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Europa Universalis IV
Wars in this grand strategy game are built to have the impact – and the cost – that the conflicts that shaped the European Renaissance did in real life. Paradox is making some changes to its richly detailed political/mercantile/imperial sandbox sim to bring it closer to its lofty goal of simulating the rise of nations across Europe.
Unlike a game like Civilization where you build units and send them on their merry way, fighting a war in Europa Universalis requires you to deplete your nation’s manpower to fill your army’s ranks. This slowly replenishing resource defines much of the world’s martial landscape. An imperial power like France can afford to throw men at a war of conquest that could pay off in the long run, while a nation like Denmark or Venice that draws its strength from trade and money will quickly run out of young men to fuel their war machines.
Additionally, wars are much more expensive in EU IV than in its predecessors. As Paradox points out in the developer diary above, monarchs of the time invented whole new systems of taxation to fund their wars with. However, the studio doesn’t want to make war impossible to wage – it’s still an integral part of the game. To that end, loans are much cheaper to take out. Just like in real life, a rich nation’s war chest will only pay for so much. Any protracted conflict will require deficit spending that could bankrupt your nation if you’re not careful, or if things go poorly on the battlefield and you’re forced to accept peace terms that hurt your economy even more.
Europa Universalis IV comes out worldwide on August 13 for PC, Mac, and Linux. Check out our review of Paradox’s last game, Crusader Kings II, for more reasons you should be interested in this ambitious grand strategy game.
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