Never before have I seen a game were you can control all aspects of your kingdome more compleatly and realistically. The battles are easy to control and the strategy is challenging, yet it's easy to learn. The only problems I found were that you can have a great batle plan, but the computer always rushes his men at you as soon as you get close to him, so your plans can be ruined by a very agresive head on attack. Also, your enimies assult you strategically very often. This can lead to frustration because you are always being attacked.
Political relations add fun to the game, but even allies or real close friends attack with impunity.
I guess this is realistic though. The economic part of the game is very fun and is a game in it's self. The graphics aren't 3d or anything fancy, but they are just what they need to be to make ameplay smooth. Games with to much accent on graphics can cause confusion and detract from the game, this game doesn't have that problem. The sound was pretty good, and did what it was supposed to do.