Crusader kings 2/ Europa Universalis 4

[Gammlernoob]

 So a few weeks ago Europa Universalis 4 from Paradox Interactive was released and after i read a few articles about it i encountered Crusader Kings 2 , which is a game that they released before Crusader Kings 2. I now want to now , which of both you think is better, because I probably want to buy one of them.

 

I played a lot of Total War: Rome 2 since it came out , but for me it was way to much rushing in countrys and after some time i didnt even played the battles between two armys ( they are pretty animated and everything but most times I am way to strong and running from A to B takes more time than destroying his whole army).It was too simple and there was no enemy you couldnt defeat. I LOVE Random events and a harder system to conquer or even only defend my country.

 

Crusader Kings 2 sounds very cool with his aspect of Family-planning , killing your own uncle to get more power and everything , but its still 40 Bucks on steam , which is kind of alot for a game thats a year old. 

Europa Universalis on the other side hasnt got the dynasty aspect ( which i think is a great idea) but you play 800 years instead of 400 and you have the whole worl in contrast to Europe.

 

So what do you think ? At the moment I prefer Crusader Kings 2 but its 40 Bucks ...

[harakka]

Check your PMs.

[nasKo]

The thing I like about CK2 is the drama and intrigues. The whole family-management behind it.

EUIV is a bit too hardcore for me. Took me quite some time to really "get" CK2.

Paradox sales go on sale a lot, though (no matter if it's Steam, GreenManGaming or Paradox' own store). They even were in a humble bundle (CK2) so it should be fairly easy to trade something of lower value (than 40 bucks) for it.

[Suomiboi]

I've been thinking of buying eu4 since I heard it's coming so I'd personally go with that, but then again I haven't played ck2 myself so can't really say anything than what I've heard. And I've heard only good things.

Has anyone here actually played eu4? I'd like to know how it compares to the predecessor. As in is it an improvement or just a bit different with modern graphics.

Thanks.

[kubsky]

It's like comparing Call of duty to battlefield. What do you mean witch one is better? CK2 is not even close game to EU series.

[Gammlernoob]

It's like comparing Call of duty to battlefield. What do you mean witch one is better? CK2 is not even close game to EU series.

what are the differences ? ( besides the dynasty aspect which is a huge point i suppose )

[Xydonus]

what are the differences ? ( besides the dynasty aspect which is a huge point i suppose )

 

Simply put: CK2 is a family dynastic political strategy game that covers Europe and parts of the east. There is practically no trade/economy aspect to it other than taxes and that. You do have the military side of it though which is somewhat similar to EU IV.

 

EU IV is a grander scale strategy with focus on trade, conquest, deeper diplomatic treaty agreements and covers the entire world. There is also a colonization aspect to it. In EU IV, you play the country, not an individual with a family. Your ruler still matters as he has different stats and that, but they are nowhere as deep as CK2. They are similar graphically and how they play out on the campaign map, but the similarities end there.

 

I've got both of them and have played them extensively. I personally prefer CK2 as I find it a far more complex game with a lot more depth to it than EU IV. It has more character due to the political intrigue and you grow attached to your virtual characters that you essentially raise throughout the game.

 

Playing EU IV has none of this feeling. You don't really feel attached to your country and the depth just isn't there. Don't get me wrong; its a great game but I find CK2 is just vastly superior despite their differences. I also find CK2 has more layers of strategy to it rather than just marching your armies across Europe to conquer. You'll find yourself being a victim of a scheme or perpetrating some schemes yourself.

 

To balance this very one-sided CK2 favoritism out that I'm showing, EU IV has its own charms. EU has a nice trading mechanic that allows you to manipulate it directly giving you an added layer of strategy to deal with your foes. It can be quite difficult to understand at first however. It also has a colonization mechanic that allows you to search for new lands (America) and colonize them for your country. EU also has a far deeper diplomatic treaty system. Discussing the terms of surrender to an enemy is fantastically detailed giving you lots of options and feels very satisfying.

 

Anyhow, its up to you what you want. If you want a deeper attachment to your country and to deal with family/politics; CK2 would be it.

 

If you want a far simpler approach of controlling a country but playing on a bigger stage with economics thrown in; EU IV is it.

[Gammlernoob]

Thanks alot Xydonus (and nasKo and Suomiboi and kubsky) ! harakka send me a copy of CK2 for free ( once again Thank you so so so so much ! *.* ), because he had one left over and CK2 feels exactly how i thought it would feel like Its great ... I probably need another few days (weeks , months ) to understand the whole system but the dynasty aspect is sooooo much fun

[Gammlernoob]

I love the game so far i have played , but its still not as hard as i thought O.o as Dublin i have about 3/4 of irland in only 12 years , ok my first character got killed by the bishop of dublin with the help of the wife of his son , but as this mentioned son my only problem is his wife ( which flew to France ), the other countrys doesnt care if i conquer more and more of irland

[nasKo]

I love the game so far i have played , but its still not as hard as i thought O.o as Dublin i have about 3/4 of irland in only 12 years , ok my first character got killed by the bishop of dublin with the help of the wife of his son , but as this mentioned son my only problem is his wife ( which flew to France ), the other countrys doesnt care if i conquer more and more of irland

Starting out with Dublin is the easiest way to start, though

[Xydonus]

 

I love the game so far i have played , but its still not as hard as i thought O.o as Dublin i have about 3/4 of irland in only 12 years , ok my first character got killed by the bishop of dublin with the help of the wife of his son , but as this mentioned son my only problem is his wife ( which flew to France ), the other countrys doesnt care if i conquer more and more of irland

Starting out with Dublin is the easiest way to start, though

 

 

Yep; you don't have to worry about global politics as much and nobody will give a damn what you do in Ireland. Mostly.

 

I tend to favor playing as Byzantium and attempt to reforge the Roman Empire which you can only do if you have the Legacy of Rome expansion. Fun times

 

I would recommend trying out the CK2+ mod which you'll find in the mod forum under the new thread, CK2 continuation or something like that. It keeps the flavor of CK2 but adds a ton of stuff to the game. Improvements that you can't say no to. Just a word of warning though: CK2 patches tend to break save games and mods which is a real annoyance.