What makes this M2TW great is, not only the essence of the game - be it the kingdoms expansion that quells your lust for mass crusades or the base campaign that (Even though the crashes have annoyed me to the point of uninstalling twice [or more, probably more]) is a spectacular campaign that satiates deep urges for Dark Age European dominance.
The modding community does a fantastic job keeping the community alive, with overhaul mods like Stainless Steel that revamp and upgrade the game. Up to and including mods like Third Age that completely transform the game into Tolkien's beloved fantasy.
Medieval 2 is a staple in Creative Assembly's history that when (If ever) a sequel comes, its base elements will only benefit from drawing inspiration from the Strategy classic that is Medieval 2 Total War