Customer Reviews

Europa Universalis III: Complete

5 star:		(27)
4 star:		(7)
3 star:		(5)
2 star:		(4)
1 star:		(16)

 

 

Europa Universalis III Complete contains the original game and the two online-only expansions. This is the best grand strategy game on the market for several reasons. It is chock full of content: you can control any of the game's 313 countries from the year 1399 until 1820. It is very deep and you are constantly doing things: forming colonies, trading, declaring war, sending missionaries, undertaking specific missions, building troops, fighting rebels, declaring national ideas, forming your administrative court, drafting laws, balancing your budget, researching new technologies, and way too much more. Europa Universalis III has a very active modding community that has come up with some fantastic changes to the basic game, from more historically accurate simulations like Magna Mundi to simple map changes. In short (too late!), if you have ever wanted to run your own country and you lack the money to run for president/prime minister/dictator for life, then this is what you need.

Unlike your typical strategy game, EU3 has multiple layers. This game is not just about building the biggest army and then running out and killing your opponents. There are countless strategies, and this game is not about conquering the world (althought it has been known to be done). You can play any nation in the world from this time period, and it makes for a unique gaming experience with every game. In addition, there is an active multiplayer community. Typically, groups of 9 or more players get together and set a time to play at once weekly. This results in campaigns that last up to several months and add a whole new layer by making your opponents human and allowing you to make complex diplomatic decisions with them. Overall, this game is many times better than your average strategy games (AOE, Civilization, etc) and I recommend it to anyone who is looking for something new.

I am new to the EU universe, but I find this game to be very challenging and alot of fun... Just realize that this is not a game for the fainthearted... It is very challenging and very long... depending on how many years you set the game for, it has an option from the year 1399 to the year 1820. I am still on my first game and probably have over 60 hours in on a long game. Basically you are the hidden controller behind the country you choose to control and you guide it throughout the ages as new rulers are born and pass on... The fight are all autodecided based on mathmatical formulas and random rolls of dice, so if you are looking to control the battles as well look to the total war series, but if you love the other side of the strategy coin this game offers incredible depth and options.

What can I say about this game that has not already been said? Strategy lovers should get this game hands-down (though, if you do not have a version, get the Europa Universalis III Complete, so that you get the two expansions and the patches that are included in them).

The game does have a learning curve, but nothing that cannot be cured by playing the game, and referring to the manual or the online forums if you do not understand how something works. A couple of points that I found that helped me is to watch your inflation (though it cannot be helped raising it in the beginning), and have the advisor window open when time passes so that you can pause it and snatch the advisor you want whenever he comes along. Unless I missed it in the game, one pop-up option they could have included is notification of when a certain kind of advisor or certain class of advisor is available for hire, so that you did not have to babysit that window. That is a minor gripe really, and a matter of preference.

Refer to the other reviews on this site for the game mechanics and details, as I feel mentioning them will just be redundant. Bottom line, if you are a strategy gamer, and enjoy involving strategy and planning things out, and a strategy game where war is not the end-all of the game, this is a game for you, and you will get tons of replay value for your dollar.

When people ask if I play video games, I say "yes but no - I really only play one game." And then I describe EU3, a game where you can play over 300 unique countries over the span of over 400 years and control its economy, leaders, and political decisions. This is not on the fun video game level of Civilization, but rather on the level of a university level history class. If the price of wheat and the complications of the Holy Roman Empire sound interesting to you, then call and say goodbye to your friends and family once you get this game and find yourself spending hours trying to revive Byzantium or recreate the unification of Italy.

Also, the developers frequently update the game, even years after their release. This release combines the major updates and expansions since its release, which has turned the game into a masterpiece. However, be sure to frequently check the forums. Another update for the game, Divine Wind, will come out this month which updates the graphics and adds more detail for the Asian countries.

From what I can see is this game has been bashed due to people installing it on a sub par operating system. Windows Vista is terrible. This has been extensively documented. All I can input is that this is one of my favorite games. Also I have Windows 7 (64 Bit) and the game runs flawlessly. I have played Europa Universalis since the first edition and have bought every one after. This truly is a great strategy game. Very fun to play multiplayer, you and a friend can take over the world!

Do you like Age of Empires, but wish it were a little more complex? Do you wish that you could have intense wars at some times, but at other times focus on developing your culture and economy, and keeping your citizens happy? Do you wish that diplomatic relations were more complex than just giving tribute? Then this game is for you! This is easily the best real-time strategy game I have played. I does take a day or so to learn how to play. But it's completely worth it. Runs great on Vista, but remember to update the drivers for your video card for best results. The instruction booklet is on the DVD, but you can print it out. Comes with a cool map of the world that is actually helpful for the game.

I really like this game. It was very much intimidating at first, and very frustrating. As I undertsand more about the game, I grow to like it more. The first try I built some of the buildings in a province, as technologies advanced and I was able to build others, it was only then that I relaized that if I build one type of building it prevents you from building another in the same category. I wish there was a delete button so I could build the other. I had to restart the game.

There are a lot of aspects of this game to learn. It is well worth the process though and a lot of fun. There are so many variables. You can lay back and be peaceful, only responding to other provinces, you can be war like and attack everyone - and being identified as evil incarnate and be attacked by everyone back at you at once. You can start with just one province or a country with more than one. The options are nearly endless. Colonizing other lands is also a treat, so you can build a navy and explore the world instead of attacking your neighbors.

I definitely recommend this game to everyone.

Honestly, Europa Universalis III, the vanilla game, did not impress me all that much. I had put it on the shelf as an example of what Paradox was doing recently. And then I heard good things about the In Nomine expansion. Since the two expansions separately would cost more than the "Complete", I bought EUIII Complete.

I had a hard time getting it to work. It took some assistance from the forum and some updating of some software, but eventually it did play. And once it did, I was extremely happy. Everything I had wanted in the original game was here. It gives a rich example of the historical period while still being a game. If you have gotten down on Paradox recently, I would recommend getting EUIII Complete. It's definitely worth the money.

I love this game, however be advised there are install and crash issues with some graphic cards. Perhaps looking at paradox's community run board to see whats best is advised. I love this came, I usually hate RTS styled games preferring turn based live civilizations. A unique styled game, the one thing I don't like is the battles between armies, but as an overall ruler of a country it makes sense you ordering the battles & hope you generals know what they are doing. If you are the strategist loving player or micro manager lover you'll love this game. If you love the age of empires style, you'll hate this game. This game is about running a country in the Renaissance era, so it's a political game involving that. I only wish dynasties were more prominent as in paradox's crusader kings. The good is once you've master how to survive in the game, there are endless things to do.... conquer the holy roman empire to united a German country... colonize the Americas or Africa... create a trade empire... Bring Russia from a few prince states to a great empire... or even become a peaceful ruler creating buffer Vasal states to support your peace.

Over all despite a sometimes annoying install process & if you are a strategist as in chess strategist and not a hack and slash strategist you'll love it. Otherwise you may hate it because it's too slow moving because it follows realistic features (that albeit aren't always realistic but hey it's a game...)so prepare for a few years worth of the game time before waging an aggressive war.

Game play 3 out of 5.
Fun factor if you like this style 5 out of 5.
Overall 4 out of 5.