My Initial Impressions of Medieval

[SimonLancaster]

These are just my thoughts and views right now and they may change over time. I am also comparing the game to the Ancients game and seeing how things are different.

1. Maps

I will try not to go on a long rant but suffice to say so far the maps are really pleasurable to play on. What do I mean by this? I mean ordinary maps. I mean maps with a small hill. A little bit of rough here and there. Most of the forests are on the border. Nothing so far that impedes on the battle in a major fashion. I have posted a few pictures of my games in the Digital League this season and every other game I am playing on a horrendous map with either a large forest for one army or a large hill with a deep stream running through the middle of the map. It is becoming ridiculous (for me anyway) and ruins my enjoyment of the game. If it was one in ten bad maps you can go with it. But, when three out of five are bad then you start talking rerolls or just agreeing draws all the time. With the new game you can just go out and play!

2. Close games

I have only played a few games but all of them have been really close and I have won or lost by just a few points. I think this is partly because the armies are fairly similar a lot of the time. Obviously, we all like variety but variety can lead to some crazy match-ups (as I frequently see in Late Antiquity with horse armies v infantry armies). Having two fairly balanced armies meet each other on the battlefield has a lot of positives.

3. Movement

Probably connected to the point about close games is the lack of movement for most infantry units. This means that you can't flank as easily as in the Ancients game and get those chain reaction routs. Melees seem to go for longer and the big tanks that are the Knights are not so manoeuvrable so they take longer to get back into the action. I think the balance is good and leads to exciting games where mistakes aren't punished quite so much.

4. Graphics

Modelling is really good. I love the colours of the Knights. The map looks brighter. Overall, just an improvement on some of the drab maps that could be a little washed out at times in the Ancients game.

Final Thoughts

For me, to take the game on, we need some more differentiated units, especially for infantry. At the moment, a lot of the armies are quite similar with the same basic units of Defensive Spearmen and Armoured Spearmen, etc. Maybe we could have a cheaper version of the Dismounted Knights? A smaller unit like the Triarii in the Ancients game?

We have units like the Welsh Spearmen and the Low Countries Spearmen which really give some life to the game. We need some more unique units that are only available to a few factions.

Great job to all the team and thanks for giving us another fantastic wargame to play!