Interface and Sound

Menus galore

The interface hasn’t changed at all from Shogun. Players can still select a unit and a building to build in a province and queue up production for up to three other buildings or four other units. There have been additions to help the player use new features, but these are relatively minor. The game now features many more pop-up tips if you hold the mouse cursor over an item, and while these won’t save a typical gamer the need to play through the tutorials, they just may keep him from having to rifle through a manual.

Up close and personal

Select use of the knights for great effect

It's a wonder they don't fall off

While Creative Assembly have updated the interface for the new features, they haven’t done so to compensate for the new problems that the huge scale of the game produces. Whereas in Shogun you might have a few generals, fewer emissaries and even fewer assassins, Medieval is chock full with these non-combat units. Priests, Bishops, Alims, Generals, Emissaries, Princesses, Heirs – the list is huge! Each of these will appear in massive numbers by the start of the High period and being unable to properly keep track of them all with some sort of list is a terrible chore. Having over one hundred provinces to manage on top of that really does put a damper on the whole experience. The game is totally not equipped to handle that. The systems left over from Shogun do an adequate job that leaves players frustrated and exhaust, though not to the point of quitting the game.

Shakespearean

Sounds in Medieval are not as impressive as they are in Stronghold – there are no professional voice actors providing tips. They’re not as flashy or strong, and the music isn’t going to manipulate your emotions. Yet they all work.

So much for chivalry

Check out the sky reflections

Have to stay out of their range

The calm, reserved, almost muted nature of sound in Medieval is a clear fit for the game. Even the thunder of a Lancer charge seems more impressive by being quiet yet still heard over the clamor of the battle below, since the player’s vantage point is so high. The sounds in the game’s front-end are rather pleasant, giving the strategic map the chessboard feel that it rightly deserves.