5 - Europa Universalis II
When I first read about Europa Universalis II, in a PC Magazine a friend of mine had, I realized that it was the strategy game that I had always wanted, the one that would allow me to control every aspect of an Empire. I had had this feeling many times before, but always had ended disappointed to a certain extend… Not this time. The control that this game allowed was something unseen before, from recruiting and directing armies to sending merchants to obtain a market monopoly, through total control of diplomacy; to the point of feeling really like the king of a country. Which one? Well, that was what blew my mind when I started to play: the game not only let you play as the great powers of the period (France, Spain, Russia…) but as any of the myriad of little countries, republics or independent princedoms included in the game, not only in Europe (e.g: Hannover or the Piedmont) but also in Asia (who hasn’t dreamed to play a game as the Kara Koyunlu?) America or Africa.
The game offers different historical scenarios to start the game, with the longest one starting in 1419 and ending in 1820. Historically, unlike most “historical” videogames, is quite accurate and offers a realist depiction of the political situation at the beginning of each scenario. Although of course the development of the game will differ from the historical one, there are different events that follow real (or fictitious, but possible) historical events, sometimes letting the player to decide how to handle them.
From creating a pan-asian Empire with China to saving the Byzantine Empire from destruction, I have a lot of great memories with this game. To this day, is the strategy game that has impressed me more and the only reason I haven’t played its sequels is that it’s such a time consumer that I would have to leave my job in order to enjoy it properly.
