Best Grand Strategy Game?

[Mac Gregor]

Hey everyone, I have been thinking about purchasing a new game. Which is the best grand strategy game (Victoria II, EUIII, Hearts of Iron III,etc) to get? Keep in mind that I have never played a Paradox Interactive game before but I am a big fan of the Civilization and total war series. Thanks for the feed back

[Premier Taylerov]

Originally Posted by Mac Gregor

Hey everyone, I have been thinking about purchasing a new game. Which is the best grand strategy game (Victoria II, EUIII, Hearts of Iron III,etc) to get? Keep in mind that I have never played a Paradox Interactive game before but I am a big fan of the Civilization and total war series. Thanks for the feed back

Whilst I've spent most time on Victoria II, and it's a good game, I'd recommend the newer Crusader Kings II if you want immediately engrossing gameplay. For the modern era, I like Victoria (II), although I haven't had HoI III for very long - I played HoI II for several years and pretty much exhausted its potential, I think. I'm personally not a great fan of EUIII, but I came to that one last so that might have something to do with it.

[Lone Wolf]

Any modded Paradox game. If played without any mod, plausible alternate history goes out of the window, but if modded (for CK2 it's CK2Plus, for EU3 it's Mihi Est Imperare Orbi Universo, for V2 it's A Pop Divided) they become the wet dream of every history nerd and/or AH geek. Too bad that no one has thought of making a mod who enables a mega-campaign with such modded masterpieces. I would put them on the same level, and below them the WW2 games (HOI3 and DH), that focus too much on war (but that's obvious, they're WW2 games).

[Ghost 88]

Originally Posted by Mac Gregor

Hey everyone, I have been thinking about purchasing a new game. Which is the best grand strategy game (Victoria II, EUIII, Hearts of Iron III,etc) to get? Keep in mind that I have never played a Paradox Interactive game before but I am a big fan of the Civilization and total war series. Thanks for the feed back

I suggest you read the PI forums as opinions on which PI game to play are like rectums everybody has one. PI games tend to be complex so I would try Europa Universalis II or Victoria I if you can get them for about $10 or less play with them to get a feel of the Paradox Gaming Philosphy, then buy one of the newer ones that has intriqued you the most on the forums. EU II covers from 1419 to 1820, Vicky 1836 to 1920.


Word of advice stay out of the Magna Mundi forum the game has been canceled for now, and no one new to PI should get wrapped up in that drama.

Hope you find what you are looking for.

[stefanbl]

All of the PI games are rather radically different from each other, not only in time period but in focus, CKII and Vicky II aren't war-games.

[Oerwinde]

EUIII in my experience is the least complicated and IMO probably the best one if you're new to grand strategy. Crusader Kings 2 is a lot of fun as well, but it might be worth waiting until the expansion hits so you can play muslim nations as well. Vicky 2 I find extremely complicated and involves a lot of just sitting and waiting. Still fun, but there you go.

[Kome]

Sengoku Rance.

[/thread]

[Lone Wolf]

^ isn't it an eroge?

[Kome]

Originally Posted by Neoteros

^ isn't it an eroge?

Thats correct.

[Kablob]

Originally Posted by Oerwinde

EUIII in my experience is the least complicated and IMO probably the best one if you're new to grand strategy. Crusader Kings 2 is a lot of fun as well, but it might be worth waiting until the expansion hits so you can play muslim nations as well. Vicky 2 I find extremely complicated and involves a lot of just sitting and waiting. Still fun, but there you go.

It hit yesterday. I have it.

[Tallest Skil]

Originally Posted by Kome

Thats correct.

Facepalm with eyes closed, but laughing as I do it…

[Trotsky]

Europa Universalis III + xpax.

[Oerwinde]

Originally Posted by Kablob

It hit yesterday. I have it.

Guess I'm hitting gamersgate later...

[Zmflavius]

Originally Posted by Ghost 88

I suggest you read the PI forums as opinions on which PI game to play are like rectums everybody has one. PI games tend to be complex so I would try Europa Universalis II or Victoria I if you can get them for about $10 or less play with them to get a feel of the Paradox Gaming Philosphy, then buy one of the newer ones that has intriqued you the most on the forums. EU II covers from 1419 to 1820, Vicky 1836 to 1920.


