Sega is prepping the first expansion to the latest entry in its popular RTS series for a fall assault; first screens inside. Four months ago, Sega released Medieval II: Total War, the latest installment in the long-running real-time strategy series. Developed by the British studio The Creative Assembly, which Sega bought in 2005, the game has players vying for control of Europe during the Middle Ages via massive battles with individually animated soldiers. Medieval II received solid reviews, including an upbeat assessment from GameSpot. It also enjoyed decent sales for a PC game unrelated to The Sims or World of Warcraft, moving just under 200,000 units in the US in two-and-a-half months. Today, Sega surprised few by announcing that it is readying the first expansion pack for Medieval II. Developed at The Creative Assembly’s Australian studio, Medieval II: Total War Kingdoms will supplement the original game with four all-new single-player campaigns, including: –The Americas, which casts players as Spanish conquistador Hernán Cortés or the Aztec and other indigenous peoples who resisted his ruthless conquest of Mexico. –The Teutonic Wars, which saw Christians and pagan tribes clash violently in Northern Europe.

–Britannia, which sees five factions fight for control of the British Isles. –An expanded Crusades Campaign, which sees new opponents enter the infamous series of Christian-versus-Saracen conflicts. Besides the new single-player campaigns, Medieval II: Total War Kingdoms features six new multiplayer scenarios and 20 new custom battle maps. It also adds 13 new playable factions and more than 150 new units to the game. It is due out in the US and Europe this fall. Source: gamespot.com