A 3rd expansion in the EU3 series, HTTT is certainly an improvement and goes about improving the game mechanics, the two most important ones being the Dynasties addition and the new Casus Belli additions. Dynasties adds more of a historical touch with recognisable families such as the Stuarts, and expands on royal marriages by allowing the player by allowing the player to see the potential benefits or consequences of the royal marriages they form with other nations. Casus Belli are the next major addition, a largely expanded feature of an original EU3 idea they give brand new reasons and benefits to declaring war giving the player and their enemies more guidance into what they can take in war. Although the possibility of a BB war still does exist and gives a Casus Belli countries can take advantage of. These are the two major features but there are many other features such as minor UI changes which make all the difference and expansions on the Papacy and the HRE which make a much more fulfilling game.

If you are considering Heir to the Throne I am assuming you already familiar with EU3 in which case this latest expansion adds many new features. My favorite are the dynasties, new CB's and reworked the Hre all of which adds new depth to the game. The CB's help to balance the game by tweaking the demands that the player can make in peavce treaties to be relevant to the CB used to declare war. This latest expansion is well worth the price to those that enjoy the grand strategy game Europa Universalis III.

This expansion adds some interesting features like hereditary dynasties and a more opportunities for expansion trough new casus bellis (more excuses to go that allow you to declare war without negative side effects), also it allows you to recruit advisers instead of just praying for some to show up and finally it adds new historical decisions and infrastructure building programs trough state and local decisions. I bought mine at 20 dollars and i was a little disappointed again it added some new twists and interesting aspects but it was way over priced, the new 10 dollar price seems fair and it allows you to play the magna mundi mod that greatly enhances the game experience.

I'm not entirely unbiased, I'll have to admit, since I did beta test this. Suffice to say I bought it the moment it was out, and don't regret it. EU3 felt complete after In Nomine, and then there's this. No sweeping changes, but all those little change do add up to a whole new game experience.

An unexpected addition to the Europa Universalis 3 family (Paradox had already released a complete collection of EU3), Heir To the Throne brings new gameplay enhancements to an already good game. War and diplomacy have been revamped, along with a dynasty model for the rulers of nations. While such improvements are always welcome, I feel the game shouldn't have been valued at its original price at the time of release. There's hardly any significant graphics improvements (the biggest thing one notices is a sharper map, splash screen background plus the removal of Terra Incognita) and without realising those aforementioned gameplay additions that came with the expansion, I wouldn't have known I was playing Heir To the Throne. The game also suffered from a few crashes. In summary, the expansion comes up a bit empty, but only a tiny bit. All in all though, Heir To the Throne is a decent expansion, despite a few flaws.

Definitly a great expansion to EU3. The new CB system and various other improvements really make the game seem to have moe direction and purpose. There are a few balancing issues in my mind though, and it tends to produce slightly more improbable results historically speaking than IN did. That being said, it really adds to the depth of gamplay and I would highly recomend it.

A very good expansion pack. Good, not great. The 20$ price is what keeps it from greatness, still the new features are well designed and useful. The Casus Belli options make warfare easier and more strategic. New peace treaty options mesh with the Casus Belli features to enhance warfare. And if I'm not mistaken, the AI has been improved. It succeeds in making the game more complex, but less complicated. Now if only the few remaining quirks could be ironed out, and a dynasty system (like in Crusader Kings, Rome) added in the game would be perfect...

After playing this game for many hours I have come to the conclusion that, although this game is not properly "polished" as previous titles have been by Paradox. It is very fun! The new war aims bring a much needed feature into the series and the role of Heirs and dynasties is good. However it is not in depth and is only in name i.e. no family trees etc and would have liked much more in this respect. However, whether the price is justified enough is up to you, for me personally I would have preferred the price being lower. Overall good fun product and recommend it to anyone who likes this series and is a good reason to try it if you do not!

This expansion, Heir to the Throne, is simply amazing. The Casus Belli system adds alot of depth to the game and ensures that wars are only fought for their specific goals. It is much easier to run over your infamy limit this time around. The new countries added as well as the formation of the Holy Roman Empire spices things up. Furthermore, it is much easier to get the advisers you want rather than waiting through ones you dont want. In short, Heir to the Throne is a must buy for any Paradox Interactive fan.

Heir to the Throne is an excellent last expansion for EUIII. Further use of the morale system for armies so they can surrender instead of ping-ponging back and forth across your territories is worth the price alone. The new diplomatic options, dynasties and Culture make the game much more interesting and detailed.

If you have purchased all of the other Europa III expansions than this is really a must have. It feels to me like the icing on the cake. It polishes the already well-made game and adds a very nice casus-belli system. War is better, Diplomacy is better, all manner of additions make this more than worth the money.

