When the battles are this enjoyable and challenging, it's hard to fault Unicorn Games for not including more context for the fights, but it's simply impossible to avoid that criticism when the Total War games have such a hold on the same genre and setting as XIII Century. But if you can get past the fact that the campaign here is really just a series of unconnected battles, the great AI and combat system means there's a tremendous amount of fun to be had in fighting some of the lesser-known conflicts.
Presentation - 6.5
Graphics - 8.0
Sound - 7.0
Gameplay - 8.0
Lasting Appeal - 6.5
Overall -