Crusader Kings 2 does what most strategy games try to do but fail. This game is packed with enough unscripted, historically correct content to make my head explode. Every strategy fan and medieval enthusiast shall unite to participate in this masterpiece.
First of all, the presentation of this game is amazing. It’s the standard grand strategy map that consists of Europe, parts of Africa, and most of Asia, but the game gives you a way to see the map in a variety of filters. These filters let you see cultures, relations, religions, technologies, and many more without pausing the game.
The map is split up into counties instead of cities. These counties can contain castles, towns, and churches. All of these are upgradeable in a variety if different ways. For example, you can upgrade your castles strength with various walls and defenses, or you can upgrade your town to gather some more taxes. These upgrades can greatly benefit you in sieges or buying mercenaries for military conquests. I love the idea of three different settlements. It makes the strategy much more in-depth. It gets tough sometimes to decide whether to upgrade the castle or the church, but you will always benefit from your decision.
Some of these county upgrades require or contribute to technology. Technology gives you the ability to build things or spread ideas to your counties. For example, if you plan to build better defenses, you will need technology. One technology, tolerance, is important for keeping down riots and spreading your faith. You can gain technology points by using one of the members of your counsel. The technology system encourages to use your resources to your advantage to become better than your enemy. It accurately depicts how nations become more powerful.
Your council is needed for having a great play through. They can claim land, spread religion, improve relations, and anything else that is useful. The council is unique and is a very important part of the game. The council makes you feel like you aren’t alone in ruling your nation. This is great for beginners.
Unlike other medieval strategy games, Crusader Kings 2 does not rely solely on religion but uses religion and culture equally. For example, you will lose respect of other nations if you have a different religion, culture, or both. Culture is much more strict due to the large variety, unlike religion which is much more similar between nations. You also have a chance to change your nation’s religion or culture by sending your heir to be educated by someone of a different culture or religion. Crusader Kings 2 makes you feel like you have control over your nation’s culture. It’s a natural form of customization that is one of the game’s strong points.
Military conquests aren’t near as important as other strategy games. There really just an easier way to gain more land or to fight holy wars. In order to declare war, you must have a valid reason (Casus Belli). These reasons include having claims on enemy land, an excommunicated enemy king, or a holy war. These reasons prevent your kingdom from expanding too fast because rapid expansion causes riots. The Casus Belli system made me feel restricted. I couldn’t declare war on someone just for fun. This may make sense for strategy means, but it’s a flaw in my opinion.
Your vassals include dukes or counts or even kings. They are each given an area of land to control. For example, Duchy of Normandy, County of Essex, or Empire of Hispania. You can give all of your land to your vassals and sit back and watch as your kingdom grows. This is also a great feature for noobs.
Strategy elements aren’t the only thing the game has to offer. You can choose important decisions that shape your character that can affect your relations with others, your success in battle or economic prosperity. You can even shape the way your children act so that you are already comfortable with them once they take the throne. It is a perfect mix of RPG and strategy that is unique from any game I’ve played.
These RPG elements are told through story segments. The stories may be comical or serious. For example, you may be given the choice to blackmail a gay prince. I spent quite a bit of time laughing at the ridiculous situations my character was stuck in.
My biggest complaint about Crusader Kings 2 is the buttload of DLC’s required to have a good time. Currently, there are 51 DLC’s for this game. Want to play as Muslim nations? $10, please. Want to customize your character’s looks? $5. Paradox needs to stop doing this to their games.
Crusaders Kings 2 provides you with a solid, accurate, and entertaining experience. The amount of detail that was added to this game is amazing. The content that wasn’t reserved for DLC is incredible. You can even export your save file to Europa Universalis IV! Crusader Kings 2 gets an 8/10; a game flawed only by it’s absurd use of expansion packs. This game truly sets the bar for the strategy genre.
Graphics: 8/10
Gameplay: 8/10
Replayability: 9/10
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