Best Total War Ever
I half expected this game to be the best yet, but without playing it was hard to know for sure. I am surprised that it has surpassed MTW: VI already as my favorite TW campaign setting, while equally gameplay moments during battles to rival those from any TW game.
If I knew how to post screenshots I would surely do so, because there were moments in my last few campaigns that were priceless, and no game in over a few years has kept me playing "just one more turn" like this baby.
I probably played a million original MTW campaigns (after STW) and only had my general killed by artillery fire a few times, my king only once. I was playing as the English in MTW and killed the French king with the very first catapult shot of the battle, one which had several full stacks in both battles. This huge battle line is slowly growing closer, the catapults set up and one fires out extra long and hits the king, grinding him up along with several of his bodyguard. Went on to win the battle by a hair.
In MTW2, I had finished taking everything north of Italy that belonged to the HRE as the Danes, and my most badass king ever, King Kristoffer the Tyrant (full command, full authority, nine dread) is leading the attack against the excommunicated English, who have taken all of France while my ally Hungary (with whom I've been allied for over 100 turns and have mutual military access with) carries the fight to the Polish and their Russian overlords (Russia has Poland as their vassal). Hungary and my norsemen both fight the Milanese in North Italy.
So the king is out sacking Caen, then Paris, then relieves Caen, then takes Angers, then meets a big army in the field between there and Rennes. He was already awesome and now has full dread, command, authority, and an incredible list of traits and retinue.
He was a great character who went from being very chivalrous as a young man to an evil SOB. So as he is in his prime out doing what he does best, with the last decisive pitched battle for English control of anything on the continent, the troops look confident.
But wait, is that a catapult up there? Ah no worries....but might as well tell em to run in a second, surely that first shot..coming in..isn't going to...OMFG NOOOO "God curse that this day should come...our King is dead"
And with that his still burning husk fell to the damp ground along with 9 of his bodyguard, while the surviving 75 looked around and said, "Now wtf do we do?"
Naturally commit a suicide charge, something they did against the heavy infantry, dismounted knights, swordsmen, billmen, etc. My men went from wavering to eager when the bodyguard opened that hole up, getting in there and chopping em with their norse axes and swords. My bodyguard made it all the way through the thick English lines, straight to start murdering the catapult crew that did the foul deed.
That pretty much scared the pants off the English, especially when the bodyguard then slammed into the back of their lines while my other cav engaged theirs on the wings. Managed to get through and kill their crown prince, who was in the melee now, after about 4-5 minutes of tense action where it coulda gone either way. I captured about 900 men, but my angry men were desperate for blood after the loss of their sovereign so they were executed. About 40 of the bodyguards had survived, and it was quite sweet to get a "man of the hour" award for that, as one of the kings most loyal captains was rewarded for carrying the day. A nice 20 year old with 2 command and 2 dread, most loyal, scarred, etc. He's gone on to make the English rue the day they killed his king with such a cheap trick.
All of the campaigns I've done thus far have been fun, especially my Byzantine campaign, but that moment was sublime.
On yea, I've played all campaing diff. on hard with 1 on medium, and battles on vh. I've also never had the passive AI bug happen yet, only a patient AI blasting down my walls with siege weapons unless I sally. I can't wait till they fix the cavalry and a few other bugs which are well known and this game will be perfect.
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