My current game (Italian GA, High, Normal) has had a very different pattern so far.
1) Russia dominated the east and fought off the Horde really well, earning zillions of GA points (they had to go, of course )
2) Denmark put together a nice little Scandinavian Empire down the western Fench coast, until beaten by...
3) The English, dominating the western side of the map, pushing France inland and conquering Spain (they had to go too, naturally...)
4) The Aragonese have a neat little empire in Aragon, Navarre, Toulouse, Aquitaine and, er, Poland and Pereslavl (crusades ).
5) Germany has survived pretty much intact from day 1 - lost Burgundy to France and Pomerania to Russia but apart from that no change.

It's been great to see some real variation in factions doing well. This is my first High (and indeed GA) game - is this typical High behaviour? Certainly in Early the Danes and Novgorodians seemed to sit and do nothing.

For sure the Turks got squashed early on, and I did have to invade Algeria to stop the Spanish bulldozing all the way to Egypt.

Cheers,
Ulair