Victoria 2 is a better, more streamlined game than its predecessor, though it does have some minor issues that need to be resolved. Assimilation is too fast, for example resulting in Ottoman Europe becoming majority Turkish within a few decades. Likewise, immigration is too generous, far above historical levels. Nevertheless, the game is well worth playing, especially for its crowning achievement, the economic system. Industrialization in this game is one of the best economic simulations that I have ever played through. This game is not for people that dislike micromanagement, but if you like to handle all the minutiae of running a vast empire, then this game is for you.

This game is hard to master. Really hard. But once you do it, it is ridiculously addictive. (Especially once you mess the world up and break New England off the USA and then install a communist regime there)

This game has a really steep learning curve but it has a wonderful tutorial to introduce new players to Victoria 2 and update Victoria players on the changes in the new game. You play any nation in the world from 1835 to the onset of WW2. Manage economy, diplomacy and warfare to become the most prestigious country by the end of the game. Extremely addictive. Be sure to pick up the sprite packs!

So insanely addictive I haven't done anything productive in days! Needs the upcoming expansion to fix some niggling mechanic issues, but my favorite Paradox game ever.

Another great addition to grand strategy games by Paradox. Although still (as of patch 1.4 beta) lacking a bit in shine and polish, it still does provide you with a very nice and playable game. Also the soundtrack is absolutely terrific and fits Victorian era perfectly.

You should consider buying Victoria 2 "A House Divided" addon together with this, because apart form all the new features, it should also fix many inconsistencies and problems.

Victoria 2 is a very complex game. While this may appeal to some, I can see this being a drawback for many other people wanting to try this game out. If you are willing to put in time to learn the mechanics then you should be able to have fun with this game. The tutorial was helpful however, I felt like there was so much more that I needed to learn. I would recommend this game to any person that is a hard-core strategy gamer. If you do not appreciate the deep mechanics involved with this game, you might want to try something else like the Total War series.

This game is... awesome!!! I've played hours Victoria I and I don't only see a nicer look, the game is indeed fascinating. Absolutely to be bought!

Victoria 2 is a grand-strategy game from swedish studio, Paradox Interactive.

It takes place in the victorian era, 1836-1935 to be more exact. You get to choose any nation you want in the whole world at this time. After starting you get to guide and control all aspects of your nation, from basic army movements and setting tax rates to scientific research and diplomatic intrigues.

The main focus for the game though is the social and economic simulation of the world at this thime. The whole economic chain, from basic mining or farming, through the factories and out to the population, can be altered and controlled by the player through different means.

You will also have to interact with other nations through diplomacy and warfare. Building alliances and influencing lesser nations is vital if you wish to survive any conlicts with the great powers of the world.

I know all this may seem like a lot of very hard work to get into. But, compared to other titles from Paradox, this is one of the most accessible games in this genre. You don't have to be into hardcore strategy or history to understand and like this game.

I would recommend this game to anyone who is interested in grand strategy and/or this time period/setting. 5/5 stars from me.

Being a fan of the era but a fan of wargames, I was not certain to enjoy this game. But it is easier than most of the paradox wargames and it's easy to play it even if you are a noob.

The interface is quite clear, the graphics are ok. The music are very good and the replayability of wargames makes it worth the price.

The game is localized in french which is very rare with wargames.

Victoria 2, as the others Paradox Interactive games, has a deep, complex gameplay. This time the economy (production and trade) is the major point of the game. Of course there are wars (many of them), but the focus on economy make this the most complex aspect of the game. Your populace are divided in classes, with political opnions and economic necessities. It's slower paced than EU 3, but as fun as EU 3. If you liked EU 3, you'll like this one too.

The engine is pretty neat as compared to Crusader Kings 2 and the game's focus

is centered mainly on the industry simulation. Raw materials have to be secured directly

or with dominions and spheres while the political part is partly incorrect.

Anarchocapitalist governments should have other effects but chaos.

Alltogether a well balanced game, especially with the Popular Demand mod and a recent patch.

With plenty of room for those who love micromanagement, but without overloading those who only want to see the world grow and develop under their general commands, Victoria 2 is a very entretaining game for both the lovers of its prequel and of Europa Universalis III.

Its complex Economical and Political systems allow the game to simulate the XIXth century in many of its aspects, and give freedom to the player lead any of the many nations of the world to a bright future either by "blood and iron" or by economical, political and social advances.

Compared to EU3, it allows a much greater immersion, once the reduced timespam and better simulation tools make the world evolve in much more natural and plausible ways; compared to HoI, it gives the player much more freedom to try different alternatives and play with other factors, like Industrialization, Politics and Colonialism.

This is such a good game I own two copies. Actually I do and it is an outstanding game that is very deep and will keep you occupied for days, weeks and months. The only way this game could be improved would be for the battles to break down into a turn based or RT battle when your armies meet. But I'm glad it doesn't or I would lose my job.

