Europa Universalis III: Review

Series Europa Universalis, perhaps the only project that is equally capable of fighting the great and terrible Civilization within a strategic framework. The rest is past the cash register. But once upon a time, few people believed in the success of an unsightly duckling who dared to rise to the very luminary of the genre – the brainchild of Sid Meier and Co. However, behind the ugly graphics there was a real diamond hidden – the game quickly acquired an army of loyal fans, received honor and recognition among journalists and brought it to its creators, the Swedish studio Paradox Interactive, world fame.

Strategomanias crawling far and wide Europa Universalis, passionately craved more. And the developers condescended to the public’s requests. True, instead of the hotly anticipated sequel, the Scandinavians presented an ideologically authentic Crusader Kings, or, in other words, they presented the old filling in a new, knightly wrapper. Over the following years, the packaging was changed twice more. Victoria And Hearts of Iron They didn’t lower the level of quality of “made by Paradox” products, which was set at a considerable height, but they didn’t become a revelation either. High-quality hardcore strategies – and nothing more. There was no revolution with the release of the sequel to the main series. Europa Universalis II was larger, deeper and more convenient than the original, however, the lack of any serious changes was depressing. Sensing the need for gameplay reforms, game developers began creating a threequel. The wind of change blew.

Paradox Interactive wasn’t even joking when they put the "grand strategy" stamp on the game box. Europa Universalis 3 not only covers a time period of over 330 years, passing through many famous eras, it allows you to take control of any of the 100 nations and lead it to world domination in a variety of ways. It is this fact that elevates the Swedish product above other representatives of the genre.

If hardcore strategies have always made you yawn, you can safely pass by, otherwise you will have to rethink your attitude towards titles that are complex from a gameplay point of view. The game welcomes newcomers with open arms, slipping in a sweet candy – user-friendly, intuitive interface. As a result, a significantly expanded target audience. Even those who have hated games all their lives, the screenshots of which looked like pages of geographical atlases, will enjoy the process.

At first glance, Europa Universalis 3 may seem like a turn-based strategy. This is wrong. All events take place in real time. However, you will always have time to think about further actions. The pause button and speed control function help you to soberly assess the situation at the right moments without falling into time trouble.

The single campaign begins with https://wilberforceinstitute.uk/esports-betting-market choosing a starting date: you can point at random at any number between 1453 and 1792. Then you should decide on the national issue. Essentially, the game represents all the European powers that existed in a given time period. So those who like to complicate their lives will be glad to have the opportunity to lead some tiny state, the existence of which is often forgotten by powerful neighbors. For less advanced users, the developers have provided difficulty levels. Next to each country there is a corresponding scale, on which it is very easy to determine how difficult it will be to bring it from rags to riches. Don’t forget about the presence of training missions that easily and unobtrusively introduce newcomers to the process.

After completing the shamanic ritual with settings, it is necessary to determine the development strategy of the selected nation. Military expansion is one of the most obvious ways to achieve your goals, albeit not always viable. Allowed to build infantry, artillery, and cavalry. Plus, there is a wide range of marine products available. Freshly created regiments can be either united into huge armies or disbanded into small detachments. The effectiveness of an army increases significantly if it is led by a general. But first you need to hire a commander. However, with the proper level of confidence, you can entrust command of the battle to a national leader. For all its attractiveness, the militaristic path is very difficult. And the point here is not that someone will not let you build armies of gigantic proportions. Constant conflicts create negative attitudes on the part of other powers. And as you know, you need to be friends with your neighbors. All these broken alliances and popular uprisings are useless.

So the game starts to feel like a tug of war – every aspect of your state needs to be supported. For example, if you want to attack without prior provocation, you will have to accept the deterioration of internal stability. The less stable your nation is, the more likely it is that unrest and riots will break out, distracting you from achieving your main goals.

