Rating: 
Summary: OK... Pick your jaw up off the floor...
Review: ... which is what you'll be telling yourself once you've opened the box and taken a look around in the manual. Let's leave the gameplay out of it for just a moment.A NOTE TO GAMING COMPANIES: Take lessons from Paradox in how to write a manual. I don't think I've ever read a manual all the way through before playing the game before I bought EU. After EU I can't say that anymore. Yes, maybe it's a little light on explanation, but it is RICH in history and ambience. In my opinion, the people who are thinking about buying this game are history buffs in the first place, so writing a manual rich in historical background and atmosphere was a perfect complement to the game. **Deep breath** All right... now about the gameplay. I have been an RPG/Strategy/Sim player since Zork and pre-Sid Meier, and in those years I have NEVER seen a game with this much depth. Pointing out only one aspect of it is to do injustice to the rest, but if I were to sit here and comment on everything in the game this review would be Tolstoy. So... let me just comment on the diplomacy model. So, you want your country to be Protestant? Waitaminit... you have an alliance with Spain and Navarre (both Catholic) that has kept your fat out of the fire for years with France. Count them out of your group of friends. As a matter of fact, they may just take it upon themselves to cleanse your country of the Protestant "taint." Guess you'd better make nice with France, Savoy and Venice, all of whom are allied with each other and have been waiting for the right time to strike. So, you're England and you have to deal with the "Scottish problem." Do you just go in and burn them out? Careful... they have powerful allies who will go to war with you if you do. In other games you had to suck it up and either let them live or bear the brunt of continued attacks from their allies. In EU if you have a peaceful bent (and patience) you can gradually pacify Scotland with a policy of honey rather than blood. Give them a few State Gifts, invite them to marry into the English Royal Family. Wait a while and invite them into a military alliance with you. Wait a little longer and make them a vassal of England. Wait still longer and eventually you can annex them into England. Voila! Scotland is now fully yours (or, more accurately, a part of England) without ever firing a shot (or ruining your reputation with other countries). You see where I am going with this. I look back and see that I've written a lot. Friends, this is just the tip of a large iceberg. Very large. Titanic-sinker large. Buy this game. Buy a lot of Mountain Dew and Doritos. Buy your wife/husband some flowers and your kids some candy to pacify them, because once you buy this game you're going to be gone for a very, very long time.
Rating: 
Summary: Highly addictive, some bugs though
Review: As a college student I find myself with a great deal of unstructured time. Since getting this game in the mail, my time has been completely taken from my studies. This game is Risk X 100. It is an extremely complex and intricate game of World Conquest, except unlike Risk conquest is not the only path to glory. In addition, you are responsible for the daily lives of all of your subjects. If they don't like you, they'll revolt and make your life miserable. Although this game is great, there are a few problems with it. 1) There are several bugs that cannot be worked out even with the latest patch. For instance, sometimes when you win a battle your army will retreat for no good reason. 2)The sound gets annoying and is very limited. (Something I think they'll clear up in EU 2. 3) The graphics are a little old school. In some ways this adds a certain charm to the game however. 4) This game will completely take your time away and make you a shadow of your former self. But if you want to let the tyrant inside you out buy this game!
Rating:
Summary: This game has taken my life away
Review: As a college student I have a lot of unstructured free time where I should be studying or doing homework. This game took all of that time away from me. It's just that good. This game is like Risk times 1000. The biggest difference is that in Risk your most important goal is world conquest. In EU you have to try to stay alive as a nation, deal with diplomatic problems, expand trade, deal with religious issues, and then try to expand your territory. Too much emphasis on any of these issues can screw everything up. There are so many little things that go into the playing of this game. It would take months to completely master it.
Now don't get me wrong, this game isn't perfect (but then again there really is no such thing as the perfect game). There are a few bugs, and a few things that I believe could be better. For one, the manual leaves much to be desired. It really doesn't tell you anything. You have to learn much of the game yourself. Also, you are limited to a number of countries to play as. You are limited to only three types of units (this kind of stifles the imagination), and you are not free to explore much of the world (central Africa for instance). Finally, the sound isn't that great and gets annoying after awhile. There doesn't even seem to be a musical soundtrack. It's all sound effects!
If you're a person who doesn't mind spending hours on end playing a game because your hooked, then get this game.
Rating:
Summary: This game has taken my life away
Review: As a college student I have a lot of unstructured free time where I should be studying or doing homework. This game took all of that time away from me. It's just that good. This game is like Risk times 1000. The biggest difference is that in Risk your most important goal is world conquest. In EU you have to try to stay alive as a nation, deal with diplomatic problems, expand trade, deal with religious issues, and then try to expand your territory. Too much emphasis on any of these issues can screw everything up. There are so many little things that go into the playing of this game. It would take months to completely master it.
Now don't get me wrong, this game isn't perfect (but then again there really is no such thing as the perfect game). There are a few bugs, and a few things that I believe could be better. For one, the manual leaves much to be desired. It really doesn't tell you anything. You have to learn much of the game yourself. Also, you are limited to a number of countries to play as. You are limited to only three types of units (this kind of stifles the imagination), and you are not free to explore much of the world (central Africa for instance). Finally, the sound isn't that great and gets annoying after awhile. There doesn't even seem to be a musical soundtrack. It's all sound effects!
If you're a person who doesn't mind spending hours on end playing a game because your hooked, then get this game.
Rating:
Summary: A Strategy Game for History Buffs
Review: Conquering the world is a popular objective for strategy games, but in Europa Universalis, that is not necessarily the goal. In EU's Grand Campaign, the biggest scenario from about a dozen you can choose from, you are in control of a number of European nations at the beginning of the 1400s. It is your job to lead the nation to a glorious future through exploration, diplomacy, trade, research, and good old-fashioned conquest. Your empire begins small, anywhere from a half dozen territories as Austria to twenty plus as France. In EU, not all nations are created equally. Some have very distinct advantages at the beginning of the game. However, even if you begin with a small nation, you don't have to conquer as many territories or make as much money as you would if you were a larger nation to win. The game uses a point system. You achieve victory points by completing missions, such as defending territories, discovering parts of the world, or conquering certain enemies. You have two hundred years to score as many points as you can to win. EU is a very involved historical simulation. While you steer the fate of a nation and the world around you develops differently every time, there are many historical events that come up at more or less the same time that affect the entire European continent and add a historical flavor to the game. The game is a good mix of diplomacy, combat, discovery and exploration. You can discover much of the world, though it is disappointing that many portions of it remain unexplorable, like much of Asia as well as central Africa and central South America. Combat is not very involved. You tell your armies where to go, and if there is an enemy army there, battle rages on and both sides take casualties until one side retreats or is destroyed. However, in order for your army to perform optimally, you need to think about things like the terrain of the territory, the composition of your army (infantry, cavalry, and artillery), the quality of your leader, etc. The system is fairly simple but effective. Overall, EU is a great strategy game. It is a combination of a real time and a turn based game. The days run by at intervals that you can set to however fast or slow a speed you like. It is historically based, has fairly intelligent AI, and most importantly is good fun. On the down side, the manual is more of an explanation of why the game plays the way it does rather than an explanation of how to play, but the controls are fairly easy to figure out, so this is not a big deal.
Rating: 
Summary: Waste of Money
Review: DO NOT WASTE YOUR MONEY!! I have played this game for about 16 to maybe 20 hours. How, I don't know. Atari from the stone age made better games. It sounds cool, but it's far, far from that. If you have played Age of Empires II (Age of Kings) then I know what you are looking for. So was I at the time I purchased this game. This game is the exact opposite of Age of Empires. I use the CD as a coaster, the box as a door stop and the case to keep other cds safe. You will regret purchasing this game. I do!
Rating:
Summary: One of the best historical strategy games out there!
Review: Do you remember Sid Meier's Colonization? Well, take that game and add about twenty times more depth and you have Europa Universalis. Based on a board game that I never played, but still managed to utterly enjoy the computer version. As a matter of fact, this is one of those games that gains so much attention, before you know it, you're playing til 3 A.M. (Computer game fans know what I'm talking about.) The game covers the entire world from 1492-1792. There are many scenarios available: a grand campaign that covers all 300 years, the Thirty Years War, fantasy "What If?" historical scenarios and many others. Even better, many fans of the game have designed other scenarios which you can download off the internet at fan sites. These scenarios go to extra lengths and add periods such as the Roman Empire. In the normal game version, all empires from the period of 1492-1792 are represented. While you can't play all of them, you do have a chance to play any significant empire such as Spain, Portugal, Hungary, Russia, England, Scottland and many more. Your goal is to earn the most points by completing missions given by your monarch, winning wars, starting new trading posts around the world and other elements of the game. The system of rules is very indepth and requires many hours of gameplay before you feel confident with the game's layout. The only complaint I have about the game is that it was full of bugs when released and is currently on its eight patch I believe. While most problems have been taken care of, it's still hard to play online mulitplayer games with more than 6 players. Also, the instruction manual has not been organized efficiently considering its close to 100 pages. There is no table of contents or index which would be a good idea considering there are so many rules that until you become familiar with the game, it would help to have an easy system to look up particular rules. Still - considering some of the flaws, this game has single-handedly ruined my social life. :) A brave attempt for historical/war strategy games because not many software companies put this much detail into their games. A fun game that is guaranteed to last you quite awhile.
Rating:
Summary: Addictive, satisfying, a litte frustrating
Review: Download and install the patch before you attempt the tutorial. It's a great game overall, once you learn the ropes. Good AI, good strategy, but a little devoid of variety. Terriffic for 100-200 hours of absorbing, intelligent play. Strategy buffs and history nuts will both enjoy this one.
Rating:
Summary: For King and Country!!!