Excellent game and the upcoming expansion should add to an already beautifully made game.

This follow up to the original was much better then I thought. Despite still having some of heavy learning curve, the tutorial really helps get around that. if you enjoyed the first one, and want something a little more updated this is for you. If you are just getting into these games don't get to frustrated at the start.

I've always been more of the Civilization fan, mostly because I enjoy turn-based strategy over real time. But nonetheless, I find this game intriguing. The game allows you to guide your chosen nation through a time of industrialization, political change and international turmoil. It truly is beautifully designed and incredibly complex. I have yet to get an end result I am completely pleased with, but the more you play it, the more you understand just how complex the game truly is.

PROS:

1. It is detailed and complex

2. You have a ton of options, which make your nation fully customizable

3. Amazing economic engines

CONS:

1. The learning curve is HUGE

2. Sometimes there is just too much to do at once, especially with time moving

3. Warfare model can be confusing at times

Overall, I enjoy this game. And while I'll probably stick to Civ V, I'm sure I'll keep background games of this and EU going on as well.

I own all of the paradox games in this genre now. EU3 is by far my favorite with hearts of iron series a close 2nd. This game comes in about 3rd I havent played all the countries yet but didint care for how the game almost played itself in some ways. Course conquering mexico with texas was fun.

This game has a ton of potential, but could do with more polish. There's an awesome modding community though, and PDM in particular completes the game and more or less makes it what it ought to have been at release. Perhaps wouldn't have been a good buy at release, but it's worth getting now.

This is yet another great strategy offering from Paradox. Fans of the original Victoria and its expansion, Revolutions, will feel a bit more at home. Those coming straight into the game cold, be prepared for a pretty steep learning curve; this is the case in almost all Paradox games and caveat emptor.

With all that said, once you overcome the learning curve (and you will never fully plumb the depths, there seems to always be something new to learn) you find yourself rewarded with a deep, fulfilling grand strategy game set in the Victorian period, 1830s - 1920s. The political and economic aspects are the most stressed, though warfare and diplomacy should not be set aside too easily. The open ended nature of this game makes the course of your world's history unique and rarely duplicated.

In theory, Victoria 2 is my favorite game in the Paradox stable. I love the focus on the economy and politics. Industrialization is a blast; it's remarkably fun to set up production chains that strengthen your own position. For example, countries which export a lot of fruit and coal can set up a glass factory to support the country's coal mining and then building a winery to support the fruit farms and glass factory (which in turn supports coal mining).

In practice, the game has its flaws. These aren't bugs, but rather some design decisions that are WAD but that I disagree with. For example, in the early game factories are huge and never fill up with workers because finding labor is an issue - pops have a hard time converting to the craftsman type, and with all the countries in the world racing to build factories, there simply aren't enough workers to go around (this is fixed by the mod VRRP - be sure to check it out if you buy the game). Further, the focus on the economy has left the military side of things a bit underdeveloped. The game uses the same military mechanics as EU3, but the armies are many times larger than they were in that game. Finally, the lack of multi-core support causes this game to slow to a crawl during long games.

In the end, Vicky2 is good but not perfect. Hopefully the upcoming expansion will address some of these issues. Until then, the modders have done a great job retooling this game, so the mods are definitely worth checking out.

Love this game. It is fun to play and easy to learn. Needs to add other campaigns and battle scenarios to make it and extremely great game. Can't wait for the expansion to come out.

This is one of my favorite Paradox startegy games. I love the economic mechanics. And I love how these games have the tech trees, the Government selections, Religion stuff. I mean you want an awesome grand strategy game I suggest any Paradox game.

Sometimes sequel is worse than precedessor. That is NOT true in that case. Just excellent game, with brilliant mechanics, huge selection of nations from depths of time, great replayibility value and with online ladder! Take it and try keep your nation at top.

even after so many patches and the first dlc's in production now i´m still disappointed from the game. Europa Universalis had so much more things to do, nations to play.

In V2 if you want to play longer and with some greater aims you can only play a handfull nations.

Victoria 2 is the successor to the Victoria 1, and improves on it in many ways. Greatly improved map, and improved engine stability. That said at launch it wasn't perfect, and suffered from many bugs and economic issues. Recent patches however have greatly improved the game, and with an upcoming expansion, this game looks like it really can and will live up to all its potential.

In short if you have a love for history, particularly the 1800's this might just be the game for you.

Deeply involved, I enjoy the combination of industrialisation and politics as well as the usual empire building - a stayer.

This game is like the first one made, but with a better interface and an update to the map and tech. At first it seems like a much better game than the original, however it does have some issues which come with any paradox game. However they have been working like always to improve the game, which they have. At first I would have given this game a 2 star rating, but as patches come out, this game keeps getting better and better so it deserves higher.

