Playing with the upgraded artificial intelligence in version 1.2, it is still possible to get a very fast win. Here’s the play by play to win as the Holy Roman Empire on turn 8 with one to four regions to spare.
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The long delayed Medieval 2: Total War patch came out around the third week of June a few weeks after the Labor Day weekend it was promised. I’ve been playing it for a few weeks to exercise the new artificial intelligence (AI).
The AI and game rules still need some major improvement to be a challenge to the expert strategist and tactician even at the highest difficulty levels. I was able to satisfy the victory conditions for the ‘long’ campaign playing the Holy Roman Empire on turn 8. What follows is strategy, tactics and a recount of how to do it. I’ll point the way for how to do it by turn 7.
New players ziggy and space traveler are working their way up the Free Space Shot tournament and are a couple of wins away from the lead. That makes the free site about 10 times as popular as the pay site was.
Another excellent title in the Total War series. Decisive Win takes its time to chalk up another detailed strategic and tactical analysis of this Sega game released for PC on November 17. In 26.5 turns with 199.5 to go, 45 regions are controlled including Rome at the very hard level playing the Holy Roman Empire.
Here’s a download site for the demo. The game is in stores 11/17.
The Battle of Agincourt seems to be the most difficult battle. The English Longbowman have stakes in front of them so that cavalry can’t make a frontal attack. We managed a non-decisive win the second time through. By the fifth time through, we had a decisive win with a kill rate of over 3 to 1. By the 25th time, we had a Decisive Win with a kill/capture ratio of 8 to 1 vs. the French.
They like it. 90%. Look for it in stores a month from today. This could cause some PC upgrading with twice as many polygons as Rome: Total War. Eventually they’ll post the review to the web.
Rome: Total War Alexander play by play continues…
At the start of the turn, our forces are arrayed inside Epidamnus, beseiging Byzantium and Halicarnassus and Formio on the way to Memphis across the Mediterranean.
What follows is a play by play of Rome: Total War with the Alexander expansion pack. You have 100 turns to recapitulate Alexander’s great triumphs across the known world. But first, we have to bring the Hellenes to heel.
100 Turns to Go
○ You have a lot of troops and your cash will run out fast. Get ready to attack in three to five directions.
This gem is available from Sega for $15. It will be fun to play while waiting for Medieval II in November (and perhaps after this column, late). The conventional wisdom is that Rome: Total War Alexander is very hard, and that it cannot be won in the style of Alexander. Specifically, one must commit atrocities to achieve victory in the tight time limit. In fact, it is possible to win without adhering to the pundits’ restrictions. In fact, it is possible to win in the style of Alexander the Great. It is possible to win decisively with 70 of the 100 turns allotted remaining without razing any cities at all.