Comments on: EU3: Imperatrix Romanorum Electus, 1456-1465

By: Taylor & Company

Taylor & Company — Mon, 17 Sep 2007 03:24:23 +0000

EU3: Graecia capta ferum victorem cepit, 1479-1489

Queen Mary has done a matchless job navigating her realm to the height of international prestige. England is well-regarded in most European courts, due in no small part to Mary’s considerable influence with the Roman Curia and Imperial courts of the Holy Roman Empire. England is also blessed with a reasonably stable economy, and the victorious wars in France, Greece and Turkey have helped spread her fame around the known world. The English court is guided by knowledgeable peers, and the Queen’s subjects are protected by the Magna Carta Libertatum, in force since 1215 A.D. and reissued several times since.

By: Taylor & Company

Taylor & Company — Mon, 17 Sep 2007 03:23:26 +0000

EU3: Non Semper Erit Aestas, 1465-1479

Constantinople—the once-grand Nova Roma of the Eastern Roman Empire—is now home to Adam Dundas’ small, beleaguered occupation army. Every few months an Ottoman force appears outside the Theodosian Walls, intent on sieging the city. The English garrison dutifully marches out and repels the attackers, but attrition, desertion and disease are taking a heavy toll. In November of 1464, 4,400 English knights and infantry occupied the city; by January of 1465, only 3,300 remain.

By: Alex K

Alex K — Sat, 18 Aug 2007 14:30:07 +0000

Well darn. The demo won’t run on my system. Not enough video memory. Good tip trying the demo before spending $$$ on the real thing! Now to see if I can scour up a copy of EU2 in a store…

By: Colin

Colin — Thu, 09 Aug 2007 08:49:28 +0000

Shadows of Undrentide rate a “meh” on my scale of gaming awesomeness. (As did the single player campaign of the vanilla NWN)
Hordes of the Underdark however, is like 20 kilos of awesome stuffed into a 10 kilo bag. It is literally overflowing with awesome.

By: Chris Taylor

Chris Taylor — Wed, 08 Aug 2007 15:38:26 +0000

I reinstalled NWN not too long ago but have yet to fire it up again. I had originally finished the first campaign and made it about halfway through the first add-on (Shadows of Undrentide), but then I ran out of time and it lay dormant for eons. I’ll probably start from scratch again since that was my favourite campaign. I also have the second add-on, too, but never got anywhere near it.

By: Gorthos

Gorthos — Wed, 08 Aug 2007 14:25:33 +0000

I’m still plugging away at CivIII when not killing orcs on WoW or NWN…

By: Chris Taylor

Chris Taylor — Tue, 07 Aug 2007 15:52:17 +0000

Actually, Alex, I have another suggestion — should have thought of it first!
There is a free EU3 demo available. You can play any European country for about thirty years. Try it out, this will give you some idea of whether or not you like, and whether your computer has the horses to run it.

By: Alex K

Alex K — Tue, 07 Aug 2007 15:04:48 +0000

Cool. I’m not sure I quite have the horses for EU3. I will keep my eyes open for EU2 in the discount bins, assuming that I have time to ever play games again now that we have an infant in my house… 3m old and full of… fun!

By: Chris Taylor

Chris Taylor — Tue, 07 Aug 2007 14:26:19 +0000

EU3 is certainly a much different animal than EU1. I think the gameplay is much improved and offers a lot more flexibility, but I am not too thrilled with the graphics. I don't think the 3d engine really adds a lot to the game. There's also some major caveats: First, it is a bit of a resource hog. You need a reasonably up-to-date gaming rig to play it comfortably, otherwise you'll experience a lot of lags and slowdowns as the game progresses. It is a game for which the listed minimum specs are inadequate. If you don't have a box significantly better than the minimum stats, keep EU1, or pick up EU2 from a bargain bin (and download the AGCEEP user mod for it), it'll be a better investment for your hardware. Second, the vanilla, out-of-the-box game is a little thin on historical detail and flavour. There are user mods (like Magna Mundi IV) which add a lot to the EU3 game experience. I wouldn't be able to play the game without them. Most of the events I've highlighted in this particular post (like simony, noble opposition, etc) are from the Magna Mundi user-mod. The vanilla game is somewhat boring. Third, the gameplay flexibility means that the world often unfolds in ahistorical ways. Meaning that sometimes relatively insignificant nations can turn into giant continent-dominating blobs. Some players hate it and some players like it. I am somewhere in the middle. I like the flexibility of a game engine where Burgundy can resist French annexation and become a regional power, but I don't like it if Burgundy consistently dominates Europe every single game. So, all that said, yes, I think EU3 is a worthy game provided you have the horsepower to run it, and you're willing to throw in some of the user mods to give it more historical flavour.

By: Alex K

Alex K — Tue, 07 Aug 2007 13:56:39 +0000

Just curious–I have EU 1 and I’m wondering if it’s a good idea for me to get EU 3. Is it a significantly better game, as far as gameplay and detail goes? I love the idea of the real-time strategy connected to historical exploration.