In my opinion the old Victoria 1 with revolutions is better so far, but with mods victoria 2 can be playable. It's alot less historically accuracy resulting in some zany politic situations. I recommend waiting a year or 2 for the expansion to come out and be patched so that it's more realistic, unless you don't care about realism or historical authenticity, then just buy it now!

I really like this game. The game is set in the post napoleon times, it lets you guide a nation through industrialization and up to ww1, The game has no goal or objective, you make what you will such as building an empire or to unite a country its up to you. Good graphics.

The one main flaw i see if the big blue blob of france

What a blast! In this era of Victoriana being en vogue from steampunk to everything else, it's a great game to play. Fun, interesting, and deep. If there's one fault it is the economic screen seems a bit more difficult than the original, but otherwise? Big improvement over the first one! Lots more transparency to achieve modernization for non-'western' nations, which makes planning for it easier. And ultimately, a blast to play.

A huge improvement over the classic Victoria, this game is very deep and with a whole different focus than HoI3 or EU3.. much for focused on politics, diplomacy and economics, this is a brilliant game, with a very interesting gameplay.

Victoria 2 is a much cleaner and user friendly improvement over the first Victoria game. With an in-depth tutorial and guided hints, it appeals to the new comers to the grand strategy genre. But don't be fooled, in no way has this game been in any way dumbed down for the mass audience, oh no. The game is still as brutal as ever forcing you to make tough economic, militant and diplomatic decisions in order to achieve a high rank amongst other nations (a new feature in the game.)

My only complaint would've been a buggy release, but with the paradox team still behind it they're releasing HUGE patches which really alleviate any release bugs there were.

With the hope of more expansions to come; Victoria 2 remains a must-buy for any Paradox or especially grand strategy fans (new or veteran) to offer a glimpse and feel to how it would feel to command a nation in the Victorian era.

Victoria II is a better polished version of EU2. the game play and mechanics of the game are awesome and refined. The game fits in well after playing a full era of EU2. the only set back to this game that i feel would have been a great addition would have been to allow those users who own and play EU2 to import there games and start off with how the map was and go from there. even with out this feature if you like any of paradox's games and like spending a few hours taking over the world then this is a game for you!

Victoria 2 is a major improvement on the first Victoria, as it takes the great ideas from the first game, and makes the almost impossible micro management of the first game so much more intuitive.

If you enjoy grand strategy games, and love the idea of taking on the ruler any nation on earth in 1832 and developing it as you wish for 100 years, then this is the game for you. The game is effectively a sandbox, and while the game measures you on how successful you are at become one of the eight great powers, ultimately you are free pretty much to do as you wish.

Personally, as a major history buff, I love to take countries who have a less than glorious history and make them great, or otherwise play around with the historic flow of history. So if you fancy taking the Austrian Empire, Texas, Persia, or any of the other 150+ countries in the world to glory then this game is perfect for you.

Though it's extremely complicated and I've still yet to master or even comprehend many of the ins-and-outs of this game, the sense of reward and accomplishment is truly incredible. The possibilities are nearly endless in this in-depth strategy game. It's complexity will certainly be a deterrent to many, but if you have a passion for history and the time and patience this game deserves, then you should absolutely give it a whirl!

Like most of Paradox Interactive's games, Victoria 2 is a wonderfully complex strategy game with an impressive amount of accurate economic, political, and historical models. The challenge of playing as a nation in the Victorian era and striving for international prestige and respect as a 'Great Power' is a fantastic challenge and grand amount of fun.

A beautiful sequel to Victoria. The map is absolutely gorgeous, the UI is very informative and easy-to-follow (especially compared to Victoria), and the capability to mod is incredible. Despite the aesthetic changes, the game still has little problems such as population issues and a few bugs. Nothing major as this point, but is still a knock below the gameplay of Victoria. For a newcomer, I'd recommend Victoria 2. For a Victoria veteran, I'd stick with the original as its gameplay is slightly better.

I enjoy Victoria 2 greatly and after 1.3 it nerly runs seamlessly. Only problem is it's only 100 years so not as much game time, but it will give you hours of enjoyment if you like games like Eu3 or other paradox titles.

I picked up Victoria II after some consideration, having been an avid player of Europa Universalis III. I wasn't disappointed, I found the tutorials the best yet in a Paradox game (meaning they actually managed to thoroughly explain game mechanics, even if interactive elements were minimal), and after some cursory practice of going bankrupt in the grand campaign, I was ready to play. The game combines a lot of elements in a way that - if you can wrap your head around it, is very pleasing. Politics influences economics, and vice versa, and both in turn influence your military, while your economics can be heavily influenced in turn by diplomacy.

