#Europa universalis 4 review video series#

Plenty of unique events will pop up as the game goes on, forcing players to adapt and make instantaneous decisions which can affect the state of their own nation, or impact the opinions of others. The Republic of Hungary could exist where France does today, and Newfoundland could be a Spanish Colony, but it's something players will have to roll with if they wish to succeed. It's all about diplomacy, as ties are strengthened and some cut loose for the greater good of the nation. The layers of menus in the interface is a design choice gamers must get used to in Europa and may be confusing for newcomers.Įmpires will rise and fall as the years continue, and negotiating through a sea of threats while absorbing smaller nations is one of the things that makes Europa Universalis so fun.

#Europa universalis 4 review video series#

To play the strategy game, players must navigate through a series of menus to invest in various technologies, religious and cultural items. These so-called 'chess-matches' bring an air of uncertainty, anxiety and a downright fear for a game which, graphically speaking, is barely more advanced than Risk. This also presents the best time to build up forces as players will be guessing which nations to trust and which ones to betray.

When not warring, peacetime is just as busy for players as the game keeps them focused on economic research. Moving armies across the the world results in a small, numbered soldier icon trotted along a curved line through various countries and provinces - it doesn't sound very exciting, but most of the entertainment in Europa comes from the deep layers of strategy, as opposed to the graphical interface - or lack thereof. The AI will act upon their ambitions straight away, immediately throwing challenges and soldiers at most players. Players can set ambitions for themselves to achieve (the AI does this as well), and conflict is always afoot somewhere across the map. Players will enlist generals and merchants to their cause, encouraging trade routes where required and embedding themselves into national-scale politics, even organizing royal marriages as a diplomatic strategy. The ability to help in the crafting of these alternate-history timelines is one of the best and most entertainment aspects about Europa Universalis IV.

Players can also play multiplayer online or via LAN. Gamers can choose any nation through this timeline (allowing for hundreds of choices) and watch as their nation either expands through war, trade or intrigue - or, as often as not, gets hindered and butchered by a surprisingly intelligent AI nations who crafts their own alliances and perform actions to their own agendas. History buffs will be blown away at the in-depth accuracy of Europa Universalis IV, which features several hundred years worth of accurate history along its timeline, running from the year 1444 and allowing players to play through until 1820 as Europe expands to the New World. Europa Universalis features a learning curve so steep that new players will have to accept they'll be losing more often than not, but that's what makes the game so good. Instead of worrying about dynasties is the 4X (explore, expand, exploit, and exterminate) followup, players now embody a nation throughout the ages of the Renaissance and industrial revolution, competing against hundreds of other nations of varying sizes in a game which gets complicated very, very quickly. Whether it's crafting a game where murdering eight sons to unite Russia and Scotland seems like a good idea or making a Reservoir Dogs trailer for a game about magic, Paradox Development Studio and Paradox Interactive have seemingly perfected the craft of developing engaging and deep strategy games.Įuropa Universalis IV comes after the well-received Crusader Kings 2 and appropriately picks up right where its predecessor left off.