Back when I was a kid, my family had a copy of this game, and I loved playing it, even though the closest I ever got to winning was the mediocre "the king likes you so you get to live" ending. The manual I had came with a strategy guide of how to lose the game, which was HILARIOUS, especially the part about not paying your army - after all, when you were in the army, you were paid with sticks. ("Yeah, and they were wet too!") So needless to say, being able to purchase and play this was both fun and a blast from the past. It's astounding how well this holds up. Are the battles as epic as the Total War series? Is the government simulation as detailed as the Crusader Kings series? No, but this is one of those "it's loveable because it's simple" games. You start the game with action points that you use to gather resources, attack other players, raise armies, scout out neighboring provinces, etc. The ultimate goal is to become king, and hence you have to deal with the various computer AI factions, including the Pope himself. Along the way, you have to deal with random events within your country, as well as diplomatic niceties from the AI. This latter often led to hilarious moments in my past, where at times I would get upset enough that I would behead all the messengers sent to me. (Yes, that's an option... I wouldn't recommend it.) Of course, part of this game is you get to build castles, and while the game comes with default plans, it does give you the option to come up with your own designs, which, even with as limited as it is, can still be fun. (Seeing the little pixelated men run around and construct your castle is pleasing as well.) Again, if you're looking for a super detailed medieval simulator, there are plenty of modern or recent titles available, but if you're looking for a fun old game to kill some time, I highly recommend this.
I've played a lot of glopol games in my time (Supepower 1 and 2, Supreme Command, etc.), and this seemed interesting, so I thought I'd give it a shot. Like many strategy games out there, you can pick any nation in the world. Unlike even some glopol simulators like Superpower, there are (to my knowledge) no real life alliances in play at the start of the game. That means no NATO, no EU, etc. You'll find Russia allying with Poland, Mexico allying with Cuba, and a host of other peculiarities as a result. Of course, as with many glopol games, that can lead to some interesting game routes, so this may not be a big deal to the casual gamer. Political decisions are similar to Hearts of Iron 4, where there are paths you can take to improve your economy, become more of a dictatorship, etc. However, if you're looking for something as detailed as some of Paradox's titles, you won't find it here. Things are SUPER basic in terms of internal politics, and even government types range between democratic, authoritarian, and totalitarian. (Literally, those are the only ones you can use.) The result is that you will find yourself doing a lot of clicking, but after a while feeling super underwhelmed. How wars are resolved, I really don't know. You have to select different kinds of strategies, whether the defender or attacker, but how all this works is hard to tell. It's also not entirely realistic. I played as Iran and went to war with Iraq, and basically launched my entire nuclear arsenal at them. What happened? Their army was still intact, and still kicking my butt... even though I'm pretty sure if you nuked all of Iraq, things would be... not so good for them. Either way, if you're looking for strategy that goes beyond hitting the "declare war" button... again, look elsewhere. Overall, I wouldn't call it a BAD game, but... would I invest money in it? Maybe if it went for sale for super cheap, but there are better titles out there you can invest your money in.