But perhaps most intriguingly of all is the sense of guidance you get from playing the game. You do not feel like that abstracted hand of God that takes so immediate and obvious control over all aspects of things that you might get in other strategy games. You very much get the feeling that you are manipulating your country, pulling on strings for desired effects, rather than simply demanding that said effect to begin. This might sound like the game is making you jump through hoops to achieve what you want - and in a way, it is. But that's part of the challenge. And it feels appropriate and believable.

Victoria II is a grand strategy game that covers the period of 1836-1936, incorporating as many elements of statesmanship on the way, and it does so very well. There's only a few niggling flaws, and you'll have to put up with the fact that the United Kingdom (as historically fitting) will run the show.

Such a good game. The second Paradox Interactive title that I have played and it didn't disappoint. I'm only rating it 4/5 because they're working on an expansion which will only improve the game :)

The game is a nice counterpart to Hearts of Iron 3, which focuses primarily on warfare. This game deals more with the economic and political side of running things. Combat still exists though!

There is a great balance in the game where you can't just rapidly expand conquering all before you and become invincible. I'm sure some players can do that, but for the rest of us it's really difficult and a great challenge.

Victoria 2 is a great game. It is hard to understand how everything works at first but once you start playing you can figure it out. It is much less military oriented then EU3 and more focused on economy, diplomacy, government structure and policy and just keeping your population's needs satisfied.

A big disappointment for a big fan of the original. Vicky II just does not offer enough new features to justify the time or expense. The changes it does make are often frustrating in terms of control over ones pops and politics that leave the player like the game is playing itself. Where HOI3 goes too far in terms of the level of micro-management it requires, this game goes too far in the opposite direction in terms of tying the player's hands.

I have been a fan of Paradox's games since EU1, but this game just reinforces the opinion I formed after HOI3. Paradox has gone the way of releasing incomplete games and then charging the player again for the complete version in the guise of an expansion or sprite pack. I will keep buying the games, but I will wait until after the first expansion and never pay full price for any of their products. No way Vicky II is worth more than $10, and charging for sprites???? Are you serious?

Victoria 2 is the less military oriented of Paradox grand strategy games. It is a good game as it is, but it still needs some expensions to become really great. The political system feels too random if you play by the rules and too gamey if you don't (hint: call an election evey month to shape the ideology of your people with the election events). The economic system is prone to sudden global collapse which can ruin a game when it happen (it prevents you from building any more military units). Nothing impossible to patch, and Paradox have shown in the past that they can turn a good game into a great game.

This game will keep you up late, just seeing what happens next. The random events and tech tree are great additions to the standard Europa gameplay, and the graphics get a major buff from the pre-Divine Wind series of games.

There's still plenty of bugs and lategame slowdown as of 7/28/2011 but I hear there's several mods and things that take care of these problems. Game could seriously use some interface tweaks, like with building a navy. If you want to build a big navy, you have to take 5 minutes of your time to individually order each ship from a gargantuan list of provinces. The grammar is bad in event text at times, but the events are still fun and informative to read about; they certainly add a lot of detail to the game.

The game is very easy to learn, although most Paradox titles (which generally boil down to 'make troops, send at enemy') are overestimated as 'difficult'. The game has enough AI control to play itself in the field of economy.

All in all, its a great game that's so far received very little attention from Paradox's development team. Hopefully this will change and they'll make patches and expansions.

The original Victoria had great depth of control but was at times overly complex and had some failures of accuracy. This game fixes most of those problems while adding a much better AI, GUI, and a great tutorial. The result is, in my opinion, just the right balance between difficulty to learn and controlability while maximizing realism. Thank, Paradox!

Although it didn't impress me as much as Europa Universalis III I have to say that Victoria II is one of the best grand strategy and history simulation games on the market. The scope of the game is fantastic, although it is often difficult to get into because of the sheer complexity and wealth of options. If you can get your head around the socio-economic simulation aspect of the game you will probably enjoy it.

Victoria was my fovourite Paradox game as I enjoy the Victorian-era economics. There are also several improvements in Victoria II which make this game even better. The map is beautiful and there are some tweaks that make the game easier to understand for begineers.

Just bought the game! It's awesome, it's like EU3 but better :D

Unpatched, this game was somewhat of a mess... although a mess with potential. Now that it's patched, the quirks that remain aren't noticable and it's great fun. It has removed the more onerous pop management of Victoria 1 in favour of a more realistic (and more fun!) system. Overally, it is more realistic than it's predecessor but not in a way that maked it less fun (quite the opposite!). The increased moddability compared to the previous game (particularily with regards to population) has the potential to make some truly brilliant mods.

When I first bought Vic 2 I was disappointed. However recent patches have greatly improved the game and now I'd definitely recommend it to anyone into this genre.

