Cities primarily focus on buildings that boost one's economy, while castles primarily focus on buildings that allow for the recruitment of more advanced types of soldiers. Unlike in previous Total War games, there are two different types of settlements: castles and cities.

Territorial control in the campaign is represented by 'settlements', which are large, notable communities. The long campaign requires the player to control at least 45 territories and one or two significant cities, such as Jerusalem, Granada, Rome or Constantinople. The short campaign requires the player to defeat one or two enemy factions and control at least 15 settlements. The goal of the campaign depends on which type of campaign is played. When an army engages another army, the player can choose to fight the battle personally in the battle mode, or automatically calculate the outcome. During the player's turn, armies, fleets, and agents can be moved on the map. Gameplay consists of controlling the faction's military, economic, and social systems in large campaign maps. The campaign, which is turn-based and starts in the 1080s, allows the player to play as one of seventeen factions (though through modifying the game files, 18 factions are playable) from the time period and build their nation economically and militarily in order to conquer other factions. Similarly to previous titles in the Total War series, Medieval II: Total War consists of two main modes of play: a campaign mode and battles. An expansion pack, Medieval II: Total War: Kingdoms, was released in 2007. Many reviewers regarded the game as an improvement over its predecessors, but criticized its lack of innovation. Medieval II received mostly positive reviews from critics.

In battles, players control groups of soldiers and engage in combat with enemy forces. Players assume control of a medieval state, referred to in the game as a faction, and control its government, economy, military, diplomacy, and religion on a map spanning most of Europe, North Africa, and the Middle East. The campaign is set between the years 10. Gameplay is divided between a turn-based strategic campaign and real-time tactical battles. It is the sequel to 2002's Medieval: Total War and the fourth title in the Total War series. Feral Interactive published versions of the game for MacOS and Linux on 14 January 2016. It was released for Microsoft Windows on 10 November 2006. Medieval II: Total War is a strategy video game developed by The Creative Assembly and published by Sega.

Medieval 2 total war factions