Hours of enjoyment. History students, or those who love reading up on their history will enjoy this game, particularly the rich tapestry of historical events and decisions, but the game doesn't stagnate by holding rigidly to historical events: every game is different. This allows you to explore the what ifs of history; can you recreate the British empire through naval supremacy? Can you create the modern Russian state? Can you stop the reconquista? All possible, but you can also persue ahistorical plans as you see fit. Military power is central to the game, but diplomatic solutions are possible, you can expand your empire without resorting to violence. Trade is also crucial, allowing small trading states such as Venice to become powerful far beyond their size and military capability. EU III complete is a much deeper game than a simple historical wargame and as such has no real competitors on the market barring other paradox titles such as EU Rome and Victoria, but these have differeing mechanics and time periods. Expect to spend some time becoming accustomed to the game as there is a bit of a learning curve.

With the two expansions EU III has to be one of the largest grand strategy games of all time. You can take virtually any country of choice from the late medieval period all the way up to the early modern era. There's a wealth of events and choices to make, a lot of tinkering to be done with your kingdom and government and of course an entire world to dominate, conquer or survive. The main issues however are the same as EU III itself. The learning curve is steep, and it's easy to be overwhelmed by the sheer amount of data you are presented with. Micromanagement can still get a little unwieldy, and despite all there is to do I still find myself occasionally twiddling my thumbs with the game in fast forward waiting for something to complete. It's definitely a game which will give back according to how much you put in, but the sheer size means that's a return you can get for years to come. Longevity is assured with plenty of countries to choose from, whether you want to see if you can recreate France's power in the colonial era or change history by leading a relatively minor nation to a global power.

One of the true classics, I love really epic strategy games and this is easily one of the greatest of all time. There is so much to do and every game is different. You can challenge yourself the way you want which I love. If you go in thinking this will be a fast paced action packed game, you would be wrong. Its all about long term planning and strategy, you have to build yourself up for the future. This pack is awesome value and its a must buy, and once you buy this go out and buy the new expansion which turns this game into a near perfect experience.

Eu3 is an awesome game!! You get to develope your country from the start of the game (1399) all the way up to the end (1821) giving you plenty of time to create your own empire but you can start at any day between those two years. You can also create the Holy Roman empire once the german states are united or be the Papal States and speard your religion or start crusades agaist the infadels! Eu3 has no limits as every game is different from another maybe one time the Ottoman Empire expands its empire into Africa or maybe in another game they will focus on the Balkins. Eu3 is a must buy! Also another great game would be the Eu3 newest expansion Heir to the throne.

An absolutely amazing game, much improved by the expansions. Learning the ropes does take time and patience, and learning the little tricks that help a bunch takes even more, but it's worth the experience. One can follow the course of history or choose to change it, and each path is amazing. And on top of all that, the game has a wonderful modding community. The only thing that stops me from calling it the best in the genre is the experience with the demo of the expansion to come out Dec 12th. Worth every cent.

Fantastic Series! As a newcomer to the world of Europa Universalis, the learning curve was rather moderate, considering the sheer amount of depth that this game offers. Want to take control of Burgundy and emerge victorious against France? Go for it. The game still isn't over. There are hundreds, maybe thousands of events that thicken the plot, even once your main rivals are nothing but ink on the pages of a history book!

This is the gold standard for strategy games. Paradox has made a near perfect game here if you love micromanaging and history and don't mind simplified graphics. Nearly unlimited replayability as well!

Began playing EU3 a couple of weeks ago. VERY high learning curve. I still haven't gotten the hang of the battles and what types of unit(s) I need to succeed. If you like a lot of statistics and in-depth Risk like game, you will enjoy this one. You must read the manual to get any type of understanding of all the different components. If you don't like learning from reading, the tutorial does an admirable job of covering the basics. I personally read the manual before playing a single player game. Have not tried the multi-player, yet. When I learn more of the strategy and little details of the game I will post another review.

Probably the best strategy game I have either played, and will certainly play again for a long time. For any history-conscious gamer this is a must, as long as you do not forget to use the Magna Mundi Add-On.

