Not easy to win the game without being pretty aggressive IMO. One area that is lacking...and is a bit of a let down to me...is the lack of MTW's great achievement....option.

Now all you have is war pretty much. This is a real shame and limits things IMHO.

The AI is very mixed in this area also..diplomacy sometimes works ok, but other times is very lacking and slightly pathetic. I mean why declare war on a major power and then send in some feeble army? Worse still knowing that your small state would get squashed pretty quick. That isnt smart IMHO.