An excellent expansion that implements many fan suggestions and their successful modifications. You can play EU3 without it. Sadly, there are still a few minor bugs and a lack of polish (misspellings, etc.).

Napoleon's Ambition was an improvement over the promising but slightly disappointing original EU3. It didn't improve the game quite as much as I had hoped though. In my opinion only the next expansion, In Nomine, made EU3 a truly good game. The next two after that made it the best grand strategy game out there. Just get Europa Universalis III Chronicles instead of this if you are interested in the game as it includes all the expansions.

Napoleon Ambition is a significant expansion for Europa Universalis III. EU III becomes a much better game with several expansions have been installed. The NA expansion extends the timeline and added National Ideas. Both of these proved important steps in developing EU III's gameplay.

One caveat though is that this expansion doesn't dramatically improve the game if it is the only one that is installed. This expansion tends to be more of a "lay the ground work for the future" type upgrade. The other expansions reworked and balanced several of the additions from this one.

The expanded time line and fixes in this addition to EU III make it an enjoyable and good first step as an expansion pack for EU III

Overall a great first addition. Many welcome changes to balance and diplomacy. Later end date is welcomed and provides additional late game options to play.

Very few if any issues or downsides to the expansion.

Nice expansion : the timeline expansion is appreciable, and so are the gameplay improvements. The new events add another "plus". So, nice expansion, but however a bit expansive (half the price of a full game) for the amount of improvements. Furthermore, the unpatched expansion had (I bought it when it has been released) some bugs and balance problems... But the following patches came to correct these problems and add even more depth to EUIII. So, Napoleon's Ambition has been for me like all the other Paradox games : a long-term investment ; it was perhaps a bit "thin", but the very good support improved it quite a lot.

This is worth it for the expanded timeline alone, all of the other new features are icing. Automated trading reduces the need to micromanage, and the historical option is great to play around with. Definitely an expansion all EU3 owners need.

It's quite old now but still intense, a big improvement for the original game, but you cannot compare it to the later expansions for EU3, namely HTTT & IN.

New timeline & the autosending of merchants are the most enjoyable features of this game.

This is a very nice expansion, which provides some much needed improvements. Especially the "Auto-send" merchants. Moreover, it's needed in order to upgrade the game to the newer expansions that has followed.

(Which makes it even greater.)

This is the least worthwhile of the EU3 expansions. Unless you specifically pick the French Revolution starting date you are unlikely to every see the new revolutionary governments. The historical options are bad for diplomacy and the lack of advisers and generals with historical leaders on is irritating. The bug fixes, improved AI, improved interface, and noticeably increased game speed are welcome, but the only reason to pick this up is to get the excellent later expansions.

This is a worthy expansion for those who have the basic EU3 game, but if you are starting from scratch it might be better to buy EU3 Complete (which has EU3, Napoleon's Ambition and In Nomine) and then Heir to the Throne. Overall, a 4-star expansion.

The first thing that I noticed after upgrading to Napoleon's Ambition was the increase in game speed, Johan and his team were certainly on the ball when it comes to optimization. The expansion of the timeline through the Napoleonic period is certainly and added plus, and the new features round out a very solid expansion - recommended to anyone with the base game.

Though not as groundbreaking as In Nomine or the last Heir to the Throne, still is a step forward towards the perfection of EU3. There are some improvements in gameplay and AI which are much welcome, as it's the expanded timeline and the revolution rules so you can recreate the French Revolution. My biggest dissapointment is the poor implementation of the historical rulers/leaders/advisors options. The game is almost unplayable when selecting one of these: only the historical characters will appear, the game won't generate any other, so there's an eternal lack of leaders/advisors. It would be quite simple to create a mix system like in Victoria, when where you recruited a general the game would choose one from the historical pool, and if there was none available, it'd create a random one.

This is a good expansion pack to the EU3, not as good as In Nomine, but still worthy for the money. If you don't enjoy micromanagement this expansion is for you. Auto-sending merchants eliminates a lot of the boring elements of the game, and the expanded timeline means you have more time to conquer the world. All in all a worthy expansion.

This is a wonderful strategy game. I have player other games, but none have stacked up to be as detailed as this one. Not only that, but tons of mods, including a fantasy map mod are out. And I'm sure there is one or two Modern day Scenario mods out.

Excellent expansion pack to an excellent strategy game. If you already own EU3 this is a must buy. Expands your game by quite a few years, adds new units, scenarios, and better AI. If you had trouble finishing a whole game as a nation, you may want to avoid this buy as it will make the game even longer and sometimes takes me over a month to finish one game.

NA adds some useful features and improvements to the original EU3 like the players will now have options for "No Inflation", "Free Colonisation", "AI Aggressiveness" and many more. It's worth for the interface improvements and the expanded timeline.

