Europa Universalis III PC

The third installment in the excellent strategy game series by Paradox Interactive that allows us to go back to the 15th century and lead a nation of our choosing through history. Similarly to its predecessors, the developers give every aspect of state functioning at our disposal, including the diplomacy, trade, economy, religion, and military. Continuing on the path set by Europa Universalis and Europa Universalis II, the creators didn’t change the proportions or importance of the abovementioned elements. All dependencies are just as they were in the previous two games in the series. The purpose of the third one is to simply enrich the playing experience.

Mechanics

The game starts in 1453, just after the Turkish conquest of Constantinople, and finishes around when the French and American revolutions break out. There are over 250 historical nations to choose from, and the terrain where the fun takes place consists of over 1700 provinces and sea zones located on all continents. The game has a historical background so at the very beginning, we find the world exactly as it actually was, including country borders, reigning rulers, system, and economic state, among other things. The further course of events depends entirely on the player and the AI-controlled rulers. Therefore, it is possible for the Portuguese to colonize Virginia or for Poland to become an empire that spans the entire Europe.

Naturally, even though we can completely change the course of history, the game tries to relatively faithfully show the cultural differences between nations (e.g. European and Chinese architecture or different types of units) as well as recreate the actual technical and scientific development (we won’t witness any inventions unknown to mankind.

Europa Universalis III for PC puts an emphasis on the user interface. It was completely modernized to make it more intuitive and friendlier to beginners. The series’ veterans can make use of a large amount of novelties such as the increased interaction between the pope and rulers, influential nobles (known from Crusader Kings), leadership options from Victoria, and the intelligence known from the Hearts of Iron series.

Last updated on 14 February 2024