Professor S
04-29-2003, 08:52 PM
Here ispart of the preview for the Medeival Total War expansion, the Viking Invasion:
April 14, 2003 - In 793 a new threat appeared on the small island of Lindisfarne off the coast of England. Groups of pagan raiders from Scandinavia began appearing on the eastern coasts of Britain wreaking tremendous destruction wherever they landed. Called Vikings (from the Old Norse Vikingr meaning "quit raiding yourself") these sea borne marauders ravaged the coasts of Northern Europe for nearly three centuries.
This is the world presented by the latest expansion pack for Creative Assembly's Medieval Total War. Titled The Viking Invasion, this new expansion is set on a larger map of Britain than was found in the original game. This new island is divided in to about 40 different provinces that you'll struggle to dominate throughout the game's new campaign. (The Viking campaigns offer no chance for victory through glorious achievements; if you want to win, you've got to get bloody.)
Eight new factions make an appearance in the new Viking era. Naturally, you'll be able to take the part of the frosty Scandinavians yourself, but you'll also be able to choose from Britons as well. Scots and Picts represent the Highlands while Saxons, Northumbrians and Mercarians join the field for England proper. Irish and Welsh factions are also available. Each of the factions has a unique starting potential to reflect the difficulty of the task facing them.
Additionally, there are three new factions for the old Medieval portion of the game. The Spanish Aragonese, Hungarians and Sicilians will each put in appearances in the original game. Naturally, each of these factions comes with their own set of units and buildings. In addition to the units for these new factions, like the Hungarian Jobbagy infantry, there are a few other new units for existing factions. The Arabs Faris and Russian Druzhina are two new types of cavalry available to those factions. Some factions will even be able to recruit entirely new units from rebel armies.
But the real selling points are the new Viking-era units. While the huscarls form the main power of the Viking army, the Jomsvikings provide the elite Viking troops that can so often turn defeat into victory. The Saxons have a similar setup, using free-farmers, called Fyrdmen, as their rank and file infantry while the Housecarls serve as their elite troops. Sherwood Foresters act as stealthy ranged troops and, since the Irish can't rely on archers to the same extent that other players can, they'll have to make do with Irish Dartmen.
Breaking with the system in the basic game, many of these units can only be raised in specific provinces. All huscarls must come from either Jutland or Hordaland, while Pictish crossbowmen and Scottish Highlanders must be recruited from Scotland. Likewise, the Irish Kerns and Bonnachts can only be raised in the game's five Irish provinces.
New siege weapons are available to all factions for the medieval period of the game. Flaming catapults offer a quick way to level wooden structures. (Technically, it's not the catapult that's flaming; it's the missile that it hurls.) Catapults will automatically use flaming missiles when targeting a building. If the structure is wood, the catapult missile will ignite it. Boiling oil, such a necessary feature of any Medieval war game, has also been included to discourage human troops from storming your gatehouses. Any soldiers caught beneath the torrent of oil are likely to be wiped out.
A brand new crewed weapon has been added as well. Called the Organ Gun, it consists of a number of primitive rifles bound together to generate a devastating volley to enemy troops. The carnage made possible by this new weapon is balanced by a few limitations. Once placed, it cannot move except to rotate and it comes with a very high reload rate. As with all gunpowder weapons, the Organ Gun has a chance of exploding every turn that it's used.
MTW is one of my favorite games of all time, and now a huge expansion is being released shortly. I haven't anticipated a game this much in a very long time. The expansion looks more like a new game with an expansion, which is amazing to me. They didn;t just add some new factions and weapons, but they also created a brand new time period and styarted from scratch to provide a new gaming experience for the expansion. I am duly impressed. Now i just have to wait...
BTW, if you haven't bought MTW yet, DO IT NOW!!!!!
April 14, 2003 - In 793 a new threat appeared on the small island of Lindisfarne off the coast of England. Groups of pagan raiders from Scandinavia began appearing on the eastern coasts of Britain wreaking tremendous destruction wherever they landed. Called Vikings (from the Old Norse Vikingr meaning "quit raiding yourself") these sea borne marauders ravaged the coasts of Northern Europe for nearly three centuries.
This is the world presented by the latest expansion pack for Creative Assembly's Medieval Total War. Titled The Viking Invasion, this new expansion is set on a larger map of Britain than was found in the original game. This new island is divided in to about 40 different provinces that you'll struggle to dominate throughout the game's new campaign. (The Viking campaigns offer no chance for victory through glorious achievements; if you want to win, you've got to get bloody.)
Eight new factions make an appearance in the new Viking era. Naturally, you'll be able to take the part of the frosty Scandinavians yourself, but you'll also be able to choose from Britons as well. Scots and Picts represent the Highlands while Saxons, Northumbrians and Mercarians join the field for England proper. Irish and Welsh factions are also available. Each of the factions has a unique starting potential to reflect the difficulty of the task facing them.
Additionally, there are three new factions for the old Medieval portion of the game. The Spanish Aragonese, Hungarians and Sicilians will each put in appearances in the original game. Naturally, each of these factions comes with their own set of units and buildings. In addition to the units for these new factions, like the Hungarian Jobbagy infantry, there are a few other new units for existing factions. The Arabs Faris and Russian Druzhina are two new types of cavalry available to those factions. Some factions will even be able to recruit entirely new units from rebel armies.
But the real selling points are the new Viking-era units. While the huscarls form the main power of the Viking army, the Jomsvikings provide the elite Viking troops that can so often turn defeat into victory. The Saxons have a similar setup, using free-farmers, called Fyrdmen, as their rank and file infantry while the Housecarls serve as their elite troops. Sherwood Foresters act as stealthy ranged troops and, since the Irish can't rely on archers to the same extent that other players can, they'll have to make do with Irish Dartmen.
Breaking with the system in the basic game, many of these units can only be raised in specific provinces. All huscarls must come from either Jutland or Hordaland, while Pictish crossbowmen and Scottish Highlanders must be recruited from Scotland. Likewise, the Irish Kerns and Bonnachts can only be raised in the game's five Irish provinces.
New siege weapons are available to all factions for the medieval period of the game. Flaming catapults offer a quick way to level wooden structures. (Technically, it's not the catapult that's flaming; it's the missile that it hurls.) Catapults will automatically use flaming missiles when targeting a building. If the structure is wood, the catapult missile will ignite it. Boiling oil, such a necessary feature of any Medieval war game, has also been included to discourage human troops from storming your gatehouses. Any soldiers caught beneath the torrent of oil are likely to be wiped out.
A brand new crewed weapon has been added as well. Called the Organ Gun, it consists of a number of primitive rifles bound together to generate a devastating volley to enemy troops. The carnage made possible by this new weapon is balanced by a few limitations. Once placed, it cannot move except to rotate and it comes with a very high reload rate. As with all gunpowder weapons, the Organ Gun has a chance of exploding every turn that it's used.
MTW is one of my favorite games of all time, and now a huge expansion is being released shortly. I haven't anticipated a game this much in a very long time. The expansion looks more like a new game with an expansion, which is amazing to me. They didn;t just add some new factions and weapons, but they also created a brand new time period and styarted from scratch to provide a new gaming experience for the expansion. I am duly impressed. Now i just have to wait...
BTW, if you haven't bought MTW yet, DO IT NOW!!!!!