The Story behind the polls

[Shambles]

I just want to know The real story behind the polls that are Littering up the forum,

If you only own 2 or 1,
please tell us which game(s) they are.
Also if you think for its time STW was ground breaking and Was the best game at that time,
But you prefer MTW now but really it wasnt that ground breaking Wouldnt that mean STW was the better game?
And so on.

[Al Khalifah]

I own all the Total War games and the expansion packs and I think Medieval is the best game with Shogun a close second. Rome is some distance behind.

Medieval was very atmospheric and realistic, with each faction having its own unique feel and character. Shogun was even more atmospheric than Medieval I felt and played like a real-time game of chess, with no unit ever becoming obsolete. The factions were pretty much the same, but their starting positions meant different strategies were always inherent for each.
Rome is very pretty and I admit that the 3D map is a big improvement, but it is blighted by realism issues and unless you play the Roman factions it lacks any atmosphere. In my mind the senate was never as brilliantly annoying as the Pope could be anyway. Some of the games factions are pretty boring to play because they have such a limitted range of a units and their numbers have to be bolstered by outrageous fantasy units.

So there you go. I've played all 3 (5 actually).
Medieval: Total War - 95%
Shogun: Total War - 93%
Rome: Total War - 84%

[Shambles]

Some one owns 2 of the games and did not say which 2 :(
Its Defying the purpous of this poll ,

Please state which games you own unless you own all 3

As for expantions,
I dont deem them to be that relivant,
With shogun i still play sengoku jidai even with the WE,
And MTW still Rulled even Without the VI.
Even though i did haft to buy VI to make the campaign better than Stw campaign. "becous i now use the welsh and Just cant beat it"
The ambiance feel and replay abilaty In STW made me vote for stw.
However i only play Mp and custom battles in STW campaign is a bit easy,,

Where as i only play campaign in MTW, Becous I really love the micro management..

And i just dont play RTW anymore, becous they didnt finish the game

Thank you

[Drisos]

I own only STW and don't want to own the others!

Great idea to set he 'the best game' poll up like this, shambles!

[Viking]

Interesting poll.

I own only RTW and think it`s great.

[Craterus]

I own RTW, and only RTW. Therefore, my favourite is RTW.

[Al Khalifah]

I think the results of this poll will be really interesting as long as we get enough results to make a real sample.
I predict Rome will be more popular amongst players who haven't played the previous two games, but I believe that the majority of org patrons have played more than just Rome.

[Shambles]

I think the results of this poll will be really interesting as long as we get enough results to make a real sample.
I predict Rome will be more popular amongst players who haven't played the previous two games, but I believe that the majority of org patrons have played more than just Rome.

Exactly what i was thinking

[CrayolaCrayon]

I own MTW and RTW, and believe that MTW is the superior specimen.

[R'as al Ghul]

Very difficult.
I'm torn between MTW and STW.
STW was the first game of this style and CA did a lot of things right.
Campaign play and MP are excellent. The AI is quite good, too.
Only drawback is the Graphic engine. This is the game where you need the most tactical skills.

MTW expanded the campmap without causing too much trouble. AI got worse though.
Important things like seasonal turns, weather (fog), videos etc were unfortunately
left out.
MP can be Fun when playing the community mod or playing correct people.
Some of the factions can't be used in MP though (only in specific scenarios)
due to balancing issues which lead to the standard christian armies.
Graphic engine isn't that good either but the game is very moddable.

RTW extremely altered the campmap play without enabling the AI to deal with it
wisely. That's one major drawback for me. The zillion little bugs I can live with (minus the Horse-Acher bug). Battle-mode is horrible for me. Way too fast etc. Haven't played MP for this reason. The Graphic-engine is superb.

So, comparing all these impressions I voted STW.
The immersion, atmosphere, MP mode are not achieved by its followers.

R'as

[Kagemusha]

I have all three of the games.I like STW is the best of them.Im kind hooked up in its atmousphere.

[ichi]

STW was my first love, still the best atmosphere.

ichi

[phred]

STW was my first love, still the best atmosphere.

ichi

That's my sentiment, also. MTW and RTW are a close second and third.

[Uesugi Kenshin]

I own all three, but I prefer MTW. It is the best one IMO, but only beats STW by a tiny margin for the inclusion of the Ottomans, ships and unique Irish units, especially with VI.

[Ghost of Rom]

Own Shogun and MTW/VI. Really love the atmosphere and music of Shogun. The new user interface really improved troop control in MTW. Also like the variety of troops and the time period better in MTW. So MTW by a very thin margin over Shoggy.

[Samurai Waki]

I own all 3, I think STW and MTW are about par in my opinion... both good, unique, but overall very enjoyable atmospheres. The NAP mod for MTW I've also found quite enjoyable... unfortunately, I haven't played any MP for MTW, because I lack a CD-Key.

RTW... it had every opportunity to be STW and MTWs equal or better, but is plagued with bugs, realism issues, and a bunch of little faults in between. Also, as stated before, most factions don't seem to have a whole lot of atmosphere except the Romans... as a matter of fact, I have yet to make it through an entire RTW campaign, just because I get bored about 60-80 turns into it.

[Mount Suribachi]

Interesting poll. I wonder what CA would make of it

I bought STW and MTW on the day of their release, but have yet to buy RTW, even with my PC upgrade based upon all the issues with that game so well know to the community.

STW, as others have said had the best atmosphere. The music, the graphics, the movies, everything about that game positively dripped with an ambience of medieval Japan. Also, it is very obvious playing the game that it was a labour of love on behalf of CA, the effort that went into the game shows. Sadly that level of craftmanship seems to have declined first with MTW, then even more with RTW. How much of this is down to CA and how much down to the money men at Activision is debatable (I blame the latter). Finally, STW had only about a dozen units, which to me is a major positive. I really can't be bothered with 100+ units, where many of them are very similar, others redundant. In STW all units had a use, and have a wonderful paper/rock/scissors feel to them.