Diplomatic relations with other nations are well established through marriages between offspring of royal families, mutual alliances, trade agreements, etc.d. And as diplomatic reach continually expands, every decision needs to be handled sensitively. Luckily, you can influence other powers in a variety of ways. Here espionage enters the arena – one of the main innovations Europa Universalis 3. Spies have a wide arsenal of dirty tricks – from inciting the masses to uprisings to causing desertion in the detachment. Of course, a secret agent can be easily detected by the enemy. In this case, you should safely forget about friendship with the neighbor you were studying, and in the worst case scenario, you need to be prepared to declare war. Sometimes the conflict can be resolved by sending ambassadors. An angry ruler can be calmed down with an offer of a new alliance, a favorable trade agreement, or a small piece of land.

Despite the apparent ease of managing the economy and the government apparatus, these aspects require increased attention – one wrong decision can easily destroy the fruits of your hard work. Manipulations with state parameters are carried out using special sliders. I vary the positions of various switches, I can achieve really interesting, and sometimes confusing results. And yet, governing a country is a serious matter: you shouldn’t set the settings “too crazy”. A strong motivation for thinking gameplay is the fact that the notorious sliders can be moved once every few years. So it’s worth thinking carefully again before embarking on the next reform, the consequences could be very, very disastrous.

IN Europa Universalis 3 you can adhere to any political course, thereby opening up new, unexplored sides of local gameplay. Elevate paganism to the rank of national religion and get a bonus to the number of available missionaries. The development of the maritime sector, as expected, allows for the production of more ships. Along with sliders that control your economy, religion and domestic politics, these ideas allow you to slowly and carefully sculpt the shape of your ward nation and increase its prestige on the international stage.

The game’s inherent complexity is surprisingly balanced with ease of learning. The scale of what is happening is simply enormous, events in the virtual space take place around the player, both independently and with his help. That is why you should not be surprised if in the first half hour of meeting with Europa Universalis 3 you will feel lost. In the future everything will fall into place. Using a convenient interface, you can always find any information you are interested in and take the necessary action. No need to wade through dozens of menus in order to build a single regiment. Click on an area, select the unit you want to build and it’s done. Would you like to see how many traders, missionaries and spies are at your disposal?? Just look carefully at the screen – all the vital information for the ruler is shown there. Be eager to find out how far the Holy Roman Empire spread its spiritual ideals? The road to knowledge is blocked by one click of the mouse. Also, to help beginners, advisors a la Civilization were introduced into the game.

The full range of multiplayer options is impressive. You can fight with live opponents over the local network and the Internet. The network mode supports an incredible number of participants – up to 32 gamers on one map: an indescribable feeling. When paying tribute to artificial intelligence, you need to understand that nothing compares to duels against other people. Exactly in multiplayer Europa Universalis 3 begins to play with new colors.

Paradox’s creation is not a demonstration of a sophisticated engine and not an epic strategy with thousands of extras on the battlefield. However, in the niche of global strategies the game looks quite decent – the Swedes’ new excursion into a fully three-dimensional world, after Diplomacy, cannot be called a failure. Both the general map and the menu are quite colorful, and the objects used are very easy to find. The developers were especially successful with the water surface. Among the advantages of the transition to the third dimension, it is worth noting the ability to zoom the camera and visually display the event. For example, burning cities look very picturesque, which eloquently indicates the smooth course of the siege.

The music is okay. The composers did their best, creating a truly successful combination of melodies. The game is not without voiceovers and sound effects, be it the sound of swords striking as two armies clash or the noise of a factory as industrial improvements end.

Europa Universalis 3 – the best product in its genre. The already huge game has become even deeper and larger thanks to a couple of innovations that hit the bull’s eye: espionage and national ideas. The only negative is that the game eats up a catastrophic amount of free time. The main thing is not to forget to eat and sleep, the rest doesn’t matter.

Pros: the amazing scale of what is happening; a huge selection of game strategies; caring attitude of developers to the smallest details; overall thoughtfulness and organicity.
Cons: not the most beautiful graphics, even for mid-caliber strategies.

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