Europa Universalis II

Last updated
Europa Universalis II
Europa Universalis II Coverart.png
Developer(s) Paradox Development Studio
Publisher(s)
Producer(s) Peter Kullgard
Fredrik Malmberg
Designer(s) Johan Andersson
Joakim Bergqwist
Programmer(s) Johan Andersson
Artist(s) Timo Väisänen
Engine Europa Engine
Platform(s) Microsoft Windows, Mac OS X
ReleaseWindows
  • NA: November 15, 2001 [1]
  • SWE: January 25, 2002
  • UK: April 5, 2002
Mac OS X
Genre(s) Grand strategy
Mode(s) Single player, multiplayer

Europa Universalis II is a grand strategy game developed by Paradox Development Studio and published by Strategy First, based on world history spanning a timeline between 1419 through 1820. It was released on December 11, 2001.

Contents

Gameplay

In the game, the player controls a single nation across five centuries, managing its economy, military, political alliances, scientific development, exploration and colonization, religious affairs, and internal stability. In addition, yearly random events, as well as hundreds of pre-scripted ones based on the historical record, make for a great deal of gameplay challenge and variety.

Europa Universalis II differs from many similar turn-based strategy games in that time flows continuously during gameplay, rather than taking place in discrete turns. The player is able to pause the action to ponder the situation and give orders, then speed up or slow down time to let events take their course.

The game ships with several historical scenarios, including games that take place during the Age of Exploration, the American Revolution, and the Napoleonic Wars. The Grand Campaign lets players choose one world power and guide it from the end of the Middle Ages and into the 19th century. There is also a Fantasy Scenario, starting in an unoccupied and unexplored earth with only 8 civilizations to choose. In this scenario, casual gameplay and strategy that should be applied are slightly different, more like a 4X game with a strong emphasis on colonization.

While the Grand Campaign is geared primarily towards the major European powers of the time, such as Austria, England, France, Poland, Portugal, Russia, Spain, Sweden, and Ottoman Empire, the game is unique in that players can choose to play as one of more than a hundred obscure, no longer existing nations, from the Indian subcontinent to the Balkans.

Development

The game, based on the Europa Engine, was developed by Paradox Interactive as a sequel to Europa Universalis , and was first released for the PC in 2001 by Strategy First, with a Macintosh port created by Virtual Programming and published by MacPlay. A Linux port was in development [3] but was not released.

Asia chapters

A version of the game, called Europa Universalis II: Asia Chapters, was released for Asian markets, adding new graphics and scenarios that center around Asian history instead. It featured an updated map with greater detail and added provinces in Japan, Korea, and China.

Reception

Europa Universalis II was nominated for Computer Gaming World 's 2002 "Strategy Game of the Year" award, which ultimately went to Freedom Force . [7] Europa Universalis II received "generally favourable" reviews according to review aggregator Metacritic. [8]

See also

Related Research Articles

<i>Europa Universalis</i> 2000 grand strategy video game

Europa Universalis is a grand strategy video game developed by Paradox Development Studio and published in 2000 by Strategy First.

<i>Hearts of Iron</i> 2002 video game

Hearts of Iron is a grand strategy video game developed by Paradox Development Studio and published by Strategy First. Based on the Europa Engine, it was originally released in 2002 for Microsoft Windows. A Mac OS X version was released by Virtual Programming the following year. In 2004, Atari, SA published Hearts of Iron: Platinum, an updated version that sought to improve several aspects of the game.

<i>Victoria: An Empire Under the Sun</i> 2003 video game

Victoria: An Empire Under the Sun is a grand strategy videogame by Paradox Entertainment, released in 2003. It covers primarily its namesake the Victorian period (1837–1901) and beyond, specifically 1836–1920 for the main game, and extends until 1936 if the expansion is installed. The game runs on a modified version of the Europa Engine, and the lead game programmer was Johan Andersson. It was later ported to Macintosh by Virtual Programming.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">4X</span> Genre of strategy-based video and board games

4X is a subgenre of strategy-based computer and board games, and includes both turn-based and real-time strategy titles. The gameplay generally involves building an empire. Emphasis is placed upon economic and technological development, as well as a range of military and non-military routes to supremacy.

<i>Hearts of Iron II</i> 2005 video game

Hearts of Iron II is a grand strategy computer war game for Microsoft Windows based upon its predecessor, Hearts of Iron, which was developed by Paradox Development Studio and published by Paradox Interactive.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Paradox Interactive</span> Swedish video game publisher

Paradox Interactive AB is a video game publisher based in Stockholm, Sweden. The company started out as the video game division of Target Games and then Paradox Entertainment before being spun out into an independent company in 2004. Through a combination of expanding internal studios, founding new studios and purchasing independent developers, the company has grown to comprise nine first-party development studios, including their flagship Paradox Development Studio, and acts as publisher for games from other developers.

<i>Crusader Kings</i> (video game) 2004 video game

Crusader Kings is a grand strategy game developed by Paradox Development Studio and published by Paradox Interactive in April 2004. An expansion called Deus Vult was released in October 2007. A sequel using the newer Clausewitz Engine, Crusader Kings II, was released in February 2012, and another sequel, Crusader Kings III, was released on September 1, 2020.

<i>Majesty: The Fantasy Kingdom Sim</i> 2000 video game

Majesty: The Fantasy Kingdom Sim is a real-time strategy video game developed by Cyberlore Studios, and published by Hasbro Interactive under the MicroProse brand name for Windows in March 2000. The game is not a simulator; that part of the title is a witticism, a reference to the game's adherence to fantasy and fantasy role-playing game cliches. In Majesty, players assume the role of king in a fantasy realm called Ardania which features city sewers infested with giant rats, landscapes dotted with ancient evil castles, and soldiers helpless against anything bigger than a goblin. As Sovereign, the player must rely on hiring bands of wandering heroes in order to get anything done. In a major divergence from most real-time strategy games, the player does not have direct control over their units.

