14 DAY TRIAL // I admit I might be a little biased when talking about Crusader Kings II and the look I got at the strategy game at the E3 trade show, at the Paradox Interactive stand, because I have loved the games that this company creates, from Europa Universalis to Hearts of Iron.
Crusader Kings II is a very different experience because it’s not focused on countries and on territory expansion but on families of rulers and on their ambition to gain more domains and more power.
It’s a more human centered strategy game and, using a heavily modified version of the game engine introduced in Victoria II, it’s a game that looks good, delivers information customized to the needs of the player and allows him to make choices and rule fiefdoms without needing to get through a huge number of lists and menus.
Crusader Kings II has a whole new combat system, regiments from different areas occupying a center and two flanks, all commanded by different characters based on their relative prestige.
The battles are also split into phases, each of them emphasizing the abilities different types of units, and there’s now a simple pursuit button that allows an army to quickly move to the same region as a just defeated force.
The new Crusader Kings II also delivers more intrigue, with all characters able to develop a number of personal ambitions that can turn them against or for the King depending on his decisions and the end result can be a plot which takes down the head of a family.
Lead developer Johan Andersson says that the game will have more events included than any other Paradox title, designed to immerse the player in the atmosphere of the game and make sure that he has choices to ponder at all times.
Crusader Kings II will arrive on the PC on January 13, 2012.