Europa Universalis IV
I’m a divorced woman of color. Recently, my ex got our son Larry a video game called Europa Universalis for his 14th birthday. It seemed good for him, because it takes place in the distant past and he’s always been interested in history, so it seemed like a nice enough game, no graphic violence or anything, at least until I sat down and watched him play at it. I don’t know what sorts of racists made this game, but it’s basically a colonialism and genocide justification simulator. If you want to survive, you need to have access to money and soldiers, and the most (only) reliable way to ensure you have enough is to attack and conquer your weaker neighbors. If you don’t, you can be sure someone else will eventually come attack and conquer you.
– Real player with 4558.6 hrs in game
Read More: Best Sandbox Alternate History Games.
So EU4 was a good game. Then they released the 450+ ‘bug fixes’. The entire game outside Europe has now been put back behind a new paywall unless you have the paradise DLC as it is now impossible to develop your provinces to spawn institutions as army tradition gives you impossibly high dev costs. I played one game and when I needed to dev an institution from a 1/1/1 grasslands province and starting cost is 120. That is only with 33 army tradition giving a 150% penalty. This was a custom nation and I had -20% dev cost. Good job paradox forcing everyone to buy your shittiest dlc in order to use any of the other DLC’s you have paid for. The game is now broken outside of Europe without the paradise dlc. You make me sick Paradox!
– Real player with 1819.5 hrs in game
Children of the Nile: Alexandria
If it runs choppy, google the jade empire fix, and it will work a treat. This game is an absolute favorite of mine. I know it’s dated, but I don’t care. I love it, and I play it all the time. It’s seventeen years old, but the game play is superb, and the soundtrack is absolutely gorgeous. Stunning in fact. It’s educational, entertaining, immersive, and detailed enough without being overwhelming in its micromanagement. My single greatest complaint is that it really is prone to crashing, and it’s gut-wrenching when it happens.
– Real player with 2152.2 hrs in game
Though this game is a bit old, it is still a gem of a city builder! SOme of the visuals are stunning, the colors and the way the light changes the pyramids from pink to blue, however don’t zoom on any faces, cause everyone in Tilted Mills Egypt got hit with the ugly frying pan. But watching the sun break over your Palace while the glistening glass ribbon that is the nile rises up every flood season is a beautiful sigh
Gameplaywise this was the city builder that broke the mold and allowed free plaecment of buildings, by which I mean that there are no market walkers, no building ranges, the only limit to the layout of your city is the distance between things so feel free to build for beauty rather than utility and its is rather difficult to badly screw up
– Real player with 625.0 hrs in game
Europa Universalis III Complete
Whee. Europa 3, like its predecessors and its cousins Hearts of Iron and Victoria (Crusader Kings as well, but that isn’t as hard to learn), is an extremely complex game that is notoriously difficult to learn, not helped by crappy tutorials. I had an edge having been playing this series since its first installment, but it still took some time to get used to everything. So right from the start expect a significant time investment on learning how to play the game, and learning to do well at it. War, Diplomacy, Trade, Exploration, and more. It’s all here.
– Real player with 535.5 hrs in game
Read More: Best Sandbox Real-Time with Pause Games.
As far as I’m concerned, this is the best game ever - especially in this version with the first two additions to the game.
To a certain extent, it is comparable to the Total War games, if they only included the map mode, which would here be simplified to armies only being able to move from province to province and not within a province. However, you have a more complicated diplomacy and domestic policy to deal with.
Another thing that makes it different, and, for my taste, better than the Total War games, is the greater realism and historical accuracy - in this game you can’t just conquer everything, and it remains challenging for the more than four centuries that its timespan covers.
– Real player with 492.4 hrs in game
Imperialism: Fate of India
I do not think this is operable on the Mac, I do not recommend this game.
Failed to get into the game.
Os high sierra 10.13
Tried re-install, failed to enter program, and refuses to stop running.
O/S mojave
When reprogrammed in 64 bit then it may work on Mac.
