Hearts of Iron is basically a world war 2 simulator. It's very heavily focused on warfare, and it handles that aspect in extreme detail. Europa Universalis, meanwhile, covers a little bit of everything, and is about nationbuilding more generally.
For about ten years Paradox Development have been a small team of nice guys working hard to give us good games and mostly failing. For about ten years Paradox Development have been a small team of nice guys working hard to give us good games and mostly failing. Their games have been for the most part tedious, pretentious and ugly, with cluttered mechanisms, and hideous micromanagement. Most of the Paradox efforts suffered from terrible tutorials and ridiculous learning curved that discouraged any vaguely casual gamers. But beyond inaccessibility, the games were finally not that good, because even when you figured out the mechanisms they were still too MECHANICAL: not even really worth learning in the end because they were all variations of a sausage machine.
However something miraculous happened with Crusaders Kings 2, and echoes of the good things we saw in earlier games (Hearts of Iron 2) reappeared: Better looking graphics. Simpler, yet DEEPER gameplay. The machine kept churning away but Paradox learned to save us from the worst of it, and the gameplay began to blossom. Europa Universalis IV seems to demonstrate that Paradox has really turned the corner.
The game is beautiful. Gameplay is fluid. The depth and complication is welcome, but it has been softened with a more thoughtful and gaming friendly structure! GREAT WORK PARADOX!
Good things take time, and your grand ambitions are finally bearing fruit. I'm very excited about where this will lead with the Hearts of Iron series, because all the design wisdom that we can see in CK2 and EU4 is leading in the absolute correct direction. If you love strategy gaming please go and buy this game and support this developer!
This is a FAR, FAR superior game to Civilizations 1-5 as well as anything put out by Creative Assembly. It's been a long wait but worth it. Can't wait to see what we get when the final few pieces of the game design puzzle fall into place. If they get the budget to build something with a more solid multiplayer experience we will see the PERFECT game. What a fantastic game. It is utterly engrossing.
If you are a fan of civil 4 then you will love this game. An addictive masterpiece. It looks What a fantastic game.
It is utterly engrossing. If you are a fan of civil 4 then you will love this game. An addictive masterpiece. It looks good too. The biggest down side is that it is too hard to stop playing once you get into a game. I have never played an EU game before. It took me about about 5-7 hours to learn how to play.
It was a worthy investment and one I don't think any serious arm chair emperor would regret. If you liked EU III you'll definitely like EU IV. It looks very similar, but the game mechanics are actually quite different, so the If you liked EU III you'll definitely like EU IV. It looks very similar, but the game mechanics are actually quite different, so the experience as a whole is a lot different.
Europa Universalis 4 Gameplay
Some aspects of the game are a little easier, but as a whole I think the game is a little bit harder than its predecessor. I think new players would find EU IV a little easier to learn than EU III. The new hints system is quite informative and well made. There really isn't anything bad to say about the game except the performance which hasn't been improved. If you are a strategy fan don't hesitate just get the game.
Not only does Paradox Interactive have a winner in Europa Universalis IV, it is easily the best strategy game I have ever played on the Not only does Paradox Interactive have a winner in Europa Universalis IV, it is easily the best strategy game I have ever played on the computer. The high ratings this game is garnering in reviews are justified. Though having some minor changes to the mechanics, such as over extension, which drive a player crazy, overall, it is a game I plan to play over and over again. I look forward to future DLC, hoping to see both China and Japan specific events, as well as events for the Holy Roman Empire, Russia, and maybe more Native American events in the future.