In conclusion, this is a great game. If you've read this far, you'll want to pick it up. It contains all the medieval carnage you'd expect, plus a little more politics and religion to master on the side. Although the politics side may be a little unpolished, it still works pretty well if your allies have no choice but to do your bidding. Trade adds an extra dimension to your politics, as does the option to change a settlement between a castle and a town, the latter giving you more money and the former pumping out higher quality armies. The game gets kudos for the new graphs battle engine, but I'm a little iffy at how few new features there actually is. This is not as much a sequel as it could’ve been it’s more of an expansion pack and a graphics update really. However, don't read this the wrong way. If you haven't played the first Medieval game or if you have even played any of the games and liked any of them, you'll love this. Sadly, the multiplayer score drops due to the fact that you can only play the battles in multiplayer. I would have loved to play the campaign through with a friend. Harken to me strategy fans, because here's the strategic title of the year, and make no mistake about it.