16. Medieval II: Total War (PC)
Released two years after Rome: Total War (a.k.a. The Game That Ate My Life), Medieval II ups the pageantry and dumbs down the (already pretty foolish) campaign A.I. You'd think that would hamper my enjoyment, but Knights of the Round is one of my favorite games of all time; pageantry clearly goes a long way with me! To be fair there's also a lot more content as well, which is why Medieval II hoovered up even more of my life precious than Rome did. There are tons of factions - roughly 15 of which are playable - and each is unique. The difference between playing as Venice in the crowded economic powerhouse of northern Italy and the Russians with their huge, barren territories is stark, to say the least. You'd almost swear you were playing a different game. Plus there's Mongols, Timurids, Aztecs, gunpowder, crusades, jihads, the Pope getting all up in your grill and telling you to do shit so you assassinate him and all his successors until your cardinal is finally selected... God! Just talking about Medieval II makes me want to fire it up all over again! I think I'll do just that right after I finish this sen