MTW was a much more ambitious game, and added a lot - especially on the campaign map - with strategic agents, cruades, jihads etc. Sadly, many features are incomplete or broken (GA goals are an example of a wonderful idea poorly implemented). The biggest let down in this game for me is the information management, which from day 1 of release was recognised as poor for a game of this size, followed closely by the basic diplomacy model. Most of my games end after 100-150 turns as the game becomes too unwieldy to run and keep track of your empire. But the game does have many wonderful features we kinda take for granted - V&Vs, the pope, and of course the magnificent, epic battles. I'm sure we all have battles that will live long in our memories. Who can forget the time my 2000 Italians fought to the last man to defeat 8000 Egyptians around a dusty oasis, or when my veteran Almohad army was cut to pieces by 2 units of HRE Swabian Swordsmen.....Oh, and I love the pencil drawings in this game, really love them The atmosphere is still very good - not as good as shoggys, but still very good. From the monkish music on the menu screen, to the gently plucking of strings on the campaign map, to the rather graphic sound effects when you capture a spy or kill some prisoners.....I also like VI as its smaller map, with fewer factions and fewer units reminds me of the strategic simplicity of Shogun, but the unbalanced, overpowered nature of the Vikings (and Mercians to a lesser extent) puts me off.

So in conclusion.....I have to say MTW, as I have played that much more, mainly cos STW never liked my system when I upgraded it. But still, I think I would play MTW more, all things being equal. And I'm still playing MTW, in the form of NTW.

[IceTorque]

I own all 3 games and i say. RTW is the best.

Sure it has some teething problems and judging by CA's past efforts i am optimistic they will improve the game greatly with BI.

RTW has better graphics and A1.

in MTW factions just kept creating units unitil they were broke this still happens but to a lesser extent.

in MTW armies were so unbalanced it was'nt funny.
i got tired of playing against armies composed of nothin but archers.

and sure the battlefield A1 in RTW could be improved too.
like the continuos shuffling around, and the attack in
piece-meal strategy. ( try a custom battle where both armies are equal it's not as bad as many people try to make out )

But if you look at the many improvements made in the 1.2 patch, You just have to be confident that BI is going to take this game to a whole new level.

[cunctator]

I own MTW/VI and RTW. Also MTW is still superior in some points (more challenging campaigns, reemerging factions, civil wars etc.), I prefer rome with all it`s new possibilitys.

[Shambles]

dont agree with the rtw has beteter Ai part my self but,
I guess this poll was not set up to debata anything, and is just here to hear peoples oppinions

[GonZ]

I have all three games + expansions.

I voted Medieval as my favourite. I'd put STW second and RTW third - but I still think it's a great game.

STW was totally awesome, loved the game from day one. I used to be a big player of tabletop games and one of my favourites was called "Cry Havoc" there was a Japanese flavour called Samurai Blades - so I was already familiar with the setting for STW. I'm also a big fan of Kurosawa movies - so when I first saw STW I bought it straight away. Money very well spent.

I recently re-installed STW and it still stands up. The graphics still look great but it's the attention to detail that really makes this game for me. The sound effects in particular are awesome, and the cut scenes too.

MTW was even better in my opinion, mainly because of the range of factions to choose from, giving the game fantastic replay value. Also the era is superb and in terms of game playing for me... there is nothing better than giving the French a sound thrashing! My other favourite factions were the Ottomans and the Byzants.

RTW is a great game too. But I'm just not as interested in the ancient world as the other game settings.

I'm looking forward to the next game, and hope it will follow on from the end of the MTW era.

[Spoonfrog]

I was first introduced to STW when a friend showed me what it was all about - I thought the battles (and the assassination videos) looked pretty cool, but the whole game seemed too complicated for me, I never bought it.

Later, I borrowed MTW, but could never get into it properly - the campaign map seemed too 'clumsly' for me, but I loved the battles.

When RTW came out, I decided to bite the bullet and buy it, having seen the TV program 'Time Commanders' and having good reports from all the people I know who owned it. For me it is clearly the best - the prologue was a perfect introduction, and I found I learned pretty quickly (and the learning was fun, not like MTW). The way the position of armies on the campaign map relates to the battle map is a real plus for me, and makes the game seem alot more realistic. The MTW campaign map of having an army just 'in' a region was too hard for me to get to grips with - perhaps I'm just a micro-manager or something...

[Spartiate]

I own all 3 plus expansions and i believe MTW is the best so far.Having said that i find that STW still commands a special place in my heart and they have never recaptured the atmosphere of that game.

[tibilicus]

I own MTW and the exspansion plus RTW. Put i like them all as both good in there different ways. Cant be bothered to explain to tired.

[RabidGibbon]

I own all three games and prefer R:TW.

However I've never really given Shogun a proper run, having bought it out of curiosity after buying MTW and RTW in that order.

Guess Im just a graphics tart at heart!

[Sid_Quibley]

I own all 3 and voted mtw best over stw(largely coz of my mp experiences).

For single play:
stw had the best tactical battles and excellent atmosphere.
mtw a better campaign, good battles, good atmosphere.
rtw is graphically impressive has great potential but tactically shallow and gamey.

[Duke John]

In my opinion R:TW has the best engine but its potential is not fully used by CA, while S:TW is the best considering how CA used the engine.

[marcusbrutus]

I own MTW:VI and RTW and prefer MTW, think it's to do with me prefering slaughtering Medieval era sprites.

[Drisos]

Weird. . .MTW comes out as the best. . .I thought RTW was preferred by most. . .



at least RTW is not preferred over STW when someone has all three.