Europa Universalis III review (PC)

Since the release of the first Europa Universalis Swedish developer Paradox has been the creator of a sublime range of strategy games – that only few people know of. With roots in world history from the 15th century to the 19th century they have twice presented gamers with a strategy game that appears somewhat approachable on the surface, but offering substantial depth and durability. Now the Swedes have released a third chapter in the series, continuing the good work from the first two games.

This time the game spans from the fall of Constantinople in 1453 to the French Revolution in 1789. It’s a few years less than the earlier games where you began with the Hundred Year’s War and ended at the Napoleonic Wars. It seems like an odd move, especially as the Napoleonic Wars and Britain’s war with France were some of the best periods in Europa Universalis 2, but that’s how it is.

From the beginning you have access to all nations who placed their footprint on the world map in the 330 years the game spans, and you can jump directly to a certain year without having to play the previous years. That’s a cool new feature, for example if you want to prevent Denmark’s silly fuck-ups against Sweden in the 17th century without playing through the messing around with religion in the 16th century. You now begin the game with the same style and basic concept as in Europa Universalis 2.

The focus of the game is still on warfare, diplomacy, and trade as you make your way through world history. Each of the three elements gives you access to victory and weigh somewhat the same. Contrary to other strategy games the overall goal is not to conquer the world. That’s just one of many options. You have endless ways of influencing world history, which is the central subject of the game - creating another history for the country you pick.

In the warfare-section of the game you can create big armies and fleets, forcing neighbours and other nations to let go of provinces or wealth to you. As previously you can chose between infantry, cavalry and artillery, mix them as you see fit and spiced them up with military leaders. You then gradually conquer different provinces and can in the final and crucial negotiations take control over entire regions or nations.

You need to tread carefully though, as every declaration of war without a sound reason will result in declining respect and sooner or later backfire on you. On the diplomatic side you can conquer other nations too, though with the power of the pen. You can exchange marriages with other nations and strengthen your relation with your friends. Form alliances and take care of proper supply routes or try to dominate your smaller neighbours so they eventually join your country voluntarily.

This part of the game always requires a bit of patience to work, but it’s a cheaper way to conquer provinces compared to military costs. Finally you can colonise other provinces and turn good business into bad for small countries in the trade section. There is still a tendency to drown in micro-management in this part though, but the rewards are usually worth it. In regards to micro-management, Paradox has allowed changes in policy and expanded this with other more local options for change.

You get the best results by mastering all three aspects of the game, but you can concentrate on one without being limited by the others. As something new you can make use of spies to incite riots in enemy towns. You can look at Civilization if you want to know where they got that idea from.

The fundamental change in Europa Universalis 3 is the game’s new interface. It has undergone a major overhaul, especially limiting the pop-up hell from the previous games. The menu system still makes it unbelievably easy to get access to information and details in a second, but its more in the background now. On the other hand the actual game and the world map is now in more focus, something the community around the game has been asking for in a long time.

Some graphical changes have been made too, making units and landscapes look more alive and detailed. Newcomers even have access to some pretty neat tutorials; obviously this has been an area of the game where Paradox has wanted to improve. They offer an introduction to the fundamental aspects of the game and fits well into the new interface. The game is very friendly towards new players, but is still as complex as before. You will have to experiment with many different strategies to achieve success in the three main areas of the game. That is why Europa Universalis 3 is a game with endless durability.

It is immensely hard to let go once you understand the game and its concept. Contrary to other games you don’t lose the game by picking an ineffective tactic or making mistakes. You just get another experience. In every game the small choices influence the outcome in the long run. This ensures a lot of variation each time you play. You can, so to say, continue playing infinitely without losing entertainment value. You can even play online with up to 32 players – even though it sounds chaotic – where you can have even more fun with human intelligence from your opponent – good or bad.

As mentioned earlier the graphics of the game have been changed too. Don’t expect use of wild effects and technology though – and don’t worry, the style is still the same. The interface has undergone a major clean-up and the menus now appear sharper in colour and style.

Paradox has even moved away from the earlier use of 2D/3D to focus more on 3D instead. The game runs just as smooth despite this though. When it comes to audio the game offers a few, well-composed melodies in an endless cycle. Very soon you will see the system, and even though they fit the game fine, they get dull pretty fast.

Europa Universalis III is worthy of recommendation, whether you are familiar with the series or new to strategy games. With the new tutorials and the improved interface, the game is very inviting for new people to the genre, but the complexity, possibilities and atmosphere is preserved and expanded. Its even better than Europa Universalis II, which was already a great game.

Translated by René Berfort (Kleeze)