Civilization and Total War are often seen as the big fish in the field of PC strategy games, but for those who are a little more serious about the nuts and bolts of managing an empire, one series often stands above all others: Paradoxâs Europa Universalis
Dropping the player into the role of a world leader at the twilight of the middle ages, youâre tasked with overseeing all aspects of your peopleâs development through to the cusp of the industrial era, from diplomacy to trade to war and all the fiddly little bits in between.
The last game in the series, Europa Universalis III, was released in 2007. The next one, itâs been announced today, is due towards the end of 2013.
Euopa Universalis IV benefits not only from the hindsight brought about in the five years since the last gameâs release, but also developers Paradoxâs growing success with other âgrand strategyâ titles like Sengoku and Crusader Kings II. So in addition to the expected advances â like a prettier 3D map (that now reflects seasons) and improved trade system â there are things learned directly from CKIIâs surprisingly broad popularity, like a greater emphasis on âpersonalityâ (ie the relationships between the 4000 historical rulers in the game) thatâll be reflected in EUIVâs idea of âMonarch Powerâ.
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Paradox will also be paying closer attention to actual history this time as well. Andersson says that rather than simply letting players loose on the world and allowing stories to unfold entirely by themselves, theyâll be continually confronted with events (the gameâs miniature quests or important decisions) that are unique to that nation and appropriate to the culture and time period (as opposed to the more generic events generated previously).
Most important of all, though, could well be UEIVâs approach to the tutorial, an area Paradox games have traditionally fallen short in (and which has prevented less patient gamers from enjoying their titles). Andersson tells us âI can tell you that we plan to do something rather dramatically differentâ when it comes to UEIVâs tutorial system, and that âwe hope to make a tutorial that gives the gamer more a chance to learn by doing. But creating a good tutorial is always a challenge for a grand strategy game with a wealth of features that all needs to be introduced. But I promise, we are on top of it!â
While itâs not due until Q3 2013, the game will be shown off in action for the first time at GamesCom. You can see some screenshots below.
