How good is Europa Universalis?

[Grumbold]

Yeah the only thing those Paradox guys flinch from is making map changes.

[Dr Jekyll]

EU is an excellent game, EU2 is even better thanks to the ability to change your national policy (COMPLETELY changes the game). It's more historically accurate than the Civs (real world map, changing leaders, correct placement of countries and cultures etc.) and IMO that makes it more enjoyable - I'm not a big fan of Civilization, though, so you might not want to listen to me It's at least as good as SMAC, though, and coming from me that's a lot.

[Chronus]

The Verdict

Well, Lord Davinator, have you come to a conclusion about EU2?

I have EU and think it's okay. I would like to enjoy EU2 but I'm afraid of buying it. The problem I have with EU is that I'm a bit too much of a peaceful player. If you're not at war, the game can be pretty boring IMOHO.

Anyway, I may still buy EU2 when the price comes down but was wondering what your thoughts were on it.

[Tuberski]

I thought EU 2 was rather boring. There is a lot of time where nothing happens. Wars are concluded unsatisfactorily for me.

Technology? You go from tech 1 to tech 2. What's the difference? None. except that you are a little closer to a technology that does make a difference.

But, I should have played more.

ACK!

[Heresson]

correct placement of countries and cultures etc

[Amesjustin]

Don't ban me moderaters but I downloaded EU2 from a certain file-sharing program and it is REALLY slow even from the get-go. I am using a PII 450 with 320 MB Ram. Is this normal for the game itself or do I have some jacked-up version? If this is the case I will just go buy it cuz it does look good, and everyone who has played it seems to love it.

[Nikolai]

With such a bad computer, you can't hope for any better performance even if you buy the game. But of course, you should! The game is not recognized by it's good graphics, but it's very thirsty for computer power because of the complex game it is. Lots of lots of information to calculate!

[ravagon]

Originally posted by Amesjustin
Don't ban me moderaters but I downloaded EU2 from a certain file-sharing program and it is REALLY slow even from the get-go. I am using a PII 450 with 320 MB Ram. Is this normal for the game itself or do I have some jacked-up version? If this is the case I will just go buy it cuz it does look good, and everyone who has played it seems to love it.

Those specs you're quoting sound a bit higher than the min reqs for EU2 (P2 300MHz or somesuch IIRC?) ...

In any case I wouldn't make a judgement about performance issues based on a warez version. These are often badly put together, buggy and prone to crash often and at inopportune moments.

EU2 itself is well put together, extremely well supported and a pretty good strategy game overall. If you appreciate the historical aspect and don't mind the lack of a random map capability (my only (slight) gripe) then it becomes very good indeed.

[Nikolai]

The minimum specs is P2 266 MHz, but I promise you, you don't want to use such a machine... I've used much better ones, and the longer you play, the more need for a good mashine you get. The PC has much to think about.