![]() And while it's historically accurate that an army will give up and run before allowing itself to be completely annihilated by the enemy, it does mean that the player will have to chase an enemy army across several provinces (or even back and forth across the same two provinces) before they can actually destroy them. It's not uncommon to see only a few thousand casualties for battles involving twenty to thirty thousand units. There's a similar complaint to be leveled at the relatively indecisive nature of most of the battles. While we thoroughly enjoy the tactical experience in games like Rome: Total War, that's not the type of experience that Paradox is going for in the Europa Universalis series and its inclusion would add a layer of management that would distract from the real purpose of the game. Here, the real test of your strategic mettle is whether or not you're creating balanced armies and putting them in the right places under the right commanders. Those types of interactions would, to our thinking at least, be out of place in a game of this scale. They might argue that the game would be more fun if they could set general tactics or formations for each battle. Some players will quite naturally be put off by this lack of control. But ultimately, this is all just window-dressing for the battles which you really have no input in whatsoever. Even if you're just looking at the small animation on the game map itself, you can see the numbers of casualties floating up above the combatants' heads. ![]() Here you can see the numbers and types of units involved, the commanders, terrain or skill modifiers, morale levels and the random die roll that influence the outcome. You'll simply sit and watch the affair play out before your eyes courtesy of a small pop-up battle window. Since this isn't a game about tactics, there's no real interaction with the battles. They are still specific to each nation, so you'll have plenty of cultural flavor among the forces you're leading. Instead, you'll just have access to a few general types. ![]() And given the ancient history setting, you won't be worrying about dozens of different types of units here. Technology research progresses regularly over time but instead of having to upgrade your existing infrastructure every generation, your new discoveries take the form of bonuses to your existing assets. The designers have also abstracted several portions of the game to help ease the overall management crunch that plagued the first games. There's even a new outline list at the top right of the screen that summaries you armies, navies and sieges so you can tell at a glance what's going on around the empire. Now the team has finally struck the right balance, giving the important messages high visibility while also offering players a way to dig down into the details of systems that might not interest other people. Players were forced to fine-tune their message settings to put a stop to all but the most essential interruptions. The first Europa Universalis games buried the player under an avalanche of pop-up messages that literally stalled the game every few seconds. It's a tall order, but thankfully, the game can be paused so you can issue lots of orders at once. You'll need to raise armies, set trade routes, colonize barbarous provinces, appoint generals and governors, declare war, forge peace, manage alliances, blockade enemy ports, invoke omens, put down insurrections and pretty much anything else that a prospective world leader might have handled back in the ancient world. In some cases, the best you can do is to hold on to what little power you set out with. There are no set victory conditions you're just expected to do the best you can with what you've got. Of course, Rome and Carthage are the big players here, but you're free to try leading a lesser power as well. Once you've selected a starting date, you'll pick a nation to lead from among all the players, from Numidia to the Bosporan Kingdoms, from Egypt to Massilia. Although it probably contains a fair bit of ahistorical speculation and game balancing, the attention to detail here is considerable. Progress even further and you'll see their territories being swallowed up by Rome. If you progress a bit, you'll see them warring with the Aetolians. Each date renders the political, economic and military situations as they existed at the time, so if you start early you'll find the Macedonians in alliance with their neighbors. In brief, the game allows you to select any starting date across over 250 years of Roman history, from the middle-Republic wars with Carthage to the civil wars that brought about the establishment of the Empire proper.
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |