Crusader Kings and Victoria

[BelgradeWar]

If you want depth and complexity dont get Crusader Kings, but do get Victoria, a good and complex game, a lot more so than EU II. I dont think you will be disappointed if you liked EUII. I dont feel like typing up a complete review, when you can just search for those. Also check out this forum with a search, Vicky has been discussed extensively earlier.

Thanks for the info. It does seem Victoria is more complex, but I also find the whole dynasty affairs thing of the CK appealing If someone remebers it, there was this old KOEI game that had it similar...Temujin, Genghis-Khan...something like that...

I like making dynasties, and I do take the character aspect of R:TW quite seriosly.

[Androo]

I also find the whole dynasty affairs thing of the CK appealing

I can't speak about Vicky, CK being my only Paradox game and a recent acquisition at that. However I am really enjoying the dynasty / personality aspects of CK. It is almost a kind of rpg with a cast of hundreds (thousands?) and I am finding it is bringing a very welcome dimension to the gameplay for me. The character cameo portraits are at once quite humourous and evocative and the system of genetic inheiritance I find simply too cool for words.

I am simultaneously trying to write an After Action Report and I am struggling a bit with the format for it so I am still only in the second year of play. Something which happened in the first year I found pretty neat, though. I started with a set of three courtiers, all female, each with reasonable abilities in at least one area. However, one stood out, having both positive personality traits and being a bit of babe (in CK terms, anyway). I resolved to keep an eye on her for possible marriage considerations, damn the lack of dynasty and political advantages. And then the offers of marriage for her from other Counts and Dukes started to pour in, at least six or seven in the first year! My other courtiers, nasty in one way or the other and, by demeanour, total sourpusses, received none. I assume that the AI doesn't calculate for physical attractiveness and it was just this one character's pleasant personality which prompted all the interest in her, but it was so cool that many AI charcters had the same reaction to this character as I had had ... (Of course I refused their offers and married her myself. No kids yet, though...)