– Real player with 251.7 hrs in game
First things first:
Remember: The game is a low-budget-game in early-access!
There is no reason to offend or slander the developer. Although the game isn’t finished yet, the developer already fixed some serious bugs and released some patches. Feel free to report bugs in the discussions, the developer actually reacts to it. Be constructive, be polite.
“Imperialism: Fate of India” is a strategy game set in India 1805.
Pick one of the 34 countries and try to conquer the whole subcontinent.
Build troops and equip your provinces with infrastructural buildings to get money.
– Real player with 26.5 hrs in game
March of the Eagles
I would give a positive review for just about any Paradox title (yes, including Victoria II and Hearts of Iron III, as buggy as they may be), but this is a title I simply cannot baby for its mistakes.
To get one thing off the board immediately, I would NEVER recommend without this mod: https://forum.paradoxplaza.com/forum/index.php?threads/669074
The reason for suggesting that mod is that it takes you, instead, back to pre-Napoleon era just prior to when he became First Consul, thus there is more time to play and less satellites of France (aka more countries to play as). Plus, the mod offers new technology and an uncommon chance to gain cores on conquered provinces–thus the freedom to build units/ships there.
– Real player with 75.3 hrs in game
For fans of the Total War series who like looking at the bigger picture. Or an excellent entry level Paradox Interactive grand strategy game.
When I bought the game I was a complete Paradox Interactive noob but I always liked the idea of their truly-grand strategy games. However, having played the demos for Europa Universalis III and Hearts of Iron II, I was convinced I would never be able to get my head around the complexities of Paradox’s games. This all changed with March of the Eagles. The era in which the game is set is right up my street and the scale of the campaign map was like nothing I’d experienced before (‘scale’ is a relative term here).
– Real player with 44.7 hrs in game
Rogue State Revolution
Let me start by saying that this has the potential of being a great game, but this game is far from being ready for release. Consider this game an early access.
Here’re some warnings if you wanna purchase:
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Update 1.2 introduces a lot of CTDs, every few turns.
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Game mechanics is only partly there. For example, there’s still no building to help boost a province’s security score. Dev is also still working on mid-to-late game progression issues such as running out of imported resources.
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Many QoL changes needed. Ffs let me look at my current exports every time my neighbor asks me to increase export!
– Real player with 29.9 hrs in game
Rogue State Revolution is a resource management game with a novel theme and deary indie production values, but falls into to the typical issue of initial hump of difficulty after which you are free to explore and express regardless of difficulty. (Mind I’m a bit sadistic with difficulty on these games.)
After setting up your economy and surviving the initial diplomatic/societal/environmental challenges the game throws at you, one slowly but surely is on top of the wave. This is where the game suffers from bad pacing and/or balancing. I found myself having way too many actions while not having enough favors and/or money. There are several stretches like this in the game and it seems the team tried to introduce mechanics into the game that one can sink extra resources into (civilians & space missions & casino), but all of these will be exhausted relatively quickly leaving you, again, just passing the turn waiting for something to happen.
– Real player with 29.4 hrs in game
Vitality
It is the dawn of civilization: the fight for survival is fierce, resources plentiful, and empires nothing more than begrimed huts on the brink of collapse. The world is your sandbox and you can choose to rise to the top or fall with the weak. Vitality is a game which places you into a fictional world at the dawn of human civilization, faced with the task of guiding your people through the tests of time. Grow your empire from dirt and sticks to prosperity and greatness. No longer are you limited to the axe over your shoulder or the ground beneath your feet; instead, utilize the world’s most powerful resource as you conquer unknown lands and push the boundaries of civilization: people!
A sandbox at its core, Vitality is a game designed to take you on a journey across human history as you progress in skills and knowledge. On top of its open world, interactive-sandbox foundation, the core mechanic of Vitality is the advancement of knowledge through the completion of NPC quests, world exploration, and the fulfillment of skill progression trees. In Vitality, you will explore four distinct ages through the guidance of a loosely structured narrative—each providing a unique thematic focus and gameplay objective. Grounded in its atmosphere, Vitality features many familiar mechanics popular to the sandbox genre—each tailored specifically to ensure a unique, fulfilling, and enjoyable experience.