The game installed without any serious problems on Windows 7 (administrator account was needed). The game runs fine, without crashes. No serious bugs found so far (a minor graphical peculiarity, but it does not hinder gameplay). Graphics is nice, but nothing to make you scream of joy. Sound consists of classical music and is well-picked. It didn't become disturbing even during those 10 hour sessions but merged nicely to overall emotion of the game. The gameplay itself is basically a sandbox for managing a progress race of a country in medieval world. It is not the kind of "build base, throw units to battle, repeat", more closer to civ-like "eXplore, eXpand, eXploit, and eXterminate" but with much more control and strategic planning and much less predictability and repetition. Also, those X's are not mandatory in any way, since world domination is just one (boring, unrealistic and luckily not easily achieved) goal of the many you can think of. The historical starting point and many real-hisotry-like events make it more fun, and also have an educational moment from time to time. There's lots of critic words about the learning curve in internet reviews. Actually, this is not a bad thing! Yes, you should spend some time to read the manuals and forums to understand your options, but considering the time you can amuse yourself with this game, this is a small price to pay (unless you like games easy as shooting a zombie). Due to the multiple measures of success, strategic challenges and every country's different position and goals, this is a game you probably just need to play through more than 1 time. Probably more, 10+ times, I guess.

This is a fantastic addition to the historical grand strategy genre. It is the complete package: replayability, depth, "just one more turn", and satisfaction in bringing an enemy to their knees. You can take literally any country that has existed between 1399 and 1820 and turn it into a world superpower. And I mean any country. I dominated the world from Japan to Saudi Arabia after starting out as the one province nation, Makassar. The decision system and mission system are great, and are a great feature for goal-based gamers who are uncomfortable with the open-ended nature of the game. All things considered, this is probably one of my favorite games, and you don't need a ridiculously powerful system to play it. A great buy at any price.

If any of you had tried the original EU3 and were dissatisfied by it, I strongly recommend trying it again with NA and IN. It is truly a well-rounded game. As is expected from Paradox, the level of historical detail and possibilities is unmatched. EU3 is the only game where the Duchy of Brabant can become a world power. Rather than limiting you to certain huge countries, you can be any country you want, including the Archbishopric of Trier or the French vassal of Provence. The game is rather intuitive and micromanagement has been reduced. Make sure you read the manual cover and cover four times or else you will miss something crucial. Also the review by telanthar has an error in it. The province decisions ledger can be accessed by the clicking the button that shows up at the top of your screen when they are available. This game is a must for anyone who is into alternative history or just history in general. You can even link it up with Victoria and Hearts of Iron II for one super long epic game. 5/5 Fantastic.

I'm in love with this game, able to fulfill my dreams and my nights. The AI is nice, understanding when peace is the only solution. Not having to micromanage merchants is a delicious improvement. The last boring thing to do is having to find able staff as advisers... spending tens of minute waiting that someone suitable stand out for a theologian job is really boring, especially when the computer is instantly taking it back for another country, as you are too slow to hire him... Everything else in the game is, for me, pure fun. Crushing the world with The Ottomans, with the Mings dynasty or with... Morocco, that is just the funniest thing you can do of your days and nights :)

Great game for a good price. For those strategy gamers with a lot of patience, this is a great and deep game. Graphics are basic for multuple reasons, but a true gamer can look beyond it. The strategical and tactical options seem endless. You can play with pretty much any nation that existed bestween 1399 A.D. and 1824. This is for the fans of games as Hearts of Iron and Birth of America. For those who can take it to go through an almost endless lurning curve, there is a great reward of endless gameplay!

This is an excellent game! It is completely customizable and has an excellent variety of mods available to play, which enhance its replay value. EU3 was my first Paradox game. It seemed very intimidating at first because of the steep learning curve, but once you get the basics down, it is extremely fun. I would recommend it to anyone who loves strategy or world history.

I had purchased the original EU3 and found it was filled with a lot of irritating features like having to micromanage merchants. The two expansions do away with a lot of irritation I originally experienced with this game and made it far more enjoyable. The National decisions and missions also give some goals for people like me who do like to have a little direction rather than pure free form play. The province decisions however reintroduced excessive levels of micromanagement, particularly as there is no ledger page (that I could locate) allowing you to make decisions from a single screen but instead had to individually select every province to even find out which options were available. Given that the complete EU3 is only $8 more than buying just EU3 it is definitely worth it, and I just wish I hadn't purchased EU3 when it first came out. The only warning I have to offer is that if you already have EU3 installed you need to completely uninstall it before installing EU3 complete.