Victoria II, like its predecessor, a real-time (one day per tick) Paradox Interactive made grand strategy game. If you have played Victoria I then you already have a good idea what this game is like. Victoria II is mostly an economical and political orientated game. Warfare plays a considerable role in this game, but do not expect to find HoI3 battle mechanics.

The battle mechanics are simple. Just organisation, attack, defense and recon values for brigade sized units. You move a stack of troops across the map similar to EUIII and engage into combat on which the front width determines the amount of troops facing each other. Naval combat is also extremely simple, just organisation, attack and defense values, which are badly balanced meaning that naval combat can take about 1 month in a single engagement. Also because there is no fleet size limitor, this could mean that an unlimited number of ships can fight an unlimited number of ships.

However, as said Victoria II is not a military focussed game, thus economics and politics is more important in this game. Politics is quite elaborate, though you cannot assign a cabinet (only a ruling party). Depending on your starting country you can further implement reforms that will allow your people more political freedom. If you allow elections, events will guide you through these election times in which party issues will play a dominant role in the outcome. The fact that Victoria II uses pops, like in Victoria I, makes this an extremely detailed process in which very class of citizens (pops) can have their own dominant issues, which might determine the outcome of the elections.

The economics has been one of the major features of the Victoria series. You have domestic and world markets that allow the trade/transfer of goods between countries. Goods are supplied as either by farms or mines on provincial scale (RGOs) or Industrial goods by your industry. Though, this aspect was severely flawed when the game first came out, it has already been improved considerably by the latest patches, though sadly still major imbalances and problems exist. These problems result in huge demand which cannot be met of certain goods, meaning that minor countries cannot get enough supply for its pops. Luckily good major mods, like Age of Colonialism for balancing and more radical Pop Demand Mod (PDM) are out to solve these issues for now.

Another major flaw in the current game is the lack of historical plausibility or emersion. The number of historical events is minimal compared to Victoria I and problems can arise easily with mean that the AI is incapable of for example unifying Germany or Italy. Major events during the period, like World War I, will not happen (at least not as we know it), which can concern some players who hope to see these major world events. The American Civil War has been implemented, but do not expect the amount of depth in this game compared to other more dedicated games and it exact time and scale of this event may vary considerably. People can argue that Victoria II is not a historical simulator and I would agree, however a bit more historical flavour would have been nice IMO. Again luckily many mods exists that will allow anyone to experience more historical plausibility.

The interface of the game underwent a huge improvement compared to Victoria I and now much easier to handle. Furthermore this game contains some excellent tutorials to allow newcomers to this genre to grasp the basics of this game already within a few hours. The AI is decent. It’s not fantastic, but it is not bad either and does the job adequately enough to pose a decent challenge.

In conclusion, Victoria II is a nice game, especially for those familiar with the Grand Strategy genre, which made Paradox Interactive famous. It’s a considerable improvement compared to Victoria I and combat is simple but adequate for a more economically and politically orientated game. Though, there are still some problems considering balancing and historical flavour, most game breaking issues are gone now and several excellent mods are out that will allow anyone to get out of this game what is to be desired. Definitely a must buy for anyone who likes the Grand Strategy genre.

The patches released in the last months greatly improved this game. At the time of its release Victoria 2 was a good game but needed a lot of patches to be a realistic and complete game. Now (patch 1.4b) I think it's one of the most interesting and in-depth strategy games ever made.

After a few days playing Victoria II I can say that this is a fairly enjoyable game(if you are into grand strategy that is if not try the demo)I really like the time setting and how you have to deal with the numerous political and social changes that occur during play.I also find the various national goals that you can achieve very challenging such as forming the German Empire.

The military management is a bit different in this game first you must form your brigades from solider pops in a given region this different because you must insure that that regions solider pop level stays high enough to keep up with unit attrition also losing too many troops in a given region and that region will become upset and then you have troubles.

Keeping all your pops generally happy and still run your government and achieve your goals is the main focus of Victoria II.If you like the grand scale management of Hearts of Iron but are looking for more interface dealing with the population and trade then you will enjoy Victoria II.

After the recent patches, I can only recommend Victoria 2 to anyone who loves complex strategy games in a historical setting. Battles are a bit unspectacular, but this game has it's focus on the huge changes in society and economy that took place in the 19th and early 20th century.

Well I was waiting for Vicky 2 for years as Vicky 1 was simply to limited for hardware available ~2010. And then Vicky 2 came out. I was overjoyed, but there were/are issues. Of course by now v.1.3 is out and now game is fairly good although a bit shallow when it comes to historical events. France is a bit toned-down France from EU3. Still, Blue Blob of Doom is perfectly capable of conquering/colonizing half of the world before 1900. In current shape V2 is mainly political&economic simulator with overweight graphics and very limited combat system. And there is still plenty of room for improvement with game balance.

