14 DAY TRIAL // Before Europa Universalis IV occupied the grand strategy-shaped space in my heart I was in love with Crusader Kings II, another game created by Paradox Development Studios, and there’s still a part of me that appreciates it more than this most recent release.
The big reason is the lack of personalities in EU IV, where the focus is on countries, their expansion, their rise, and their downfall and the reasons that lead to them.
Crusader Kings II is focused on humanity, on persons who have risen to power or who want to, on their abilities and their crippling problems, on the way they interact with each other inside an ever growing web of deception.
In CK II I was assassinating family members who sought to undermine my position as King just as I was cultivating an extra marital affair that had already created a large group of bastards.
In Europa Universalis IV I can only send spies to fabricate claims and then use warfare to reclaim territory or I can take advantage of trade to create a big mercenary army.
There’s a certain excitement linked to dealing with actual characters that made even newcomers put in the time to learn Crusader King II just so that they could stab a relative in the back or order a hit to get a better position at court.
Let’s not forget about Victoria II, the third grand strategy title from Paradox, which is still the most complex of the bunch when it comes to simulating social and economic trends.
I also like playing it, despite its more mechanical nature, and I hope that it will soon get more content.
These are currently three of my favorite titles and I would love to have the time to play them all and try out the various mods that the community has already created.