Overall, combat and sieges feel right for this period in history. The only real issue is that battles rarely destroy the losing army. In most cases, the loser takes a hit in numbers and morale, and then retreats. If they retreat into an enemy-held region, another battle and another retreat occur. This ping-pong effect can sometimes happen five or six times before the defeated army is destroyed.

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In one game, the English army under Henry IV occupied all of Scotland. The Scottish king led his defeated army back and forth, region to region, for a game year before finally being destroyed. While history does have episodes of wandering defeated armies, in EUIII it can sometimes feel too gamey.

Another area that the player can control is the economy. In this area, EUIII’s modeling is complex, but the player’s interaction is subtle. The player gains income from taxing regions and colonies. As technology improves, the player can invest in improvements that will increase tax revenue.

To fill his coffers even faster the player can raise war taxes and also mint more money. But playing with these controls may increase inflation or cause instability. Another way to increase money is to set up regional markets and also send out merchants to compete in markets like Antwerp.

EUIII is not the kind of game you play when you want a quick gaming fix. The full campaign can easily take eight sittings or more. Also, the game is more like a nation-state simulator than a game. Goals are fluid and have good historic feel. The player will rarely be able to dominate the globe, and will probably be lucky to just unify France or the German states.

While EUIII is not new, even after two years the game has no serious competition in its genre. In this reviewer’s opinion EUIII Complete is a must-have for strategy game fans. For those who already own EUIII, but not the expansions, Complete is still recommended. The expansions add significant value to game play, and it’s much cheaper to buy Complete than each separate expansion. It is a great game has that wonderful ability to completely immerse the player and make time pass quickly.

The game’s pace is slow and detailed, however, so gamers seeking fast play will probably want to look elsewhere. For the deep strategy fan, a few hours in EUIII’s world will prove that the game has earned a well-deserved seat among the pantheon of great PC strategy titles. Long live the king! Long live EUIII Complete!

ACG Intel

Europa Universalis III Complete 

Larry Levandowski has been a wargamer for more than 30 years, and started computer gaming back in the days of the C-64. Until he recently discovered the virtues of DOS box and virtual machines, much of his computer game collection was unplayable. A former US Army officer, Larry has done his share of sitting in foxholes. Since leaving the Army, he has worked in the Information Technology field as a programmer, project manager and lead bottle washer. He now spends his spare time playing boardgames, Napoleonic and WWII miniatures, as well as any PC game he can get his hands on.

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