This game is a must buy game. It is really great making the Europa series complete in all directions. It is so great and realistic. You manage society, military and economy of a nation of your choice. You can create the largest empire in the world by diplomatic annexation (royal marriages and good relations etc..) or through the use of your military might. Choose the type of military units that will be your empires backbone. Choose whether to create an empire through the military occupation of provinces or through a trading empire. Send colonists around the world and spread your religion throughout the globe. Battle holy wars, conquests wars and use your spies to effectively cripple an enemy empire or to create rebel movements around the world who could later cede their province and join your empire. Use your military to subdue opposition to your rule. Support your allies financially and militarily. Higher the best advisor who are the best of the best of your nations men. they support and back research. Amazing game highly educational, historically accurate, realistic and great in all ways. I spent long long hours playing it and learned many things too. Great game. I give it 10 out of 10.

Heir to the Throne is a 'must have' for everyone who likes EU. Dont make a mistake: while In Nomine and Napoleon's Ambition add a lot to the game, its HTTT that makes this game best in EU series and my favourite Paradox's game.

I have to say this finally made it worthwhile to play as a merchant republic. In the past, the lack of royal marriages and subsequently the inability to form vassals, as well as the low priority placed on trade early in the game, made trade republics worthless, or almost so. I love Venice and Novgorod in history, but rarely played either in EU III. Now I am having a ball playing Venice, engaging in trade wars, fighting with Genoa over spheres of influence and so on. My only regret is the lack of an independent Amalfi to round out the traditional rivalry of Genoa, Venice and Pisa. There are dozens of other improvements as well, the royal families give a hint of the fun I had playing Crusader Kings, though obviously not to the same degree. Still, knowing what nations it is likely I might inherit, where a possible succession war might break out, and so on really adds some reality and adds strategic options. Before this upgrade I still enjoyed EU III, but I was just as often inclined to play Crusader Kings/Deus Vult or even EU II. Now I play EU III much more frequently. A truly incredible expansion.

For people who like EU3 from before, this expansion is probably going to double the playable time you will have with the game overall. So many things changed to make the game even more realistic. Being an emperor does after all mean more than improved stats for your rulers and with this expansion it will finally show! Now the Holy Roman Emperor can do things like demand religious unity, use imperial authority to improve internal relations, get a legit reason to defend any empire members and if played well you can even use the HRE to unite all of the empire into your nation. The trade nations such as Venice or The Hansa now will have their historical strength more accurately represented by using the newly implemented trade leagues. Finally it will make sense to play as a Merchant Republic. As a final example of the changes in this expansion, now your war actually will have to be relevant to the exact type of casus belli you are claiming to start it. If someone insults you, that does not really legitimize annexing a nation now does it? Honestly? Fortunately the same goes the other way around of course. These are just a few of the many and deep changes in this expansion. In brief the difference between this expansion and the previous ones is by far greater than what was the case with the previous expansions.

With all the tweaks, additions, and overall improvements, this expansion is a must have. The expanded casus belli system along with the improved AI refresh and enhance the EUIII experience. With the introduction of dynastic elements diplomacy becomes an even more important tool - personal unions and royal marriages are powerful ways of consolidating power. The new cultural tradition and magistrate system alongside improved trading make the hours of gameplay even more enjoyable and dynamic. Forging your nation's destiny is an interesting affair that even jaded fans will feel has been improved. The countless hours of entertainment added by this expansion is worth it. Unlike some Paradox releases, this one is relatively optimized and bug-free. Already a patch is on its way to fix some of the few minor issues that affect the game. It is worth getting the game now regardless.

Unsure if the EU3-series of "grand strategy" is too "grand" to start out with? What has this latest (I dare not say "last") expansion added in terms of game experience? Why is EU3 HTTT a natural game choice for anyone even remotely interested in history and/or strategy? To the first Q: Don't hesitate! In my opionion it is a game that will reward anyone who just manages to allocate *some* time to just get started. But don't expect to master every aspect after the first hours of gameplay. I love strategy games like e.g. Civ, but the EU-games and EU3 in particular are like a super-Civ on steroids, adding a lot of realism and historical athmosphere to the gameplay. My initial error while learning the EU3-games was that I ran it on slow speed and thinking I could control every aspect in all regions. Don't. Once I speeded up a bit, I saw the relation between my actions and game development. Once basic is learned however, you can learn the different game aspects as you go, trying out different options and ponder your next action. I was used to what I now think of as rather simple build-and-collect-resource-sort of simulations. The point of EU3 is not another pretty city or gold, but rather intangibles such as glory, fame, and, well - it is actually quite up to you and your own preferences: You could also choose to conquer a chunk of the world, colonize, claim someone's throne, or just cling on to your local provinces and develop a trade association with your neighbours. To my second Q: Even more fun! For example: The idea of running costly wars just to wear down your enemies without any other purposes than conquest is boring after a while in most games. The various reasons for occassionally waging war in EU3 HTTT, adds a very pleasant variation. Now that I consider myself somewhat experienced, I must say that just pondering over my next action with the game set to "pause" gives me great pleasure. I must admit,I have never encountered a game earlier that can be as rewarding even when put "on hold". The only game that springs to mind is chess and perhaps the occassional odd board game. But do not make the mistake of thinking that EU3 HTTT can not be fast-paced too! Sometimes I enjoy hitting the pause button - other times I *have to*. Now, for the third Q: this game is just about all what I expect of a modern game; it has got depth, a huge variety of situations and regions and with many different aspects to consider. The result is history in all its complexity unfolding on the maps and on your screen. In short, it defines "grand" in "grand strategy". Good luck!

