realize how much provoked details removed.
Not finished playing for Scotland, you start at the Turks and the Byzantines, then spend a couple of battles in the web, come back to your favorite mountain people, and then download a few mods and pereprohodish campaign for the Russian ... Year 2006 is over, but fun for the whole future is assured. Forward to add?
PS Russian version of "Soft Club" - quite on the level. Especially on the part of public address and leadership. Take it and do not regret it. Localized patch can be downloaded, for example, http://gamershell.com.
| Expert opinion |
 | Semen Chirikov - Worthy successor to the series, with a minimum set of innovations. However, without the patch 1.1 is better not to play, since the original game is awash with bugs and shortcomings. |  | VP - Medieval 2 wonderfully combines the best of what is carried in his predecessor. And this game was the greatest gift to strategists in 2006. Special thanks to declare to the developers for the opportunity to participate in the life of medieval Russia. |  | Natalia Odintsova - Most innovations - already tested in previous representative series, like, but then disappeared "chips", like the movie about assassins.The peculiar result of the show, demonstration of achievements and discoveries team. |  | Alexander Trifonov - Best strategy for 2006 and all years in advance, before the new part of the Total War. While out such projects, PC will never die as a gaming platform. |
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