Medieval II: Total War - Kingdoms

Overview

Medieval 2 Total War Kingdoms is the expansion pack for Creative Assembly's Medieval 2 Total War. This expansion pack was developed by Creative Assembly's team. This expansion pack includes four new campaigns of smaller scope than the grand campaign of Medieval 2 Total War. These campaigns are The Crusades, The New World Campaign, Britannia and Teutonic campaign. Each campaign has its own unique features that make them different from each other.

The Crusades Campaign

The crusades campaign starts in the year 1174 and takes place in the middle east and includes the cities of Jerusalem, Antioch, Cairo, Constantinople, and many more. Players can take control of either The Byzantines, the Turks, the Egyptians, or the crusader states of The Kingdom of Jerusalem or Principality of Antioch. Each faction has their own strengths and weaknesses. The crusader states have strong armored troops and knights and the Muslim factions have lightly armored troop but have more missile cavalry units. The Byzantines were in a decline during this period and have less advanced troops than the crusader states but have their core disciplined troops. The crusades campaign is notable for having hero units that have special abilities. Each faction gets its own hero unit. The Kingdom of Jerusalem gets Richard The Lionheart and the Egyptians get Salah al-din. Using their special abilities can have a drastic effect on the battle and can turn the tide of a defeat. During the campaign, there will also be special events such as crusade and jihads being called. Each faction has unique units and can train special units as long as they control their capital.

The New World Campaign

The New World campaign takes place in the new world and starts in the year 1521. Players can control as either the Kingdom of New Spain, which is the new colony of Spain,

or any of the native tribes such as the Aztecs, Mayans, Tlaxacalan*, Tarascans*, Chicimec*, (*: unlock able) or the Apachean tribes from the great plains of America. The campaign map covers a region of central America to the lower half of modern day United States. The Spanish will have to depend on recruiting mercenary armies as well as shipments from Spain. The Native Americans never turn in the face of an adversary, however they lack armor and sophisticated weapons such as muskets. The English and the French make an appearance later in the campaign as they send their own colonial expeditions. This campaign has great diversity in terms of battle maps as players will have to battle it out in thick jungles in to desert plains in the north. The campaign features a thicker fog of war that must be uncovered with exploration. In addition, players have to rethink their forms of income, as taxation is limited in the new world.

The Britannia Campaign

The Britannia campaign takes place in the British Isles and starts in the year 1258. Player can take control of the English, Irish, Scottish, Welsh, or the Norwegians. The English start from a dominant position as the largest faction in the map but there is a lot of discontent brewing. With the right cards placed and discontent becomes disorder, a new faction called

the Baron’s Alliance will be formed that will be in direct confrontation to the Kings Army. The Welsh start off relatively weak but eager to take advantage of the seething discontent in English cities. The Welsh are master bowmen and have the best archers in the game. The Irish control only parts of Ireland, they must unite to beat back the invaders and could even win rich pickings in the British mainland. The Norwegians have occupied some Islands and coastal towns and are trying to expand their possessions on the British Isles; their confrontation will start at Scotland and work its way down to English territory. They inherit the brave Viking spirits of their ancestors and have very powerful axemen. The Scots are a spirited people with strong warriors from the highland. The campaign features permanent stone forts around the map that act as a defensive force that presents a challenge to an invading army. Unlike the other campaigns the Britannia campaign doesn't have religion but instead has the concept of culture which essentially works like religion. Building churches affects culture and as result changes the units available for the player to recruit.

The Teutonic Campaign

The Teutonic campaign start in the year 1250 and takes places around the Baltic regions of Europe. This campaign takes roots during the bloody reign of the Teutonic Order. Players can pick the Teutonic Order, the Danish, Novgorod, Lithuania or the two unlockable nations: Poland and the Holy Roman Empire.

The Teutonic Order was a ruthless order of knights that apply their trade in the name of the holy cross. They were summoned by the Holy Roman Empire to this part of the region to rid off the orthodox and pagan heretics. The Teutonic Orders knights are well disciplined and were an unstoppable force.

The orders special units such as the Ritterbruder can only be recruited in regions that have a high percentage of Christians. The Lithuanians are a pagan faction that holds on to their old beliefs. They come in direct confrontation with the order because of this. The Lithuanians get its own special units and can even convert to Christianity later in the campaign. But once converted, they will loose the ability to recruit these special units. The Republic of Novgorod is an orthodox faction that is generally a trading nation. They have fast missile cavalry units like the people of the Russia. The Danes are a faction with strong warrior traditions. They have powerful axemen and if they can take control of , they can form the powerful Kalmar Union that gives them more special units. The Teutonic campaign also features crusading armies that sometimes arrive on the map. These crusading armies upon having a successful campaign would pay the order handsomely. It is to the orders benefit that these armies reach their goals. This campaign needs a strong ruler, willing to fight off any of its neighbors, while using the Baltic trade to flourish.