14 DAY TRIAL // Victoria II is the latest grand strategy title launched by Paradox Interactive, aiming to simulate the complex mix of diplomacy, wars and social upheaval that characterized the period between 1836 and 1936.
I've played four long games of Victoria II until now (blame me going to Gamescom for the limited play time, if you must) and, as my Quick Look can clearly prove, I believe the game is on a clear path to greatness, to be achieved after one or two patches. Yes, there are some small issues that will no doubt be quickly addressed by Paradox.
I played Prussia two times, Austria once and France once and, without a doubt, I can state that the best opening move for these three countries and possibly for any other in the game, is a quick, dirty and successful war.
The destinies of both Prussia and Austria depend on dominating central Europe, preferably gobbling up the many minor and second rate powers around and then expanding to the West, where France can be a challenge or to the East, where Russia and the Ottoman Empire will be the main opposition.
And there's nothing like assaulting the other big competitor in the first years of the game.
The main reason for the early aggressive move is the existence of Infamy, which is akin to the Threat from Hearts of Iron 3 or the Bad Boy from Europa Universalis III, a number which raises as a result of aggressive actions on the world stage with a hard limit that triggers containment wars.
Infamy is gained mostly through wars and, apart from some rare events, decreases only as a nation remains at peace, which means that at the beginning of Victoria II, when nations do not have any Infamy, the best idea is to get into a war that you can win, acquire it and spend the next few years getting it down again, with the added benefit of a couple of annexed provinces that can be used to make a nation stronger.