Same old same old, but wait it all feels new once again. Don't pass on this expansion even if you supposedly already bought a so called complete EU3 game. I really doubt this game could ever be finished but at least every expansion makes it better, warmly recommended if you like EU3.

In Nomine was a big step for the Europa Universalis III system. The additions in IN were compelling, highly requested, and the game felt smoother, more complex, but no less accessible (well, once you get past the normal EU learning curve). Many felt like In Nomine was the keystone and the best "cap" for a great game. But, surprise surprise, Heir to the Throne has came, like a hidden claimant to the throne, attempting to topple In Nomine from its throne. Does it succeed, or is it just another illegitimate ursurper? Well, for the most part, Heir to the Throne succeeds but, to continue with this analogy, you should actually view Heir to the Throne as the Heir Apparent to In Nomine, rather than a new king. Why, because the changes to the EU system that HTTT adds BUILD UPON the already strong base created by In Nomine. One major benefit that is immediately apparent with HTTT are some small but welcome changes to the UI. There are several new alerts, one for countries that have no legitimate heirs and another that appears when you have military upgrades available. "Badboy" know ingame as Infamy, is now instantly show on the main UI, next to the legitimacy of your ruler and the Prestige of your nation - all welcome as part of the main information screen. The declaration of war screen is very clear, giving the different types of Causus Belli available, and showing exactly who is allied with the target (and with you) and how the CB will effect your peace aims. When you gain a new CB against a country, a nice pop-up message appears that gives EXACTLY what that CB entails and what peace costs are effected. Which leads me to my favorite change in HTTT, the Causus Belli system. The system has been made much more clear and given a rather radical overhaul. Now you have to choose which CB your country will be using for their DoW, a choice which will unlock certain peace treaty options, or make regular peace treaty options more or less expensive. For example, if a rival nation has one of your cores, you can use the reconquest option, which will waive your stability cost (as do all CBs) and allow you to request your core provinces in the peace treaty with no hit to your infamy. Sure, this was the same as in In Nomine, but it is now crystal clear, and the cost for demanding those core provinces is much lower. However, a DoW that uses something like a diplomatic slight (such as a denial of a Call to Arms from an Ally, or a response to an Insult) makes it much harder to get anything more than a simple revocation of cores or a monetary reparation - demands for territory from such a DoW will result in a decent infamy hit and will be full price in the peace score. This does limit the player, but facilitates a realistic war system and creates certain role-playing scenarios, making the game have more character and feel more like a nation sim than a "blob" sim. Further, the second major addition is the dynastic system. Now kings and que

Heir to the throne adds a lot of things to EU3 of which one of the most important ones is the new casus belli system that gives several options instead of the old generic one; they then give different options. Together with a whole new dynasty system that does bring ones royalty that step closer, and a novel form of government like the hansa trading leage the Holy Roman Empire and the Papacy have been reformed. Then there are some small issues like AI, piracy, balancing, bugs etc etc. All in all a worthy upgrade to a good game that will get you the playtime out of your bucks. Paradox Software takes some time to get it perfect but, as with earlier games, this seems to have done it.

After Napoleon's Ambition and In Nomine... was a new expansion for Europa Universalis III needed? According to what I've been playing, definetely yes! Don't look for new scenarios, or an expanded timeline. You won't miss it. New features and improved AI will make you feel like playing EUIII for the fist time. Diplomacy has grown hugely: a completely new war system, improved land combat, 30 different casus belli... If you're a kingdom, dinasty will be a new instrument of 'soft power'; if you're a merchant republic, trade would even more powerful. Controlling the Holy See has been encouraged, and becoming the Emperor of Holy Roman Empire is now being a real power in Europe. New features like cultural issues, a new way of bringing the advisors you really need, and nice improvements in the map... All of it make of Heir to the Throne a real must for Europa Universalis players... and the best start for newbies to the series and Paradox grand strategy. 5/5