Bought it this weekend and so far it is pretty good, though it is very similar to Rome (they basically even stole the map). It has added some new aspects that do a great deal to enhance the game. One fun little thing is the religon aspect. You have to balance appeasing the Pope with pleasing your local nobility. The Pope can call for an Inquistion on your city's and basically these guys show up and start burning all of your guys who aren't pious enough at the stake. So you have to keep your royal family away from these guys.
One big sorta change for this game is the level of aestetic detail. It is really amazing how detailed they made this game. The battlemap detail is freaking awesome. Overall the game is an improvent over Rome and is very good.