Vicky2 is not an exception from usual Paradox Interactive way of doing things. Releasing half-finished product (plenty of configuration files copied directly from EU3) for gamers to find bugs for themselves. Later in the game auto-saving is super sluggish and is perfectly capable of crashing entire game every time auto-save is running. V2 is multi-core aware but using at most 1.5 core of CPU power which is silly when you look at market share of quad core CPUs [even ignoring small matter of HT].

For me 4 stars (and one of those is a bonus point because I loved V1 so much).

After many patches Victoria 2 is now the game it was always meant to be, a superb military economic and political grand strategy game that is now easier than ever to get into and enjoy due to it's intuitive interface and excellent tutorial.

Wow... a learning investment of biblical proportions.

Someone says that Victoria2 is micro-managing reducted than its predecessor. To me, compared to HOI3, EU3 and similar, it is a full immersive and stunning game of grand strategy experience.

Sure that i'll spend hours of fun with it

Yeah. Well, Victoria 1 was such a different type of strategy game because it did not focus so much just on global domination (as for instance Hearts of Iron does), but rather you had to build up your society via its economy (building factories to use your iron and coal - the resources each province contains etc), dealing with the population (promoting them and so on) and also what was so original was the political model that the game portrayed, with all the different historical political factions for each country of the mid to late 19thC.

Victoria 2 is much, much improved over the original game. Both through its interface and the graphics really show an evolution with Paradox games over the past several years, something that I think is a move in the right direction. This time a lot of the economic aspects are automated (it uses Capitalist POPs to develop your society rather than having you to micromanage everything like in the first game) but you can also try and influence your voters by trying to get a political party in power that allows you to take direct control of your factory building etc. You still have that ability.

Its much improved - and I would argue that it has become easy to play straight out of the box but is very hard to actually understand and master, as there is some hidden depth to this title that is so rare for PC games these days. Kudos to the developers to actually produce a game that really is a breath of fresh air into the strategy game market, obviously showing their love for history and trying to make a game that is historically correct as well as keeping the gameplay a very rewarding experience.

With just a few minor problems and a looping soundtrack, the game offers a fun and satisfying experience. The replay value will keep fans coming back for more, though a lot of people might be put off by the steep learning curve and the patience required in becoming a true and virtuous ruler, sweet talking politician, or an egomaniacal tyrant.

If you are interested in the social and political history of the 19th century and in strategy games there's little reason not to get Victoria 2. Firstly, there's not exactly much competition for games like these. Secondly, it's a damn good game.

Word of warning though: There are still some issues in the economy modeling (as of patch 1.2). Version 1.3 should address these hopefully (based on beta patches it looks likely) and Paradox is a developer known for supporting its games all the way. I wouldn't be surprised if we got an add-on at some point too. Hard-core strategy games need your support!

Victoria 2 is great game. As always Paradox Interactive created complex and very fun strategy game. It has great research tree and realistic/understandable economic model. Everyone who has ever played any Europa Universalis game, should be familiar with the basics. For those who never played any grand strategy game like this, Vicotria 2 is a good start with easy to understand tutorial. So collected and sampled this is game which is easy to get into and challenge to master.

If you are looking for a deep, well-rounded grand strategy game with great potential, look no further than Victoria 2. The subtle management of pops to steer them towards liberalism or socialism, the management of an economy's industrialisation, technology and military all works together to provide a great gaming experience. There are some balancing issues that need to be addressed, but Paradox seems to be working at it quite well. A good buy (play MP :).

For those that have a slight economic inclination, they will appreciate that the in-game economy is actually a full supply/demand self-contained (balanced) system. The politics and the economy are really the focus of this game, with acceptable combat; don't expect the combat depth of HOI3, but then again this isn't a war simulator, it's meant to capture the feel of an era.

For people like me who like depth in their games, it's easy to lose countless hours to this game. A nice bonus is that even on release it was more polished than many Paradox games, and after two patches it really does run quite well. It is more demanding on the computer than EU3, but any modern system shouldn't have a problem.

The game is great. Best is the economy. Its made so good that it develops its own dynamic. As history student i can say that the issues of the periode are well shown in the game. But I whished me more happenings for some smaller Nations.

Victoria 2, the latest Paradox game to hit my computer, definitely kept me amused for many hours. Having played three or four games, both lasting roughly half the total game period offered, my experiences in Vic 2 were a mixed bag. Playing with the political system and diplomacy were fun, trying to build up an economy and strong industry kept me enjoyed a bit (though there were moments of hair pulling). While the rebel problem was a pain at first, that has thankfully been addressed in a patch.