Gameplay Synopsis & Core Mechanics:
Vitality Age Progression
Vitality features four distinct ages, or “eras”, designed to reflect the pivotal moments in our real historical growth as a civilization. Each age is built upon the progression of the previous, with each featuring distinct gameplay focuses and thematic objectives. Behaving similar to “chapters” of an overarching narrative, the different ages are designed to guide the player in discovering gameplay mechanics, encountering unique situations, and experiencing an evolving and dynamic world.
Stone Age – The Stone Age is the first age you will encounter as you begin your journey in Vitality. Rough, tough, and unforgiving, the Stone Age is designed to depict our earliest struggles as an emergent hunter-gatherer species. With some creative liberties taken—such as the inclusion of dinosaurs and other prehistoric beasts—the Stone Age is designed to test one’s abilities to survive. As such, the Stone Age introduces you to the beginnings of the NPC quest and posse systems, the Vitality health & survival meter, and many other supplementary survival-based mechanics such as an interactive temperature system, weather, and unique world events.
Tribal Age – As the Stone Age ends, you will transition into the Tribal Age. With advancing technology and the discovery of agriculture, the beginnings of civilizations start to emerge as permanent settlements rise up. The Tribal Age expands the extent of the NPC quest and posse systems, introducing several new mechanics that will allow you more in-depth management of various NPC relations. Moreover, with the emergence of tribes, conflict inevitably follows. Be prepared to manage the favor of your friends and foes!
Medieval Age – Given time, the small tribes of the past expand and conquer, spreading their influence throughout the region. With growing numbers, advancing technology, and a thirst for power, empires form and castles scatter the lands. The Medieval Age throws you into an era of royalty—one split by the dynamics of wealth and poverty. Introducing several new building and crafting opportunities, the expansion of settlement politics, and several new item processing modes allowing capabilities such as in-depth cooking and metallurgy, the Medieval Age truly is a time of knights and squires!
Industrial Age – Medieval Age technology cannot support the growth of civilization indefinitely, however. As such, it was necessary to invent new ways to create and automate. The Industrial Age puts you in a time of rapid technological advancement—thematically designed with a steampunk-esque style in mind. Introducing you to the two new Electricity and Mechanisms mechanics, you will be able to create complex machinery and item processing mechanisms. How far can you take these new modes of automation?
Advanced NPC Mechanics
Quests – NPC quests are a pillar of Vitality’s core gameplay. Designed to loosely guide you through a structured narrative, as well as a way to obtain new goods, increase NPC favor, and discover new gameplay mechanics, NPC quests were created to be both expansive and interesting.
Favor – Your relation with NPCs is not guaranteed. Instead, their interactions with you are based on a “favor” value. You can increase NPC favor by completing their quests, supporting the village, or saving their lives. Whilst low favor NPCs will attack you and your tribe if provoked, high favor NPCs offer many perks!
Posse System – Outside of quests, NPCs can be useful assets to aid you in your ambitions and adventures—if you can earn it, that is. With high enough favor, you can recruit NPCs to join your party. Whilst in your party, NPCs will follow you around the world, each providing special abilities, benefits, and behaviors based on their specializations. For instance, recruiting hunter NPC’s will aid you in exploring untamed wilds, miner NPCs will mine ores with you as you explore complex cave systems, and healers can attempt to revive you if you meet an unfortunate fate. The NPC Posse system is powered by a robust, advanced NPC AI pathfinding architecture we created to ensure that NPCs can always keep up!
Building, Crafting, & Knowledge
Building & Crafting – Vitality features standard building & crafting mechanics typical of the genre. Blocks, items, furniture, and utility objects can be collected and crafted as you explore and advance in the game. To expand on building capabilities, Vitality features a “micro block” Block placement system, allowing you to turn any place-able block or material into different sub-shapes, such as stairs, slabs, slopes, and corners.
