I'd get Medieval 2 with the Expansion, adds a bunch of stuff and a lot more Depth to the Campaigns. Also M2 has some AI improvements over Rome were some Stuff looked a bit Silly.Tuzolord

Could not be more off, the ai in rome is a lil slow and predictable but can throw in a curve, medieval's ai is garbage, they can outnumber you 3 to 1 with equal units and better generals and they will just charge u with ranged, which the cavalry quickly scatters, and then sit their spears and heavy infantry under your arrow barrage until they route.

Rome is better

I'd get Medieval 2 with the Expansion, adds a bunch of stuff and a lot more Depth to the Campaigns. Also M2 has some AI improvements over Rome were some Stuff looked a bit Silly.Tuzolord

Could not be more off, the ai in rome is a lil slow and predictable but can throw in a curve, medieval's ai is garbage, they can outnumber you 3 to 1 with equal units and better generals and they will just charge u with ranged, which the cavalry quickly scatters, and then sit their spears and heavy infantry under your arrow barrage until they route.

Rome is better

Made an account just to comment here.

Though I do prefer the atmosphere in Rome Total War, there are many features that are superior to M2. Not to get too into the details of units and strategy options, I think that the main difference comes in AI, as mentioned before. In Rome, though the AI isn't quite as inteligent as i'd like in combat, at least on the campaign map it can surprise you, and provide some fun challanges. In Medieval 2 at first it seems like the AI is unpredictable but then you realize it just is unpredictable in its stupidity. Aliances formed and broken at random, seeming to plot their own downfall, attacking your massive empire with only 1 or 2 full armies, usualy full of militias and peasants, no coordination between allied nations, just to name a few annoying issues. This generaly leads to very repedative and boring games after a few hours of play, usualy less.

The only way to make things more challanging it seems is to (as i did) put an army on a boat (i was scotland) and bring them to capture a citadel or fortress (usualy defended by 1 unit) in the middle of enemy territory and see how long you hold out (i captured a fortress in north africa, that is constantly sieged by egypt or the mores and 80 turns in has yet to fall).

In both games the problem ai intelligence inbattle though is not at all alieved by setting it to hard mode, which just makes your forces retreat at random, even when your winning.

There are some mods that improve gameplay in m2, i prefer attack darth mod, but overall it is just too easy.

In both games I would like to see also changes in nations responses to you based on your power, if an aggressing super empire controls half of the world, maybe the other nations could put asside their differences and join forces against you, preventing the climax of the game being half way through, and declining all the way to your eventual victory.