14 DAY TRIAL // Andrei Dumitrescu: August 20 is approaching fast with its deluge of high-profile video games, but this weekend I am getting ready for one of the biggest events of my own gaming year, the launch of Europa Universalis IV.
I have been playing the grand strategy series from Paradox Interactive since the first installment in the franchise was launched and I have discovered that I can use Moldavia or Wallachia to conquer and dominate Eastern Europe.
Since then, I have played each new game and appreciated many of the changes that the developers have introduced and the complexity that came with them.
My favorite faction has also moved wildly across Europe, from Scotland to Bohemia to Austria to France and Aragon and I had huge amounts of fun with all of them.
This weekend, I plan to run a game of Crusader Kings II in order to prepare a save game, which I will then be able to import into Europa Universalis IV with full details.
At the same time, I might take a plunge back into the third title in the series just so that I have a better idea of what the changes are on launch day.
EU IV will introduce a host of improvements, including a totally reworked trade system.
Grand strategy requires a lot of thinking and playing time and if the experience gets tiring, I will also play a little more Divinity: Dragon Commander, focusing mostly on real-time strategy battles that involve the dragon.
The game is not easy but it allows me to blow off some Steam by using the flying and fire breathing creature to roast some enemies while my own ground troops advance behind my charge.
Andrei Dobra is still on holiday enjoying the sun and the sea, but he will be back and talking about his own game time next week.