Those of you who have played Medieval: Total War (check our PC reviews for our take on that title) know that the Total War series involves strategic medieval warfare involving high-level tactics while pushing an incredible amount of units onscreen at once. All elements of battle come into play in this series, from diplomacy, spying, troop and resource management, even trade and alliances are factors. Rest assured that Viking Invasion does the same...but there are some additions. Now there's a pre-battle load out system that allows you to organize your army and reinforcements in a manner which best suits your style of play. Not exactly Counterstrike, but the spirit is the same. During battles, your incoming forces will appear in the order you specify beforehand, and this is a huge help when being assailed upon all sides. There is a new British Isles campaign map, and a technology tree that encompasses the Dark Ages building construction and unit types. Speaking of which, some of the new units aren't available for use right away - they are rebel forces which can be bribed to come on side and work for/with you. Activision has included three new factions - the Sicilians, the Arogonese and Hungarians, each with their own units, and there are eight new Viking era factions with their specialized skills as well.

How does the game look? Great - not a vast improvement over Medieval, but considering the amount of units being pushed around, it's fairly impressive. Viking seafarers head into battle, flaming catapult missiles lay a beating on infantry units, and now boiling oil will keep those pesky opponents from getting into your personal space and look slick doing it.

Taking a closer look at the battle deployment and reinforcement screens, it's easy to see how it is an improvement over the previous entries in the Total War series. Having an opportunity to check over your units and the various possibilities of the upcoming battle before committing to the fight is a godsend. You can see the battlefield, commander portraits and the numbers involved on each side, and a quick glance at the faction shield allows you to see exactly where loyalties lie. In the reinforcements screen, you can actually set up the units in a grid, which will determine exactly where and when they will show up during a battle. General placement is automatic - if you move one, the next best leader will be placed in command of the field units, so you don't have to worry about it.

Looking at the specialties of the Viking expansion, you can now start specialized raids - they can raid more effectively than any other faction, funnily enough. Viking ships can move quicker than other factions, can use nearly any beach they like to leave an area (no need for harbours), and get bonus points for destruction. Now, you don't have to conquer a province to enjoy the full rewards of sacking your opponent - you can get in, burn down everything, and take off before anyone knows what happened. The Vikings can't act with complete impunity, however. Enemy ships in the final sea area can stop landings, and there must still be a chain of fleets on the sea route. Still, the advantages presented by the Viking's seafaring ways make them an especially enjoyable bunch to play with.

Multiplayer is more or less the same as Medieval: Total War, with the obvious addition of the Viking period to play with. There are historical battles and Gamespy support, so you should always be able to find someone to smack around online.

Medieval Total War: Viking Invasion is a great expansion pack for one of the best strategy titles out there. If you didn't like Shogun or Medieval, there isn't anything here that will change your mind - but fans of good strategy games will find a lot to like with Viking Invasion. It runs fine on slower systems (AMD 1.2 and up, Geforce 2) and the new Viking units and historical battles make it well worth the purchase. Check it out.