Which just so happens to b the same blending of the big and small picture that that makes GoT that much more appealing to a wider audience than your standard fantasy tale. While there are larger things going on like Kingdoms falling and wars being fought, CKII places just as much importance on the more personal side of feudal rule: marriage, politics, alliances and back-stabbing. I mentioned in my review of Crusader Kings II earlier in the year that the systems put in place by developers Paradox seemed ideally suited to George R R Martin's fantasy universe.
And it is already pretty much the perfect Game of Thrones video game. Over the weekend, the first playable release of Crusader Kings II: A Game of Thrones was made available for public download. There is an Awesome Game of Thrones Video Game. Because they're not, which is a shame, because that's going to put off a lot of people who, with the right hand-holding, could really get into this game. Huh? Paradox also needs help in the field of "OK, so our systems are complex, so let's make our tutorials thorough and easy to understand". Paradox really needs to get some help in the field of "put buttons and commands people need to play the game where people actually need them". better than usual, sure, but there's still plenty of room for improvement. I mean, on one hand, all you're doing is sliding numbers around and adjusting values, but good god, when those numbers are represented as catty Spanish princesses trying to kill my wife while I'm off subduing Belgians, it just sucks you right in. You become invested in the relationships you're forging, and because they're often extensions of diplomacy, you become inordinately passionate about their outcomes. This emphasis on personal relationships bleeds over into the larger strategy of the game, and enriches the whole experience like few other games of this type can manage. It's a blast seeing the politics of a Kingdom unfurl anew every time I start a new game. A son who loved you dearly and supported you as Chancellor in one game could literally stab you in the back in another, meaning even repeating the same game as the same ruler in the same place twice never gives you the same game. Everything that happens after that first click, though, changes every time you play. You can start the game from pre-defined moments in history between the 11th and 15 centuries, and when you do, the people and places of Europe are locked in. Sure, you're spending time looking down on Europe like a God, but you spend more time knee-deep in real, human politics, a rarity for a video game. It can be exhausting, but it also gives the game a very personal feeling. You can even award someone the title "Keeper of the Swans". Through its emphasis on dealing with individual inhabitants of the game, CKII lets you conduct diplomacy, arrange marriages, educate kids, plot assassinations, bully vassals, piss off the Pope, claim other people's land and hook your 2 year-old son up with the 51 year-old Queen Mother of Norway. Despite the fact I had a Kingdom to rule, I found myself spending most of my time worrying about the King's court instead. While CKII is still far from perfect in this regard, most of the really important stuff can actually be accessed and understood using the game's own tutorials, a first for these kind of games (normally you need community-driven FAQs to help you get your head around things).
The problem has always been in the terrible way those mechanics are presented to the player. There's never been any question there are some incredibly detailed and flexible mechanics running Paradox's grand strategy games. What may not be familiar is the way the game has you managing not just places, but people as well. Anyone who's played a Paradox game of this ilk before will be right at home with things like its interface, battles and movement. From continental invasions to building a market in some backwood village, you control everything that goes on in your lands.Ĭrusader Kings II is no different in this regard.
#Crusader kings 2 plus mod ancient religions options series#
What makes Crusader Kings II so amazing is that it's not.įor years now, Paradox has been toiling away on its grand strategy games, releasing a number of series that, while differing slightly in focus and in historical setting, are all generally about the same thing: taking total control of a people or nation. That would be fairly entertaining if it was a scripted occurrence.
Who, it turns out, not only had a lisp, but was gay, whose arranged wife hated him and wanted him dead, whose brothers instantly declared war and whose holdings were soon being picked over by Frenchmen. When I died, I could keep playing, because I was now controlling his son. I ruled for over thirty years, sometimes a tyrant, other times a hero.
0 kommentar(er)
