Crusader Kings has gone gold. For those of you who’ve never heard of it, it’s a prequel of sorts to Europa Universalis. The game takes place in medieval Europe, and, instead of ruling a country, as you do in Europa Universalis or EU2, you’re in charge of a royal dynasty, and have to keep it alive and prosperous throughout the game. Because of this different focus, there are some pretty vital differences between it and EU. Loyalty is no longer an abstract concept. You need to deal with counts and dukes who have their own agendas and personalities. You also can’t take the continuation of your family for granted. You have to find a wife and have children, and then marry those children off, etc. The game will also have a feature allowing you, once you’ve completed the game, to import it into Europa Univeralis 2, so that the Europe that your actions have created can be played up to the 19th century.
So, is anyone else going to get this game? I admit, I have no willpower whatsoever when it comes to Paradox’s games. When they come out, I say, “I know it’s going to be buggy, so I’ll wait till its patched before I buy the game.”, but I usually say that when I’m in the checkout line in Electronics Boutique.
Wow. I sat straight up in my chair like I’d been shocked when I read that. Though I couldn’t really get into EU1, and did nothing more than stare semi-lustfully at *Victoria *and EU2 and wish i had the free time, this one strikes so close to my heart that I’ll be pre-ordering it any second now.
For some reason, the growth and management of a noble dynasty is my favorite subject for games, be they board- or PC-. I even have some design notes on a fantasy dynasty PC game very like this one, that I had hoped to design someday. Thanks for the heads-up,Captain.
those graphics look like they will make my eyes fall out after an hour. Its not that they look bad, exactly - just too many toiny lines and thousands of bright shields all over the place…
Paradox is almost the sole reason that I continue to play PC games. EU2 and HoI have both given endless hours of excitement and entertainment. And btw for any HoI fans, the newest patch (1.06) came out today. That’s one of the great things about paradox, they continue to support and patch their games for years after release. Crusader Kings is definitately on my to buy list.