Review: EU is by far the most addicting strategy game since Civilization 2. The game provides a level of depth and gameplay virtually unkown to strategy gamers as well as a huge map and open-ended scenarios. First of all, the game is HUGE! With over 800 provinces and sea zones and over 90 different nations worldwide, this is game is a megalomaniacs dream! The game itself spans 300 years (1492-1792), and although this might seem quite short when compared to Civilization's timespan of 4000 B.C.-3000 A.D., it actually offers up about the same amount of playtime since the time in EU shifts by day, not by years. Also, EU is Real-Time, not Turn-Based. This was a turn-off to me the first time I heard it (how the hell can you effectively micromanage with the clock ticking?!), but the fact is that it enhances the gameplay. And with the ability to pause at any time and still manage your nation, the game has a sort of turn-based feel to it as well. In the game you'll have complete control over your nation. From religious tolerence to diplomatic encounters, you decide how things go in your country. The level of depth is amazing! You can marry into the royal family of friendly nations or declare war on a minor principality and march your infantry in to siege the capital. The open-endedness of EU is what really makes the game fun. Although you can set specific goals for victory, you can also leave it so that the winner is the person with the most points in 1792, and since just being an active nation awards you points, you can pretty much do as you please. You can go the entire 300 years without ever lifting a sword (although unlikely) or you can raise incredible armies and wage war throughout Europe. You'll form alliances, you'll be betrayed, and you'll even do some betraying yourself. You can impose trade embargos on nations and gain monopolies in foreign markets. You'll have the option of selecting your state religion (and dealing with the consequences). You'll even have to deal with inflation and what could become a plummeting economy if you get rich too fast (don't forget how Spain went bankrupt). Nothing is cut and dry in EU. Don't think you'll raise an iron curtain of infantry and march on European nations with ease. The AI in EU keeps a close eye on you. Grow too aggressive and watch the outbreak of a world war as all nations rally against your empire. Share boarders with an enemy? Leave it lightly gaurded and watch as hordes of soldiers hit you with a surprise attack. Also, unlike many other games, soldiers in EU suffer attrition. What does this mean? Basically don't think you'll be able to just send troops to South America to fight the Incas. Not only will a good number probably die on the boat ride over (yep, you lose soldiers to disease on long sea voyages) but the terrible supply lines will have them dying by the dozens on the South American front. You'll have to establish a colony in South America before you can go waging wars, and depending on what province you try to establish yourself in... the natives might not be so friendly. Also, you'll have to watch the weather conditions. Invasions of Russia in the winter months is a surefire way to kill off thousands of your own troops. And sailing through stormy waters will usually see your ships destroyed. The game also allows you to discover and colonize. In the beginning you'll only have knowledge of Europe, it's up to you to either expand into a colonial power or worry about problems at home. Colonizing is not a 1-2-3 process either. With 6 stages of development it takes a few years to make a colony into a city with full benefits of troop support and such. Also, you can lose much of your colonial lands when enemy nations march through and burn down your trading posts (don't worry, you can burn theirs down too). All in all, the game is addicting and extremely fun to play. If you're a fan of history, you'll love the game even more. But be advised that the game isn't as historically accurate as they'd have you believe. The history in the game is more of a "guesstimate" than a fact. But who cares? It's still fun! Also, the manual that comes with it is HORRIBLE. But the manual has nothing to do with how well the game plays. Although there are some glitches in the game, downloading patch 1.09 will fix almost all of them (at least the major ones). Also, stick close to the player forums on the official website, they are your guide to truly discovering how great this game is. Many of the players contribute additional files which makes the game truly great. For instance, you can only have up to 90 playable nations if you download a custom scenario called "Improved Grand Campaign" (which is done by independant programmers), otherwise you're stuck with 8! . But the game is great for strategy gaming fans and megalomaniacs. The learning curve is a bit steep but I recommend using cheat codes your first game out so that you can play with all the options and see how things work (it's more effective than the tutorial). Also, I can't stress how much this game is NOT for casual gamers and non-strategy fans. You have to enjoy dealing with 200 things at once in order to enjoy this game. The action isn't fast-paced and heartpounding, and everything isn't centered around bloodlust and war (although it could be if you wanted to play that way... but you'd die quick). You have to really be into being a King/Senator/General/Merchant and you have to love micromanagement and difficult challenges. So yes, it can in fact be too complicated to be fun... unless you enjoy doing all kinds of EVERYTHING (which I do).
Rating:
Summary: An almost-great game with a fatal flaw
Review: EU is heartbreakingly close to being one of the best computer games ever produced. Economics, religion, warfare, diplomacy, and exploration have never been so successfully integrated. As several people have pointed out, however, the manual and tutorial are woefully inadequate for such a complex game. You'll find yourself learning this game largely by blind trial and error. But I could live with that, given this game's many other terrific features. The thing that destroyed my interest in EU is the fact that this game cheats OUTRAGEOUSLY in combat. It is not uncommon to lose battles even when you outnumber the AI's forces by 10:1 or more. You can spend game-decades building up your armies and planning campaigns, only to watch your entire empire's armed forces get brutalized by inferior numbers of inferior troops. As long as you never fight another major power you're fine, but should you become involved in a war with another power, expect to do a lot of save-and-restore-ing to counter-act the senseless combat resolution. In my opinion, the game is not playable in its current state.
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