''Europa Universalis'' is a

grand strategy Grand strategy or high strategy is a state's strategy of how means can be used to advance and achieve national interests. Issues of grand strategy typically include the choice of primary versus secondary theaters in war, distribution of resource ...

video game Video games, also known as computer games, are electronic games that involves interaction with a user interface or input device such as a joystick, controller, keyboard, or motion sensing device to generate visual feedback. This fee ...

developed by

Paradox Development Studio Paradox Development Studio (PDS) is a Swedish video game developer founded in 1995. It is closely associated with its parent company and video game publisher, Paradox Interactive. It is best known for its grand strategy wargame series ''Europa U ...

and published in 2000 by

Strategy First Strategy First Inc. is a Canadian video game publisher based in Montreal. Founded in 1988 by Don McFatridge, Steve Wall and Dave Hill, the company filed for bankruptcy in 2004 and was subsequently acquired by Silverstar Holdings in 2005. Initia ...

Development

The game was originally based on a French

board game Board games are tabletop games that typically use . These pieces are moved or placed on a pre-marked board (playing surface) and often include elements of table, card, role-playing, and miniatures games as well. Many board games feature a comp ...

of the same name by

Philippe Thibaut Philippe Thibaut is a French designer and producer of several popular grand strategy video games, most notably Europa Universalis, the AGEod collection including Birth of America, AGEOD's American Civil War, Pax Romana, Great Invasions, and ...

that was released in 1993. To facilitate the new game, a new proprietary software engine, known as the Europa Engine, was developed. The game went gold on January 23, 2001.

Gameplay

''Europa Universalis'' lets the player take control of one of seven

Europe Europe is a large peninsula conventionally considered a continent in its own right because of its great physical size and the weight of its history and traditions. Europe is also considered a Continent#Subcontinents, subcontinent of Eurasia ...

an nations (others are available in different scenarios) from 1492 to 1801, expanding its power through

military A military, also known collectively as armed forces, is a heavily armed, highly organized force primarily intended for warfare. It is typically authorized and maintained by a sovereign state, with its members identifiable by their distinct ...

might,

diplomacy Diplomacy comprises spoken or written communication by representatives of states (such as leaders and diplomats) intended to influence events in the international system.Ronald Peter Barston, ''Modern diplomacy'', Pearson Education, 2006, p. 1 ...

, and

colonial Colonial or The Colonial may refer to: * Colonial, of, relating to, or characteristic of a colony or colony (biology) Architecture * American colonial architecture * French Colonial * Spanish Colonial architecture Automobiles * Colonial (1920 au ...

wealth. The game takes place on a map divided into 3,633 provinces, and proceeds in a pausable real time format. The player starts the game on a two-dimensional map, which is divided into provinces and sea zones. Part of the presented world is invisible for the player (terra incognita) – it is however possible to explore individual provinces. The player directs one of the eight European powers available in the scenario and represents the individual historical rulers. They change over time according to historical realities and have different skills that translate into the development of the country. For example, John III Sobieski has high military skills in the game and Suleiman the Magnificent is a character with high administrative skills. The game features a number of historical events, such as the Reformation, the Treaty of Tordesillas and the uprising in the Netherlands, which have a significant impact on the game. The player can take care of technological development in his own country by allocating part of the budget to research. Technological progress is linear and consists in reaching higher and higher levels of technology in four areas: army, navy, infrastructure and trade. With progressive development, the player gains new capabilities, such as improved units. It is also possible to increase spending to maintain stability in the state or to abandon all subsidies to increase the state treasury at the expense of rising inflation. Rebellions of the population can be a problem for internal development. Rebellions occur when there are differences between the state religion and the religion followed in a province (there are several different faiths and religions in the game), taxation of the population through the establishment of a tax collector's office, or as a result of game-activated events. Rebels can even secede from the state and declare independence. Therefore, the stability system plays an important role in the game, which determines the risk of rebellion in the provinces, as well as the speed of city development and the amount of taxes collected. A special element of the game is the colonisation of uninhabited territories. The player, using conquistadors (in the case of land forces) and explorers (for sea forces) has the possibility to discover new provinces and thanks to the settlers can settle the chosen territory.

Reception

John Lee reviewed the PC version of the game for '' Next Generation'', rating it three stars out of five, and stated that "a full-bodied simulation of European turmoil and global expansion between the 15th and 18th centuries, ''Europa Universalis'' isn't all that original, but if historic realism is your passion, you'll like what you see". The game became a surprise hit for its great deal of depth and strategy. Paradox used this success to springboard other titles such as ''

Victoria Victoria most commonly refers to: * Victoria (Australia), a state of the Commonwealth of Australia * Victoria, British Columbia, provincial capital of British Columbia, Canada * Victoria (mythology), Roman goddess of Victory * Victoria, Seychelle ...

'', '' Crusader Kings'', and '' Hearts of Iron''. The editors of ''

Computer Games Magazine ''Computer Games Magazine'' was a monthly computer and console gaming print magazine, founded in October 1988 as the United Kingdom publication ''Games International''. During its history, it was known variously as ''Strategy Plus'' (October 1 ...

'' nominated ''Europa Universalis'' as the best strategy game of 2001, but ultimately gave the award to ''

Civilization III ''Sid Meier's Civilization III'' is the third installment of the ''Sid Meier's Civilization'' turn-based strategy video game series. It was released in 2001, and followed by ''Civilization IV''. Unlike the original game, ''Civilization III'' was n ...

''. ''Europa Universalis'' received "generally favourable" reviews according to review aggregator Metacritic.

Legacy

''Europa Universalis'' was the first in the series, followed by '' Europa Universalis II'', ''

Europa Universalis III ''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 Progra ...

'', '' Europa Universalis: Rome'' and ''

Europa Universalis IV ''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 rele ...

''.

References

External links