Medieval II: Total War takes up the sword once again in the unending battle for land, power, glory and religion in the new Kingdoms expansion. Comprised of four unique campaigns that highlight conflicts from the Medieval Age, armchair generals take command of giant sprawling armies and march them across wide open fields and seize control by force.

Playing much like a slimmed down version of Civilization, but with a much harder and bloodier edge, Total War gets divided into two crucial components. The turn-based map lets players work on city planning, diplomacy and unit movements, but things don't become interesting until a battle erupts. At that point, the game switches to real-time strategy (RTS) mode, and players must tactically coordinate hundreds of soldiers, broken down into groups by type, to invade or defend territories. Kingdoms doesn't mess with the formula, and adds a few gameplay enhancements like forts to help hold territory and the inclusion of Hero units to activate special powers on the battlefield.

Separated into four distinct eras of turmoil, Kingdoms includes Britannia, Crusades, Teutonic and the Americas campaigns. The Spanish struggle against New World civilizations like the Aztec, Mayan and Apache arguably stretch the Medieval Age theme, since the Renaissance was in full swing by the time 1521AD rolled around. Plus, according to history, the Spanish had significant technological advantage with metalworking and firearms. One would think that winning a conflict like this would be easy, were it not for the overwhelming number of bloodthirsty natives; light armor and rocks verses armored Calvary and muskets. With the right general in place, the fight could go either way, and Total War games have always been about rewriting history. The Britannia Campaign lets players enforce or dethrone King Henry III's rule over the British Isles, so players looking to reenact scenes from Braveheart would do well to look here. Meanwhile, the Crusades prove that there's no such thing as peace in the Middle East.

Of all the campaigns, the ruthless struggle of the Teutonic Order against Pagan Lithuania and other countries in Eastern Europe stand out, since the Order isn't a kingdom. Instead of preserving royal family lines, the Order needs only generals. Even if the Order's leader, the Hochmeister, is slain, the next general gets promoted to the position, which makes stamping out the threat quite a challenge. The only thing that keeps the military force in check is the fact that it can only recruit knights from a Christian population, so it must take an area and ensure its population converts religion in order to keep its soldier ranks filled.