Europa Universalis 3 Complete: Review

Those who are just looking at this game should immediately take into account two things. First of all, EU3 is a very long and intense game. Not complicated, but filled with events, territories, names, decisions. This is not a straightforward action game, describing one day in the life of another Hollywood superman, not a role-playing game with a dozen characters, and not even an RTS, where you are let out to graze in an area of ​​a couple of square kilometers. Here at your service is almost the entire territory of planet Earth, and the time period from 1399 to 1820. EU leaves you no choice, either consuming all your free time and demanding more, or leaving you bewildered. Don’t even bother with it if you plan to spend less than a couple of hours a day.

Secondly, EU3 Complete – this is not a new product, but simply a beautifully packaged "classic" Europa Universalis 3, plus two add-ons previously available only for download via the Internet: In Nomine and Napoleon’s Ambition. The reason for releasing such a pack is quite clear – not everyone has the opportunity to download huge archives with add-ons, and a beautiful box will be an excellent gift for fans.

Addons for EU – These are just add-ons and nothing more. They don’t try to be new parts of the game, instead bringing just enough innovation to be worth the money. For a project driven into the framework of albeit slowly moving, but “real time”, and real historical events, the most pleasant bonus can be considered just the expansion of the time line. In expansion you get more than a hundred additional years, which you can spend, for example, on taking over the world and planting some true faith in it. To choose from: Catholicism, Islam, Protestantism, paganism, Buddhism, Hinduism. Even shamanism or animism. What is not a goal in life?

But you won’t be allowed to https://wilberforceinstitute.uk/esports-betting-market calmly and consistently expand your empire – other countries, random and historical events will interfere, and the time frame will be pressed for time. The fact that the player here is a “gray eminence” behind the ruler’s back, and an immortal one at that, doesn’t really change anything. Loss of control over the country in the event of an uprising, which in turn is caused by a sharp change in political course, is equivalent to defeat. And you will have to move political and social “sliders” often, especially in the middle of the game. Try to grow an aristocratic and conservative monarchy here, when republics are springing up around you like mushrooms after rain. And uprisings now occur not only because of bad governance, but also because “that’s how it should be” – all major powers have scripted popular (and not so popular) unrest.

In addition to events, the game now contains “quests” introduced by the In Nomine add-on. No one will force you to do them, but if you want to get serious bonuses, you will have to try. From the same series – the periodic need to make immediate decisions that will certainly affect the future of the country. A fair share of them will be devoted to issues of faith, which in those days was just as tense as it is today. An attempt to convert a Muslim province to Christianity may result in a “holy war” declared on you, the same applies to the opposite – no one has canceled the crusades.

The graphics in the new version have not been changed, but it doesn’t really need it. EU3 looks nice while providing all the information the player needs. At a resolution of 1024*768 the interface is frankly overloaded, but in bOnothing’s wrong with this. The map of the area itself looks very good; the three-dimensional models, despite their gigantism, do not go out of style. There is even a terrain copied from real maps.

But there is much less room for action in these open spaces than it seems at first glance. At first, huge spaces make you rack your brains about whether there will be enough time to explore them. But ten years will pass, and suddenly you feel unexpectedly cramped. There are evil neighbors all around, ready to gnaw at anyone’s throat for a piece of land, the army is growing and demanding money, profits are falling, colonies suddenly rebel and are separated or captured by your rivals. All this very accurately conveys the real political situation of that time. The New World was truly a light of hope for a suffocating Europe. This concerns the beginning of the game’s timeline, but in the middle and at the end everything is approximately the same – adjusted for America, where gradually they also began to run out of space.

All of the above is not a problem at all for an experienced ruler. The ability to pause the game and take your time to deal with everything sometimes saves you, but often you can do without freezing time by making decisions at minimum speed. And beginners should choose for the first time a country somewhere on the outskirts and without serious enemies. In this game, the “go straight into battle” principle won’t work – they’ll eat you and say that’s what happened. And delaying time won’t help.

Artificial intelligence with additions has become even better, playing no worse than a living person. And if compared with not very experienced players, then it’s much better. Moreover, the AI ​​is vindictive and really doesn’t like, for example, when proposals for political marriages are rejected. Sometimes even generous “bribes” will not improve the situation. In general, for the time being you have to love your neighbors, establish relationships with them and increase your military and economic potential. To then unexpectedly offer vassalage – and let them try to refuse.

Europa Universalis 3: Complete – the game is not for one or two evenings. In a month or two you may become a master of it, or give up. It challenges, and this is what distinguishes it from modern refined products created with the player in mind. The collection can be recommended to everyone who wants to join the genre of global strategies – this is an excellent example of the genre. But for those who have already purchased EU3 and both expansions, buying the Complete version is pointless, unless you want to put a box with the entire set on your shelf.

Pros: very high-quality global strategy – complex, but easy to master.
Cons: the manual doesn’t always help – you have to go by touch.