One of the best strategy games on the PC.
When this game first came out I was very surprised to see that it was getting such good reviews and even the little publicity that it got. While I'm a big fan of dry computer strategy games, I realize that most people are not so I had to check this game out. It definitely lived up to my expectations and then some.
Gameplay
The game play might seem a little less extravagant then some PC games like the Total War series or even something like Civilization, but don't be fooled by it's simple and dry appearance. The game starts with you choosing a country to play like in most strategy games but the interesting part here is you can pick any country that existed between the years of 1453 and 1793. This encompasses the points in history between the fall of Constantinople until the French Revolution. The game boasts over 200 playable countries and most are very fun to play depending on the experience you want. Unlike most games there is no ultimate goal to Europa. You can set your own goals, like dominate the trade in Europe or take over all of Asia, or you can just play free form trying to survive in the harsh trials of the world. Some countries are better suited for certain tasks then others but it's still possible to achieve a lot, even with the smallest countries, as long as you have patience.
As you play you make choices, through a variety of menus and sliders, that decide the direction your country will take. Will you be a military focused empire that sacrifices the rights of the people for military might, or will you be a trade empire that amasses wealth and allows your citizens the greatest freedoms. These choices affect the direction your country takes and influences the countries around you. While from the outside this may seem boring, the decision to restrict your country's freedoms or making a choice between two compelling national ideas can be a significant one and pull you into the game as quickly as any amount of action.
One problem with the gameplay is the AI. While the computer opponent does well enough on his own, it sometimes makes very stupid, unrealistic decisions such as attack a country 10 times its size or break an alliance with the player for no apparent reason. While these issues are improved upon with recent patches and expansions, the problem still pops up every now and then. These issues can sometimes dampen the gameplay but they don't ruin the experience and only provide a minor setback.
Graphics and Audio
In an attempt to improve upon the graphics of previous games the world map and units have been rendered in 3-D. While this makes the world looks much cleaner and easier on the eyes it can cause problems with older computers, which is strange considered how many of the people who would be interested in this might not have newer computers. Besides that issue the graphics do look really nice and help pull you into the experience further.
The audio in the game is a few orchestrated music selections that are nice to listen to but can get slightly repetitive as well. When battles take place the unit clashing is a little tinny but not so much that it's unwelcome. There's a few other small touches with the sound but it's nothing extraordinary.
Overall Impression
This game definitely only applies to a very niche audience. While it's done better then most games of it's type it's still too dry and action less for a fan of something like Medieval 2: Total War and if you're an FPS fan this might put you to sleep. For those of you interested in an experience that involves a lot of micro-management, critical thinking, and sometimes some patience then you'll really enjoy this game. It offers an extremely re-playable experience and will definitely capture the attention of history nerds, like myself.
