Europa Universalis

The Good
The complexity and the diplomacy possibilities are unsurpassed thus far in the gaming industry, unless you play hard-core simulations. It's micro-management yet in a big world. And there's history to learn!

The Bad
After four hours of building colonies, fighting off natives and losing most of my traders, I'd very much like to just relax with a game of pinball instead.

The Bottom Line
Trying to survive as a nation in Renaissance Europe is not the easiest task you'll ever take upon yourself. There are lots of feudal kingdoms all over Europe and Asia, and since they've just discovered America, there's a whole new world of possibilities opening up for your nation. Better be quick; create trading posts and colonies before your enemies get there. Build up your armies and fleets to protect and attack. Uphold your diplomatic relations with your neighbours and mighty allies. Decide if and when you should convert to another religion.

This is a game that could drive you mad in all its seemingly difficult strategy, but once you get the hang of it, you may just become the greatest leader this world has ever seen! Well worth a look for any serious strategy gamer. Don't be alarmed of the real-time aspect, as you are able to pause the game and make decisions in your own time as much as you'd like.

The Good
The historical accuracy is awesome. The AI is very good. The number of countries the player can play. The variety of factors, economy, religion, military . Excellent graphics for a strategy game of this kind. The Improved grand campaign. The number of players all around the world. Its originality.

The Bad
The AI has minor flaws. Some names are incorrect. Some events are absurdly used.

The Bottom Line
This is a game where you can control a country from 1492 to 1792 , You can control for instance Portugal, France, Spain, England and your objective is to control the greatest number of provinces and adding or scoring victory points. You must be able to manage your economy , military and religion and many other factors so you can surpass all other direct competitors. It's a must for all historical fans and for everyone else.

The Good
Once you do get the hang of the game, it is a whole lot of fun. The ability to play one of eight great nations from 1492-1792 and re-write history and the world map has got to be appealing to at least history buffs out there. The interface is surprisingly simple and easy to customise and the graphics do their job at keeping things easy to read and manage.

The diplomacy model is very helpful, and, with a little skill and luck, you can assemble a powerful alliance to defend/conquer the world.

As far as advanced strategy goes, the web community for this game is fantastic, and not just limited to the English speaking world.

The Bad
The game is very, very buggy out of the box and will need some extreme patching. While the 3rd party additions are useful (being able to play any country etc.) they can cause some issues and may force a re-install.

The game is difficult to pick up and play, since the manual isn't very useful. It is likely to take 2 or 3 hours to learn to play properly, unless you have someone teach you. However the game is quite deep and this is to be expected to a degree.

Also the sound is very uninspiring and the music needs to be switched off quickly.

The Bottom Line
A fantastically deep and fun strategy game, with a look and style just slick enough to entice new comers. Once fully versed in playing the game it is easy to let the hours slip by.

If seen, it should be purchased.