<i>Europa Universalis III</i> 2007 grand strategy video game

Europa Universalis III is a grand strategy video game developed by Paradox Development Studio and published by Paradox Interactive. The game was released for Microsoft Windows in January 2007, and was later ported to OS X by Virtual Programming in November 2007.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Grand strategy wargame</span> Video and board game genre

A grand strategy wargame or simply grand strategy game (GSG) is a wargame that places focus on grand strategy: military strategy at the level of movement and use of a nation state or empire's resources. The genre has considerable overlap with 4X games, but differs in being "asymmetrical", meaning that players are more bound to a specific setup and not among equally free factions in exploring and progressing the game and an open world.

<i>Europa Universalis: Crown of the North</i> 2000 video game

Europa Universalis: Crown of the North is a real-time grand strategy video game developed by Paradox Interactive and published by Levande Böcker. It is the sequel to Svea Rike and Svea Rike II, and had its own sequel, Two Thrones. The Svea Rike series is the predecessor to Europa Universalis.

<i>Victoria II</i> 2010 grand strategy video game

Victoria II is a grand strategy game developed by the Swedish game company Paradox Development Studio and published by Paradox Interactive. It was announced on August 19, 2009, and released on August 13, 2010. It is a sequel to Victoria: An Empire Under the Sun.

<i>Arsenal of Democracy</i> (video game) 2010 video game

Arsenal of Democracy is a grand strategy wargame that is based on Hearts of Iron II - Armageddon and its Europa Engine. It is developed by BL-Logic, a development studio made up by fans of the Hearts of Iron series and active members of the modding community. Arsenal of Democracy was announced on September 8, 2009 and released on February 23, 2010.

<i>For the Glory</i> 2009 video game

For the Glory is a grand strategy wargame that is based on Europa Universalis II and Paradox's Europa Engine. It was developed by Crystal Empire Games, a studio composed of members of the Europa Universalis II modification "Alternative Grand Campaign / Event Exchange Project" (AGCEEP) team, and published by Paradox Interactive. It was announced on September 4, 2009 and was released November 10/11, 2009. The game is available for Windows.

<i>Darkest Hour: A Hearts of Iron Game</i> 2011 video game

Darkest Hour: A Hearts of Iron Game is a grand strategy wargame that is based on Paradox Interactive's Europa Engine.

<i>Crusader Kings II</i> 2012 video game

Crusader Kings II is a grand strategy game developed by Paradox Development Studio and published by Paradox Interactive. Set in the Middle Ages, the game was released on February 14, 2012, as a sequel to 2004's Crusader Kings. On October 18, 2019, the video game became free to play. A sequel, Crusader Kings III, was released on September 1, 2020. Crusader Kings II stood out from earlier Paradox games in that it attracted a more widespread audience, contributing to the growth of the company.

<i>Sengoku</i> (2011 video game) 2011 video game

Sengoku: Way of the Warrior is a grand strategy computer game developed by Paradox Development Studio and published by Paradox Interactive.

<i>Europa Universalis IV</i> 2013 video game

Europa Universalis IV is a 2013 grand strategy video game in the Europa Universalis series, developed by Paradox Development Studio and published by Paradox Interactive as a sequel to Europa Universalis III (2007). The game was released on 13 August 2013. It is a strategy game where players can control a nation from the Late Middle Ages following the battle of Varna (1444), the final crusade, to the Napoleonic era with the timeline finishing on 2 January 1821, because of the death of Napoleon on 5 May 1821. The player navigates their nation with conducting trade, administration, diplomacy, colonization, and warfare.

<i>Stellaris</i> (video game) 2016 video game

Stellaris is a 4X grand strategy video game developed by Paradox Development Studio and published by Paradox Interactive. In Stellaris, players take control of an interstellar civilization on the galactic stage and are tasked with exploring, colonizing, and managing their region of the galaxy, encountering other civilizations that they can then engage in diplomacy, trade, or warfare with. A large part of the game involves dealing with both scripted and emergent events, through which new empires alter the balance of power, powerful crises threaten the galaxy, or event chains tell the story of forgotten empires. It was released worldwide for Windows, macOS, and Linux on May 9, 2016 and for PlayStation 4 and Xbox One as Stellaris: Console Edition on February 26, 2019.

<i>Imperator: Rome</i> 2019 video game

Imperator: Rome is a 2019 grand strategy wargame developed by Paradox Development Studio and published by Paradox Interactive. It is a spiritual successor to Europa Universalis: Rome (2008). It received generally positive reviews from critics, however development and support for the game was suspended by May 2021.

References

  1. I. G. N. Staff (2001-11-16). "Europa Universalis II Ships". IGN. Retrieved 2023-03-26.
  2. "MacPlay". 2005-02-13. Archived from the original on 2005-02-13. Retrieved 2023-03-26.
  3. "An Interview With A Linux Game Porter". Phoronix.
  4. Fletcher, John (April 2002). "Reviews; Europa Universalis II". Computer Gaming World . No. 213. p. 100.
  5. O'Hagan, Steve (March 13, 2002). "Europa Universalis 2". PC Zone . Archived from the original on March 2, 2009. Retrieved August 12, 2019.
  6. Chick, Tom (March 1, 2002). "Back to the Past". Computer Games Magazine . Archived from the original on August 3, 2004. Retrieved August 12, 2019.
  7. Staff (April 2003). "Computer Gaming World's 2002 Games of the Year". Computer Gaming World . No. 225. pp. 83–86, 88, 89, 92–97.
  8. "Europa Universalis II". Metacritic. Retrieved 2018-04-17.