Medieval II: Total War

I loved playing the first one, Medieval: Total War, and I'm just super excited about the second version especially since I'd never think they'd make a new one! I'm thinking about getting it for Christmas, so I was wondering if anybody has the game or is planning on getting the game?

Some screenshots:
http://www.gamespot.com/pc/strategy/med ... index.html

Some videos:
http://www.gamespot.com/pc/strategy/med ... media.html

I'm not so much into the actual 3D battles as much as the diplomatic Risk-style moves on the map.

http://steampowered.com/v/index.php?are ... ppId=4710&

In case you're interested. I downloaded it but haven't tried it out yet.

I forgot to mention that I did try out the demo. The battleground and action scenes were really cool, but it's not the aspect of the game that I enjoy the most. I wish I did, though, so I could enjoy both worlds.