Medieval II: Total War Demo

War, although brutal and unforgiving, has been around since the dawn of humankind, with countless lives lost in battles all over the world. At the head of the armies confronting on the battlefield, a fearless leader is usually in command, who's responsibility is to come up with a winning strategy and keep as many of his soldiers alive as possible.

Medieval II: Total War is the latest installment in the popular strategy series that gives you control over massive armies and throws you into the most epic scenarios and battles that ever took place between fellow humans. In this latest episode, you are able to immerse into the five most bloody centuries the world has gone through, spanning from 1080 and up to 1530, culminating with the perfection of gunpowder and the discovery of the New Land, America.

The great crusades are also part of the game, as is the proud Renaissance era, which featured much more than free thinking and timeless art. Your role in the campaign is to expand your kingdom and give birth to the biggest empire the world has ever seen, by crushing your enemies and taking advantage of religion, espionage and the economy to lay the foundations for your legacy. Thus, over the course of the years, you will see technology evolve and new types of weapons being used in battle.

In case you are not familiar with the Total War franchise, the fights are what make the games really shine, since it features truly large-scale battles, with hundreds of soldiers waving steel at each other at the same time. Obviously, your role is to control each and every group of units, as well as coordinate the entire army in order to exploit the enemy's weak points and minimize the loss of human lives on your side.

The new and improved graphic engine introduced in this title is able to render much more detailed units and environments, making it a real delight to simply observe the battles and enjoy the carnage from a safe point of view. Since you can rotate and pan the camera in whichever direction like, as well as zoom into the action until you can pat the soldiers on their shoulders, you will not miss anything that goes down on the battlefield.

In the end, Medieval II: Total War is an improvement over the previous titles in the series, since every part of the game has been polished and refined. As the franchise accustomed you, the battles are as epic and bloody as they have always been, the only difference being the amount of detail put into rendering them.