Word of advice stay out of the Magna Mundi forum the game has been canceled for now, and no one new to PI should get wrapped up in that drama.

Hope you find what you are looking for.

I'd recommend against playing the earlier Paradox games actually. I actually played the Victoria I demo before Victoria II, and I have to say that from where I could see, the micromanagement is much, much worse, in V1 than VII. I'm told that overall, micromanagement has gotten a lot easier in the later games, which is good, when you consider how much is required.

I, however, would recommend that you select based on what period of time interests you most. I have a fascination with Prussia and the 19th century in general, so Victoria was a natural choice for me.

[Kome]

Originally Posted by Tallest Skil

Facepalm with eyes closed, but laughing as I do it…

Seems like it would be a plus for the game if anything.

[Reichsadler]

I've played few GS games, but I can say Vicky 2* and Hearts of Iron 3 are the best Grand Strategy games. Ever.

* It's the only game that Haiti can become a superpower.

[Gryphon]

Originally Posted by Reichsadler

* It's the only game that Haiti can become a superpower.

I once saw a guy take over the world with the Vatican in SuperPower 2 by about in-game year 2344 (starting in 2002). And I know that in SuperPower 1 you can turn Liberia into a world-spanning empire within a few short years of game start, but in SP1 you have only the barest notions of an economy to deal with, whereas in SP2, you actually have to worry about interest rates, inflation, unemployment, GDP, GDP per capita, and trade, balance, and such on about thirty-something different resources- it's one of the better simple global economy simulations I've seen (though it's not without its problems.) (I do recall playing as Ireland, unintentionally letting inflation get out from under me, and watching as my GDP dropped by thirty billion dollars in just a few months, and my tax revenue fell, and I had to start making severe cuts to keep from overspending, and it was at that exact moment that I understood the Euro crisis better than I had in years), and while SP1 is better as a tactical military simulator, SP2 is a better strategic simulator- neither nearly as good as, say, any of the Paradox games, but still more fun than a barrel of monkeys, and with slightly less poop. (They have problems, yes- you have to download a patch to make SP2's copy-protection understand that Windows 7 isn't trying to destroy it, and the games have more than a few bugs, but they're immensely fun.)

[Zuvarq]

Originally Posted by Gryphon

I once saw a guy take over the world with the Vatican in SuperPower 2 by about in-game year 2344 (starting in 2002). And I know that in SuperPower 1 you can turn Liberia into a world-spanning empire within a few short years of game start, but in SP1 you have only the barest notions of an economy to deal with, whereas in SP2, you actually have to worry about interest rates, inflation, unemployment, GDP, GDP per capita, and trade, balance, and such on about thirty-something different resources- it's one of the better simple global economy simulations I've seen (though it's not without its problems.) (I do recall playing as Ireland, unintentionally letting inflation get out from under me, and watching as my GDP dropped by thirty billion dollars in just a few months, and my tax revenue fell, and I had to start making severe cuts to keep from overspending, and it was at that exact moment that I understood the Euro crisis better than I had in years), and while SP1 is better as a tactical military simulator, SP2 is a better strategic simulator- neither nearly as good as, say, any of the Paradox games, but still more fun than a barrel of monkeys, and with slightly less poop. (They have problems, yes- you have to download a patch to make SP2's copy-protection understand that Windows 7 isn't trying to destroy it, and the games have more than a few bugs, but they're immensely fun.)

Didn't some superpower 2 patch have a virus on it?

[Gryphon]

Originally Posted by Zuvarq

Didn't some superpower 2 patch have a virus on it?

Entirely plausible. I think it was more that the game's copy-protection software acted like a virus (because it effectively was, in many important ways) and the patch changed some of its features, later causing antivirus programs to treat it as though it was one- or something like that, I don't recall exactly. I do know that I've had absolutely no trouble with it outside its own general bugginess every time I've installed it.

[Kome]

Anyways. While i continue to stand by my original statement, i recognize that some would perhaps appreciate another opinion. As Sengoku Rance could also be classified as an RPG thats reasonable enough. Therefore, here.