Difficulty:

Very Easy

Time Spent:

100 or More Hours

The Bottom Line:

"Amazing"

Where M2TW:Kingdoms shines is its mods. I am currently playing the TATW mod; a total conversion of M2TW:Kingdoms into LotR. There is also the Stainless Steel mod which is based on medieval times (i.e. uses standard factions + adds a few more factions that aren't featured in vanilla M2TW). The M2 engine is totally maxed- with 200+ settlements, a map that is based on satellite images, and is extended to Asia-minor (this means that at certain time frames the Mongols, Timurids, & Teutonic Knight Order (all also playable factions) appear. One can also play as the Crusader States (Middle East/Palestine region) to play out the Holy conflict over Jerusalem. Crusades and Jihads (for the Muslim factions) are also all part of the game etc. etc. Then, there is the Pope (always meddling in the affairs of a King), and the Papal elections. The economics/relations with other factions side of things are also all nicely done and add more depth to the game.

The graphics set on maximum are just awesome. During sieges you can see castle walls crumble as they get hit by ballista balls etc. Heroes get unique avatars too. For example when playing TATW I can easily zoom in on the battlefield and recognise King Aragorn (modelled on Viggo Mortesen) in a melee of 20,000 Orcs vs an army of 15,000 Men. The strategy map is just as amazing as the battle map.

Each faction has a family tree. Your Family Members, Generals/Statesmen, Princesses, Priests, Assassins, Spies, Diplomats etc. also gain traits, ancillaries, and titles. This adds a nice rpg element to the game.

The only negative thing about the game (like most single player games), is the AI. While the AI has been significantly improved from vanilla M2TW via modding (thanks to the M2TW community), it still isn't a match for the veteran human player. Even on hardest difficulty I frequently destroy armies 2-3x the size of my army with little casualties; by waging battle near rivers/bridge locations, and/or generally using strategy from "Sun Tzu's Art of War" book (which the AI has clearly NOT read). :)