Europa Universalis II
Europa Universalis II | |
---|---|
Developer(s) | Paradox Development Studio |
Publisher(s) |
|
Producer(s) | Peter Kullgard Fredrik Malmberg |
Designer(s) | Johan Andersson Joakim Bergqwist |
Programmer(s) | Johan Andersson |
Artist(s) | Timo Väisänen |
Engine | |
Platform(s) | Microsoft Windows, Mac OS, Mac OS X |
Release | |
Genre(s) | Grand strategy |
Mode(s) | Single player, multiplayer |
Europa Universalis II is a strategy computer game developed by Paradox Development Studio and published by Strategy First, based on world history spanning a timeline between 1419 through 1820. It was released on December 11, 2001.
Gameplay
In the game, the player controls a single nation across many centuries, managing its economy, military, political alliances, scientific development, exploration and colonization, religious affairs, and internal stability. In addition, yearly random events, as well as hundreds of pre-scripted ones based on the historical record, make for a great deal of gameplay challenge and variety.
Europa Universalis II differs from many similar turn-based strategy games in that time flows continuously during gameplay, rather than taking place in discrete turns. The player is able to pause the action to ponder the situation and give orders, then speed up or slow down time to let events take their course.
The game ships with several historical scenarios, including games that take place during the Age of Exploration, the American Revolution, and the Napoleonic Wars. The Grand Campaign lets players choose one world power and guide it from the end of the Middle Ages and into the 19th century. There is also a Fantasy Scenario, starting in an unoccupied and unexplored earth with only 8 civilizations to choose. In this scenario, casual gameplay and strategy that should be applied are slightly different, more like a 4X game with a strong emphasis on colonization.
While the Grand Campaign is geared primarily towards the major European powers of the time, such as Austria, England, France, Poland, Portugal, Russia, Spain, Sweden, and Ottoman Empire, the game is unique in that players can choose to play as one of more than a hundred obscure, no longer existing nations, from the Indian subcontinent to the Balkans.
Development
The game was developed by Paradox Interactive as a sequel to Europa Universalis, and was first released for the PC in 2001 by Strategy First, with a Macintosh port created by Virtual Programming and published by MacPlay. A Linux port was in development[1] but was not released.
Game modding
The game goes into a great deal of granular detail, including urban populations for each of the hundreds of provinces, thousands of historical monarchs, generals, and explorers, as well as names for colonies, armies, and fleets.
In addition, with almost all of the game data stored in easy-to-edit text files, Europa Universalis II is easy to modify and customize, which has yielded a large and thriving mod community. Players have been able to create new flags, maps, units, historical events, leaders and even entire scenarios.
It is also possible to play a campaign beginning with Crusader Kings, followed by Europa Universalis II, Victoria (or Victoria II) and finished with Hearts of Iron II: Doomsday, allowing for campaigns to range from 1066 to 1954. This is by using the in-built features of these games that convert a saved campaign to the chronologically-next Paradox title.
Asia chapters
A version of the game, called Europa Universalis II: Asia Chapters, was released for Asian markets, adding new graphics and scenarios that center around Asian history instead. It featured an updated map with greater detail and added provinces in Japan, Korea, and China.
Reception
Publication | Score |
---|---|
Computer Gaming World | [2] |
PC Zone | 72/100[3] |
Computer Games Magazine | [4] |
Europa Universalis II was nominated for Computer Gaming World's 2002 "Strategy Game of the Year" award, which ultimately went to Freedom Force.[5] Europa Universalis II received "generally favourable" reviews according to review aggregator Metacritic.[6]
See also
References
- ^ "An Interview With A Linux Game Porter". Phoronix.
- ^ Fletcher, John (April 2002). "Reviews; Europa Universalis II". Computer Gaming World (213): 100.
- ^ O'Hagan, Steve (March 13, 2002). "Europa Universalis 2". PC Zone. Archived from the original on March 2, 2009.
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(help) - ^ Chick, Tom (March 1, 2002). "Back to the Past". Computer Games Magazine. Archived from the original on August 3, 2004.
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suggested) (help) - ^ Staff (April 2003). "Computer Gaming World's 2002 Games of the Year". Computer Gaming World (225): 83–86, 88, 89, 92–97.
- ^ "Europa Universalis II". Metacritic. Retrieved 2018-04-17.
External links
- 2001 video games
- Age of Discovery video games
- Government simulation video games
- Grand strategy video games
- Mac OS games
- MacOS games
- Paradox Interactive games
- Real-time strategy video games
- Video game sequels
- Video games developed in Sweden
- Video games set in the 15th century
- Video games set in the 16th century
- Video games set in the 17th century
- Video games set in the 18th century
- Video games set in the 19th century
- Video games set in the Russian Empire
- Windows games
- Strategy First games