It's a strategy game, not turn based, but if you pause or slow it down to speed 1, it might as well be with combat calculated by the computer so not like Total War in that aspect.
Basically, it's a historical representation of the state of Europe (and the rest of the world) between 1400 and 1800 or so. You select a year to start, a country, and then you go rewriting history.
I am *obsessed* with this game. The funny thing is, I first tried it like a year ago. Read the 100 page or so manual, did the tutorials, and mistakenly assumed I should start with a small country to learn the ropes… I was creamed by France before I knew it. I shelved the game then.
But a few weeks ago I decided to give it another go, but this time I started with a bigger kingdom… Castille.
Now, to say a game of EU3 is long is an understatement. It makes a game of Civilization 4 with a huge map look like a quick game of Solitaire in comparison. I've been playing this game for like a month already. First my Spaniard Castillians went on removing the infidel moors from southern Iberia. Portugal and Aragon helped a bit. Then I decided to cross the Gibraltar waters to head into Africa, like a spanish Patton (if I could rename the general, I would have named him "El Pattonio").
At first it was difficult, but then something happened. They elected me the Pope!? WTF? Whatever, I'll take it! So with that I trampled my way in, called a crusade an everything. First Morocco, the Algerians, Tripoli… but those Mamlucks and their Ottoman friends proved too much, so I made peace.
So there I was, waiting for my provinces to replenish my armies and get some buffer manpower when it struck me… I was playing like Mordor, grabbing everything I could… which gave me the perfect reason to go against the Aragonians (Aragon, Aragorn, get it?), but man, the stability hit would be too much, same religion, no casus belli, ouch. But then I remembered I was freaking Pope Wolfing the 1st! I used a new option I sort of ignored when I first saw it after I was made pope, and I excommunicated the eastern Spaniards, bow down to Mordor! I mean, bow down to Castille!
(just for reference, this happened about 2 weeks ago, and 2 weeks after I started the game).
Surely my Portuguese friends would help me against them… except they didn't! the traitors actually preferred their alliance with Aragon instead of mine, and I had my western provinces undefended. So, after a long series of battles, I finally won the war and took a few provinces from Aragon and Portugal. (You don't just conquer cities like in Civilization. First you occupy them, and when you end the war, depending on your 'war score' you negotiate terms of surrender and grab provinces this way. You can only annex small kingdoms… bigger kingdoms you have to take in chunks)
Making war in Europe is too complicated, everybody is allied with everybody… cowards! So, in the last week I turned my eyes towards Africa. They don't even have forts! with just 10000 soldiers or so I swept south, taking all the western african kingdoms.
So there I am, at 1472 when in the real world Castille had recently unified with Aragon and about to go forth to find the New World, in my Mordorian world there is no Spain, but Castille owns half of Africa.
It is a very complex game for sure, and after a month playing it a few hours a day, I probably still don't know half of it, but man it is good. Totally recommended!
Basically, it's a historical representation of the state of Europe (and the rest of the world) between 1400 and 1800 or so. You select a year to start, a country, and then you go rewriting history.
I am *obsessed* with this game. The funny thing is, I first tried it like a year ago. Read the 100 page or so manual, did the tutorials, and mistakenly assumed I should start with a small country to learn the ropes… I was creamed by France before I knew it. I shelved the game then.
But a few weeks ago I decided to give it another go, but this time I started with a bigger kingdom… Castille.
Now, to say a game of EU3 is long is an understatement. It makes a game of Civilization 4 with a huge map look like a quick game of Solitaire in comparison. I've been playing this game for like a month already. First my Spaniard Castillians went on removing the infidel moors from southern Iberia. Portugal and Aragon helped a bit. Then I decided to cross the Gibraltar waters to head into Africa, like a spanish Patton (if I could rename the general, I would have named him "El Pattonio").
At first it was difficult, but then something happened. They elected me the Pope!? WTF? Whatever, I'll take it! So with that I trampled my way in, called a crusade an everything. First Morocco, the Algerians, Tripoli… but those Mamlucks and their Ottoman friends proved too much, so I made peace.
So there I was, waiting for my provinces to replenish my armies and get some buffer manpower when it struck me… I was playing like Mordor, grabbing everything I could… which gave me the perfect reason to go against the Aragonians (Aragon, Aragorn, get it?), but man, the stability hit would be too much, same religion, no casus belli, ouch. But then I remembered I was freaking Pope Wolfing the 1st! I used a new option I sort of ignored when I first saw it after I was made pope, and I excommunicated the eastern Spaniards, bow down to Mordor! I mean, bow down to Castille!
(just for reference, this happened about 2 weeks ago, and 2 weeks after I started the game).
Surely my Portuguese friends would help me against them… except they didn't! the traitors actually preferred their alliance with Aragon instead of mine, and I had my western provinces undefended. So, after a long series of battles, I finally won the war and took a few provinces from Aragon and Portugal. (You don't just conquer cities like in Civilization. First you occupy them, and when you end the war, depending on your 'war score' you negotiate terms of surrender and grab provinces this way. You can only annex small kingdoms… bigger kingdoms you have to take in chunks)
Making war in Europe is too complicated, everybody is allied with everybody… cowards! So, in the last week I turned my eyes towards Africa. They don't even have forts! with just 10000 soldiers or so I swept south, taking all the western african kingdoms.
So there I am, at 1472 when in the real world Castille had recently unified with Aragon and about to go forth to find the New World, in my Mordorian world there is no Spain, but Castille owns half of Africa.
It is a very complex game for sure, and after a month playing it a few hours a day, I probably still don't know half of it, but man it is good. Totally recommended!
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