However, the game does still require some balancing and changes that later patches may bring. The economy, especially in later years, is my biggest annoyance. I don't know exactly what it is (and haven't been willing to wade through hundreds of pages of discussion on the Paradox forums), but there is something that really isn't quite right.

As a long time Paradox fan, I must say that Victoria 2 is not the cream of the crop. It does have it's moments, but in hind sight I would have waited half a year or so for the first lot of patches before purchasing.

Victoria: An Empire Under the Sun is one of my favorite games so I was of two minds when Paradox announced they were making a sequel.

My only gripes with the original were that managing POPs was a chore, and that I had a strong disagreement with they way the economy was modeled. I felt that the devs should have implemented a mercanilist system whereby a colonial power could buy raw materials from the colonies and sell finished goods back to them while imposing tariffs to limit foreign competition. The devs went with a worldwide free market system which felt wrong to me.

These were the two areas that I'd hoped would be changed for Victoria II. I'm glad to say that the system has been streamlined, but it's still not quite the system I was hoping for. The economic portion has been a little too streamlined and it feels like the player doesn't really have much input at all. Further, mercantilism still isn't an option.

Dealing with the POP system still feels like a chore to me and I wish they'd hVe automated this portion of the game a lot more.

I also wish they'd kept a lot more of the nation specific events in the game. I know a lot of players felt that this robbed them of choice, but I think they add a sense of history to the game.

Other than these complaints, I'm very happy with Victoria II. I really like the new slider based interface and love the maps.

Looking forward to V III

Victoria 2 is a strategy game spanning the century from the beginning of the Victorian era to the prelude to the Second World War. Players must navigate their chosen country through a period of intense economic, social and technological change, vying with rival nations to become the greatest power of the age.

Unlike many strategy games, Victoria 2 is not interested in balancing the various factions – choose to play as the British Empire and you will dominate the world with few problems; play as the Zulus and you’ll have to try hard just to survive.

It is in these wildly different starting situations that give the game its depth and replayability. Play as Prussia and your focus will be on uniting Germany while holding off France, Austria and Russia. Play as China and you will be faced with a vast but backward nation that needs to modernise to prevent European encroachment.

Whatever your task, the means to achieve it are the same: research, diplomacy, the economy and warfare. Of these, the economy is paramount, with warfare a close second. Diplomacy and research have a lesser role to play, especially in the latter case: great bonuses can be unlocked, but there are some technologies so powerful that you’ll find yourself researching them in a similar order in every game. Likewise, diplomacy is generally a matter of cozying up to the big boys or squabbling over influence in a few of the larger countries.

The economy is where the game really comes into its own, providing a (sometimes bewildering) wealth of statistics on individuals’ incomes, education and political views – which are largely determined by their material wellbeing. All these factors can be influenced by the player through changing tax and spending policies. Make people rich and they’ll build factories and railroads, but also clamour for political or social reforms. Keep them poor and they’ll be more accepting of the status quo, but at the price of stifling your economy.

The wealth of your nation is also linked to its fighting strength. Armies and navies cost money, and support costs triple in wartime. Each regular soldier is both a drain on the economy and a pair of hands denied to the fields, mines or factories.

Players can build a handful of differing units, but infantry, tanks and artillery all look the same on the battle map. Battles are decided automatically and it’s generally the case that the bigger or more modern army will win. Winning a battle will not win the war however – you have to sap the enemies will to fight by occupying territory and building up “war score” which translates to how much you can demand at the peace table – it’s not simply a case of keeping what you can capture.

The AI is generally good, with the computer making a decent show of both the peace- and wartime game. However the computer players are often bad at concentrating force, making it possible to bring the British Empire to its knees by quickly nipping across the Channel to ravage an undefended UK.

This feeds in to another of the games’ weaknesses: rebellions. The underlying concept is sound enough – as people get frustrated by the lack of political progress their militancy rises until rebellions break out – but the execution leaves something to be desired. For the human player rebellions are annoyances that can hamper the pace of the late game, but for the AI they can be deadly, causing a country to get caught in a continuous process of revolution.

Graphically the game is solid, if unexciting, but the same can be said of many other titles of this type.

Despite the flaws, Victoria 2 remains a fun and rewarding experience. There’s a real sense of achievement to be gained from winning a war or establishing a vibrant economy. For fans of the genre, and even more for fans of Paradox’s other titles, it's well-worth the investment.

i LOVE Victoria II, its great fun to play and change history

I owned the original Victoria and its DLC packs, it was really what got me into Paradox Games. Before then i had no idea what Paradox was and i see now that i had been missing out since i love strat games.