Recipe Books – Crafting recipes (in the main Story Mode) are segregated through a collection of “recipe books” that you will acquire as you play the game. Obtained through exploration, quest rewards, and skill tree fulfillment, recipe books create an intuitive way to expand your crafting knowledge and capabilities. Along with providing the ability to craft new sets of items, recipe books also provide comprehensive information about each recipe it contains, allowing quick reference to general item information, uses, and how they can be obtained.
Story & Collection Books – Alongside recipe books, Vitality will have a host of story and collectible books that you can discover throughout your playthroughs. These books will contain funny short stories, lore, and general anecdotes to entertain you in your journeys!
Multiplayer
Vitality also features an online multiplayer co-op mode, fully compatible with the main “story” as described above. Vitality’s multiplayer mode is optimized to be be played between groups of friends sized 2-8.
Release Information
Vitality is currently on track for a Q4/Winter 2020 full release. We will post more information about the specific date as we move closer towards completion. Vitality will not be released as an Early Access title.
#### Community & Contact
If you want to follow the development of the game more closely, or chat with us about the project, join our Discord Server !
Age of History II
Alright let me get this straight just because i have 700+ hours on this game doesnt mean that its the best. Obviously this game has some features and inequalities that i would like to tell people about. Now i wouldn’t consider myself a professional jusut yet but it has some bugs that i think are either bugs or baad game design. I like to structure all of my reviews based off of Price to gameplay so here are the 10 things that i will review to give the game a simple 1/10 score.
Well for starters this game is very simplistic which i like in a game + 1
– Real player with 1248.0 hrs in game
at least let the community fix your game pls. or do something with it again? its fun but dont buy until something happens with this.
– Real player with 726.8 hrs in game
Ancient Cities
So, I think I have enough time to comment on this now. As a disclaimer, I never backed the game but saw it a year ago, read all the stories about the time it’s taking, that the game was empty, the devs not being capable of this challenge and even that it was a scam. I put it off for these reasons, wanting to be sure I wasn’t wasting what is a lot of money for EA, but I do not think this is a scam any more, no. I think the devs have wasted time building a custom game engine and may have overfaced themselves, yes, but the level of detail and the continued work on the game to me shows this is a passion project that they will continue, if slowly.
– Real player with 171.0 hrs in game
The game looks amazing, much better than Dawn of Man (even with my Realistic Stone Age mod ). I will update with a proper review after I will play some more, but so far I can say this (compared to DOM):
- You can choose to start playing from 10,000 BC up to 3500 BC, and the end of the last glacial age is depicted on the overview map, as it shows how snow evolves from one date to another, even from summer to winter (I do not know if anything else changes). In DOM you can only play in 10,000 BC.
– Real player with 46.7 hrs in game
Children of the Nile: Enhanced Edition
Children of the Nile is the more modern version of the old citybuilders like Pharaoh And Zeus, allowing you to build a city in ancient Egypt. Some of the more modern things are, aside from the obvious graphics being different, that you no longer need to worry about intersections sending your supply and maintenance people entirely the wrong direction. You can now actually focus on building a city, rather than having to puzzle out the most efficient way to place buildings without them collapsing, catching fire, and starving because the food vendor doesn’t show up there.
– Real player with 115.4 hrs in game
So it crashes at regular intervals. It lags occasionally when a city gets really big, aside from lagging at every autosave. The AI can be infuriating at times: If you like micromanaging, be prepared to sit back and pull your hair at your laborers who will go across the Nile and over 2 mountains to haul limestone, while an overseer stands by himself overseeing no one in a site right next to their houses. Transporting heavy loads, like statues and obelisks across the Nile is also a well known problem, annoyingly time consuming at best, unsolvable at worse (unless you’re willing to delve into the editor). It shows its age in a lot of ways, the graphics included, though they still hold their own fine enough.
– Real player with 70.9 hrs in game