Europa Universalis III

Europa Universalis III is a historical strategy game made and released by Paradox Interactive in 2007. The game got three expansion packs: Napoleon's Ambition, In Nomine and Heir to the Throne. I myself own In Nomine.

Europa Universalis III is a very extensive game, just like Hearts of Iron III. You can choose from more than 250 nations that exist during the period of 1399-1820 (1453-1789 in the original game), including native American tribes, and try to establish a strong nation by conquering other nations by force or in a more diplomatic way by turning them into vassals.

A very important aspect of the game is the market. You have to get a strong position in the centres of trade to get additional income. With more income you can create a larger army. You can also invest money in certain fields of expertise, in which you want your country to develop in. These sectors are: Government, trade, naval, land and stability. When you invest in government you'll unlock more government types such as a merchant republic, which improves trading efficiency. When you invest in naval, you'll unlock better ships and your colony range will improve so you can colonize further away from your closest port. When you invest in land, your army will fight better and you will be able to create more advanced units. When turbulent times are there (such as war) it is needed to invest in stability, because revolts can occur. There are different types of revolts. For example, when you conquer territory you can expect patriotic revolts in that province. You can also put the money in your treasure chest and invest nothing, which is best to do in the beginning since you have low income.

Another thing that is extremely important is to have diplomatic relations with other countries, such as a military alliance, trade agreement (which is an agreement that makes sure that the two nations don't compete with each other) or royal marriage (government type has to be a monarchy), which greatly improves relations. When you have a royal marriage with another nation you can also claim there throne, which gives you a casus belly against them. When you have a casus belly against an other nation you won't lose as much stability as you would without a casus belly, and thus it's extremely useful.

In the beginning of the game most territory is still Terra Incognita, which means that that area isn't discovered yet. If you want to explore these area's you'll need explorers (naval) and conquistadores (land). When a discovered province lies in your colonization range, you can send a colonist to colonize the province. This will give you a lot of prestige, which gives you some additional bonuses, such as more tax income and more yearly merchants. You'll also get prestige by winning wars and by completing missions, such as: Free the Dutch people in Zeeland or build a large army.

You can also choose one of the national ideas (only when you have a free slot, more will come available over time) which give you an additional bonus, such as a higher moral for your armies, so that they can fight longer. Another thing you have to do is to make national and regional decisions. National decisions mostly are laws, while regional decisions are building an embassy in a certain province to improve relations with another nation.

There is also a list of structures that you can build to improve the economy of a province, such as a fort or weapons manufacturer. Most of these structures are very expensive and you'll also need more advanced technology for better buildings.

There isn't really much to say about the graphics, since you're looking at a world map. When comparing it to the first two games in the series, the graphics have been improved and it is the first Europa Universalis game that is in 3D.

I really liked playing this game. I'm still playing it today, experimenting with different nations. It's a great game, but you really have to be into the genre.