Great blend of RTS and turn-based gaming
Gameplay: M2G is set between 1000-1500 in what can loosely be called the medieval age. You can choose from one of well over a dozen countries to rule, and you'll responsible for managing political, military, economic, and cultural affairs. At its heart, M2G is a game of war and conquest, so winning battles over various towns and cities is the key to ultimate victory. However, these battles (which can be quickly auto-resolved or fought in real-time mode) are part of a realistic rendering of medieval life, where you'll be exploring the seas, patronizing the arts, experimenting with gunpowder, and burning heretics. The factions have their own campaigns and tech trees that are distinct enough to warrant spending at least some time with each of them. Nonetheless, most people will probably start out with a handful of favorites, which could still account for literally months of gameplay alone. Each faction has a short campaign, which usually consist of conquering 15 provinces and eliminating 1 or 2 other factions from the game, as well as a long campaign that requires conquering 45 provinces. Occasionally, you are given small quests to complete for rewards, which breaks up the monotony of moving around troops, upgrading cities, and grinding through an extensive research tree. Also, events such as crusades, plagues, natural disasters, and so forth also keep things interesting. I have only played the short campaign for the Moors, which lasted about 20 hours. I really couldn't imagine investing the time in the long campaign, though some more patient gamers might find it worthwhile.
On the less favorable side, M2G has a significant learning curve and can become tedious and repetitive in the late game when you are juggling governors, generals, provinces, and resources which are all starting to sound and look alike. This is worsened by the lack of a manual, though the game has a solid tutorial and in-game hint system. The user interface is clean and easy to navigate. I found medium difficulty to be a very acceptable challenge, and you could easily lose a game after just one ill-advised war against an AI opponent. The strategic AI itself is adequate, especially on the turn-based metamap. However, I did notice a few quirks, such as enemy AI units that didn't move when I bombarded them from afar with catapults and fire arrows (the AI generally does not handle sieges well). Also, the diplomatic system, though overall convincing, does seem to keep AI factions in alliances that are usually disadvantageous to the player.
Graphics & Sound: The game looks impressive, especially in the real-time battles. Character models and animations are well crafted, and the natural environments and structures are diverse and nicely protrayed. M2G has voice acting in native accents, which adds a bit of color and authenticity. The background music seems appropriate to the culture and history of each faction, and the sound effects are convincing (even funny in some instances). The game was put together with a lot of care, and it shows.
Documentation/Technical Issues: As mentioned earlier, M2G unfortunately does not come with a manual, either printed or electronic. Thus, much of the learning of the game will come with experience, though the tutorial missions and in-game tips are very helpful. The game has been perfectly stable on my computer, with no freezes, crashes, etc. M2G is modding friendly, so you can easily change a number of thing, such as campaign win conditions and so forth. For the more adventurous, there is still an active modding community and a number of user-created mods available online. Fortunately, the only DRM that comes with the game is an offline disk-check and keycode--none of the online accounts and remote server foolishness that has plagued single-player PC games as of late.
Replayability/Value: For the current price, this game is a steal. Any of the small complaints that I have are completely overshadowed by the high production values and quality--even educational--entertainment that M2G represents. Given all of the different campaigns, factions, locales, and random events, each playthrough is unique, though this is a game that can easily absorb hours of your time before you even notice. I highly recommend it to anybody who likes strategy games (or history!).
Pros
+Great blend of RTS and turn-based gaming
+High production values
+Wide array of factions and locales
+Good amount of content
+No annoying DRM
+Helpful user interface
+Good tutorials and tips system
Cons
-Campaigns (even the short ones) are long
-Learning curve is significant (no manual)
-Can get boring and repetitious after a while
-A few minor AI quirks