An epic game that will last you as long as the Middle Ages!
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Pros:
+ Epic: Shogun was pretty epic compared to most other games, but Medieval is just a whole other world! The size of it is still daunting to this day, and you'll wonder how you can ever reach the other end of the map when you first start...
+ Varied Battles: There are a good few things that add up to make the combat better and more interesting than in Shogun: the improved siege battles, the much wider variety of troops, the ability to arrange the exact order of your reinforcements, the landscapes varying according to where in Europe you are, and last but not least, the slightly improved AI, which can be incredibly sneaky when given the chance (despite still not having a clue how to do bridge battles).
+ Improved Campaign: The campaign map is a lot deeper and more satisfying than that of Shogun, to the point where you could feasibly just ignore the real-time battles and still have a perfectly good game on your hands (you'd be mad to miss out on the battles though!). Improvements include a much more intuitive interface, religion, different victory conditions, navies, trade, generals with unique characteristics, fairer auto-battles based on the skill of the commanding general, alliances that the AI actually pays significant attention to... it's all just so much better!
+ Immersive Setting & Music: While I may not find the setting quite as fresh and interesting as that of Shogun, it's still incredibly well realized, and you'll truly begin to see yourself as a power-mad medieval king after a few hours of play... The music does a particularly good job in setting the scene; I mentioned it already, but the choir music in the menu is just so damned good!
+ Fiendishly Addictive: As with any Total War game, this will be the end of your life as you know it...
Cons:
- Limited Naval Options: Naval combat can be pretty fiddly and hard to manage properly (despite the fact you can only automatically resolve these battles), and setting up decent trade routes and defending them from enemies can be an exercise in frustration.
- Region-Based Weather: Because seasons are no longer a feature in the campaign map (the turns are done by years), the weather is now almost entirely dependant on the region you fight in. There's still a bit of random variation, but you can't control the odds of a particular weather occuring like you could by waiting for a different time of year in Shogun, which is a shame.
- Slow Endgame: Because there's such a huge amount more to do in the campaign map than in Shogun, the game also drags a lot more towards the end, as you manage every last bit of your huge empire and try to sponge up the last few nations that insist on defying you.
- Anti-climatic Endings: Shogun ended with a wonderful extended clip showing how your clan changed the course of history; Medieval ends with a shoddy little static screen and a little bit of uninteresting narration. It's still more than worth it to get there, but don't say I didn't warn you!
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The demands on your system aren't much greater than those of Shogun (apart from its size on the hard drive), but the game you get for it is incalculably larger and more rounded. It all but ended my studying at University, to the point where I had to make my girlfriend confiscate it until my exams were over - and let me tell you, finishing my degree was worth it just to resume playing this. A true behemoth of a strategy game!