The most useful addition of this expansion pack is definatly the ability to autosend merchants to tradeports, listed in priority. It also takes the game up to the end of the French Wars, and adds the technologies and buildings that are appropiate. A good addition to a game which is already great.

Like In Nomine (after it), NA adds some useful features and improvements to the original EU3. Althought not as great as IN, it's worth for the interface improvements and the expanded timeline as well.

I have played EU2 and EU3 and found EU3 in its barest form lacking and to some extent frustrating. The amount of times I fall back on cheats is usually a good indicator of how ticked I get at a game.

With EU3 NA, there is a better mix and balance.

I too like the merchant auto-send though micromanaging them is probably more effective There are some areas which I would have like to have seen such as more ability to control one's dynasty like Crusader Knights. If not, then some mechanism to indicate who the heir to the throne was and his/her traits and if they belong to another country.

I am still leery of getting In Nominee - party due to the increased strength of those obnoxious pirates.

Overall, I recommend NA to anyone who has EU3.

Napoleons Ambition adds a lot more to EU3, wile not as much content as IN it certainly adds improvements to the game. The addition of features such as Auto-Send merchants takes some of the annoying micromanangement away.

The extension to the timeline is also a welcome addition allowing you to attempt to recreate and even better Napoleons achievements which are done well. The new high tech level National Ideas which go with the new timeline also all work wonderfully.

And of course gameplay options allow the player more customisation of a few options before a game of what they want involved which was a fine addition.

Overall a great expansion although there perhaps could have been more, IN provided with that.

Disappointed but still a good game.

Paradox has done much better imo with Victoria Revolutions...it is true however that NA expansion has bettered the game, more playable, enjoyable, and with a smarter AI. I suggest this game to whoever wants to start his journey into learning how to manage an empire...pushing a small state into a big empire is very challenging.

What more can I say than has already been said, except I love this game! It has amazing depth. It did take me a little while to get into because it has a steeper than normal learning curve, but that is what makes this game so amazing because as you learn the mechanics of the game you feel rewarded as things fall into place as you planned. If I had only one word to describe this game it would be AMAZING!

If you're like me, when you switched to Europa Universalis 3 from EU2, you had complaints right off the bat. Why no autosend for the merchants anymore? Why doesn't the trade map show icons of the trade goods anymore? As good as EU3 is, little details like those made me seriously consider going back to the previous version.

Well, this expansion (as small as it is, physically) solves all those problems and improves lots of other things also. It makes EU3 the game it always should have been, and finally I feel good about retiring my EU2 disc for good!

Fabulous game. The depth and breadth is enormous. The game should be required playing in high schools and colleges across the nation. Stunning recreation of history.

I have also played all of the Age of Empires, Rise of the Middle Kingdoms, Empire Earths, the Civs, etc, and I agree that I find this game far superior. I was only a beginning novice to EU3 before I downloaded NA, but this expansion is making the process of getting the whole game under control very pleasant, indeed. My "claw" also loves the auto-merchant function! The only thing that I would recommend is more detailed embedded user assistance. Nothing is worse than fumbling around for a paper manual or a corrupted PDF when you are trying something new or are in the heat of battle. You have a great start with the hovers, but there is a lot more that could be done to match the excellence in the rest of your product. The artwork is really great, but hire those most excellent writers to round out your team - that is even more important!!! Thanks for a great addition to a grand game. I know that I will get any further additions you build.

Simply one of the best turn based strategy games of all times!! Beware, this game is Highly Addictive!!!!

In practice Napoleon's Ambition makes the excellent EU3 much more entertaining, and even deepens the immersion through the addition of new historical options. It gives the player enhanced control over trade and the economy, makes waging war much more intuitive, adds new ideas....and much more. Basically a must-have expansion for those who want a deeper experience with EU3.

This game is amazing!!!!!

The hyped games like Age of Empires III are utter **** next to paradox games!!!

Great Job!

A very nice addition to an allready great game, wasn't sure if i should buy it because its online but it works very well now (paypal used to be a hassle in europe but thats all fixed now, got to playing in just a few minutes.

Very positive about it!

I have to agree aswell, a game as indepth as EUIII is a real joy to play. I like the expansion of all the elements in the game, and added game time for me to musket whip the Muscovite's and dismantle the Holy "German" Empire. Great job Paradox.

This is a superb expansion,i love the added merchant auto send feature which will prevent my hand from receding into a claw.

Nothing much to add... EU3 was already a great game. With this expansion, it gets even better. A must-have for any strategy game-lover

I have to agree with the prior poster. It is a worthy X-pack becaue it improves on the basic gameplay system and adds a host of new options as well as a lot of additionaly content.

Im glad to write the first review, because this is a hell of an expansion. it has changed alot things for the better in eu3, it is simply a must-have for all eu3 lovers out there!