Hi guys,
I am bored at work so I thought why not bore you with another (kinda) niche game I really like.
Europa Universalis IV by Paradox Interactive
EU4 is a game of the grand strategy genre. It is a also beginners title at that. Other games of the genre (Victoria, Hearts of Iron) are much more complex and detailed and therefore I strongly suggest to start with EU4 (or CK2, but that is for another thread). What does grand strategy in case of EU4 mean? Well, imagine Civilization on Speed meets Risk on Steroids.
In this game you steer a nation through the time period of 1440-1821, fighting the hundred years war either on the side of England or France, form Germany, open settlements in the Americana’s, rule the world by being a trade power like Venice or just go nuts on everyone with seemingly infinite manpower as Russia.
These are some basic examples of what you can do, but you can set yourself any goal. Want to take over the Holy Roman Empire as The Hansa? Want to beat Portugal in the colonial game as Norway? Take over the world as a tiny starting nation? All is possible. You start by choosing a time period to start in and a nation to play. You will always play as the leader of the chosen nation and when you die, you will continue as your heir, which hopefully is existent or other nations will go to war with each other to take over your land. Or, do you remember having a royal marriage with your biggest enemy just to appease them for a bit? Guess what, because you don't have an heir of your own, the bastard of this royal marriage will take over and your grand nation now is part of your enemy’s territory.
The game runs in real time, but you can choose the speed and even pause any time you want. This is important because you need to plan your moves and move your units carefully. War against other nations for land or influence is the biggest part of EU4, but you also have to improve your infrastructure, convert the heretics of your conquered lands to your faith, play the trade game to make money, and cultivate your diplomatic relations.
All of that is done by looking at maps. I know what you are thinking, but the EU4 is definitely a good looking title for a map centered game. There are different map modes for you to use (e.g. trade map, independent nations map, diplomatic relations map etc. etc.) and the game makes you feel like a commander positioning your troops on the map, choosing the best people to lead your army or diplomatically insult your enemy.
It is futile to try to introduce EU4 so briefly because even having played nearly 200 hours I am still learning. If all of the above sounds appealing to you, watch a Let's Play and see if this really is something for you. I can recommend Arumba or Quill18.
The multiplayer part is also fun. It makes the game a bit harder as you cannot (at least should not) pause every time you need to think about your next move. Also human players can fuck you over better than the AI can.
Cheers
TypeO
I am bored at work so I thought why not bore you with another (kinda) niche game I really like.
Europa Universalis IV by Paradox Interactive
EU4 is a game of the grand strategy genre. It is a also beginners title at that. Other games of the genre (Victoria, Hearts of Iron) are much more complex and detailed and therefore I strongly suggest to start with EU4 (or CK2, but that is for another thread). What does grand strategy in case of EU4 mean? Well, imagine Civilization on Speed meets Risk on Steroids.
In this game you steer a nation through the time period of 1440-1821, fighting the hundred years war either on the side of England or France, form Germany, open settlements in the Americana’s, rule the world by being a trade power like Venice or just go nuts on everyone with seemingly infinite manpower as Russia.
These are some basic examples of what you can do, but you can set yourself any goal. Want to take over the Holy Roman Empire as The Hansa? Want to beat Portugal in the colonial game as Norway? Take over the world as a tiny starting nation? All is possible. You start by choosing a time period to start in and a nation to play. You will always play as the leader of the chosen nation and when you die, you will continue as your heir, which hopefully is existent or other nations will go to war with each other to take over your land. Or, do you remember having a royal marriage with your biggest enemy just to appease them for a bit? Guess what, because you don't have an heir of your own, the bastard of this royal marriage will take over and your grand nation now is part of your enemy’s territory.
The game runs in real time, but you can choose the speed and even pause any time you want. This is important because you need to plan your moves and move your units carefully. War against other nations for land or influence is the biggest part of EU4, but you also have to improve your infrastructure, convert the heretics of your conquered lands to your faith, play the trade game to make money, and cultivate your diplomatic relations.
All of that is done by looking at maps. I know what you are thinking, but the EU4 is definitely a good looking title for a map centered game. There are different map modes for you to use (e.g. trade map, independent nations map, diplomatic relations map etc. etc.) and the game makes you feel like a commander positioning your troops on the map, choosing the best people to lead your army or diplomatically insult your enemy.
It is futile to try to introduce EU4 so briefly because even having played nearly 200 hours I am still learning. If all of the above sounds appealing to you, watch a Let's Play and see if this really is something for you. I can recommend Arumba or Quill18.
The multiplayer part is also fun. It makes the game a bit harder as you cannot (at least should not) pause every time you need to think about your next move. Also human players can fuck you over better than the AI can.
Cheers
TypeO