Victoria II is, in my opinion, a much improved form of V1. they made a lot of changes that makes the game much more realistic like the market and economy of your country. As an example of a great improvement in V1 it was often hard to play smaller countries because it was very difficult to pay for armies and the market AI didnt help your economy much either by buying stuff you dont need. Now the market works much better off supply and demand based on country prod. and the new Artisans really boost your income if you have no factories by them making different goods on their own. Now you are able to turn a smaller country like 'the Two Sicilies', into a power house and unify Italy.

there are many new and improved features making Victoria II well worth its price. Also as with all Paradox made games it is very mod friendly which will of course add greatly to keeping you entertained.

After about three completed game, 1 as Belgium(Failure), one as Mexico(Partially Successful), and Japan(Super Powerful) I have decided to review this game.

You can tell a lot of work went into this. The graphics are the best of the paradox batch yet. Everything is nice and detailed and the figures representing troops are also well done and unique to each country. The sound is nice too. Some of the music is magnificent, the rest is average. Overall the music is less memorable than the Vicky 1 soundtrack.

Gameplay-wise, there are a lot of improvements, and some detriments. A lot of the micromanagement has been removed as the AI is pretty decent in the auto trade department. If you try to build something the AI will automatically collect that resource for you. Unfortunately the AI is not good at everything. Capitalists have a habit of building the worst factories in the worst places,and building too many of them. Also a lot of the control, such as promoting POPs, is now automated which is a blessing and a curse. Also some nations are nigh impossible to industrialize(Mexico) because they don't start with factories, which means Capitalists don't have money, which in turn means they can't make any factories.

A few more gripes would be the lack of starting dates (I know this will be a bulletin point in an expansion but come on), and some nations have few historical events. A lot of stuff that used to have events just happens now, which destroys some of the flavor and can be jarring. If you get rid of events, then you're no longer playing a nation, you're playing a colored blob.

But it's a lot of fun. Playing a great power off the bat is boring. Instead play a secondary or even an uncivilized nation and work your way up. In my Japan game I went from 68 to Great Power just by becoming civilized. Then I used my power to conquer my neighbors(Including China). This is what Victoria 2 is best at. It gives you a lot to do(And it's really easy to get into)even when at peace, that makes sure that your never bored. That being said it isn't the best Paradox game, and unless you love their stuff(I do)wait for a price drop and maybe a patch/expansion(but not nearly as many as Vicky1).

If you like EU3 and other paradox games, if your interested in history or ever wanted to take charge of a nation this game is for you. It is complicated, but with time anyone can figure it out. There are hundreds of nations to choice from and hundreds of outcomes. This isn't a traditional do this and you win, it is more sandbox than anything else. Open ended historical game playing is what this game is about, and it does this very well.

Victoria is definitely simpler and easier to understand than Vicky1, though its nigh impossible to truly enjoy a game of Vicky2 without thinking to yourself that your economy is practically building itself. To truly work for your economy you would have to play a small nation, perhaps as a released Czechoslovakia, and make clever use of national focus. But even then, you're only clicking a few buttons and then watching your capitalists increase and hoping they get enough money to start a factory.

Though it's not Paradox most popular game, I consider it their pinnacle.

You're not just ruling a country but a society, and politics, as well as economics, take the main role over warfare.

It has the taste of original Victoria (plus Revolutions expansion): population represented by POPs, social classes, political parties and elections (if you're actually a democracy, several type of governments are available), dozens of goods to produce, consume and trade... But there are also remarkable (and appreciated) differences.

First of all, you no longer make classes convert into other type "magically". They promote (or demote) depending on satisfaction of their needs, on their literacy, on availability of jobs... There are also two new classes (artisans and bureacrats).

Second, the economy is more realistic, as what it's expense for one it's income for another one. You see also booms and crashes because of demand.

Third, a revamped geopolitical system. Now being a Great Power matters, as far as you can create your own 'sphere of influence', somewhat like a soft empire, with implications on international trade and generation of casus belli when someone is trying to enter into your sphere.

Finally, Victoria 2 is a great game. Its community is also creating great mods (is easy to mod, as other Paradox titles) and replaybility is guaranteed as there are so much countries (and changing circumstances) to play. My favourite Paradox (and strategy) game so far.

Mixed feelings on this one. The map and interface are the best I've seen from Paradox. Wish EU3 had it! The game is deep and complex to the level that your never sure that it's working as it's supposed to.

Vic 1 was criticised for having too much micromanagement, so this was (nearly) all taken out for Vic2. The problem is that now the game mostly runs itself. You build and move armies and conduct diplomacy as before. But as for the economy - the biggest chunk of the game - basically you have tax rates and 4 other rather obtuse sliders and that's it. No direct control, just influence.

I have enjoyed a few sessions with this game and will probably fire it up every month or two. But ti feels like I'm watching the world go by, rather than engaged in strategy.

Oh, and the rebels are as BAD as ever!!!! To be fair to Paradox, this seems to be a stupid design decision made by almost every game. "Compensate for inadequate AI by hitting the player with a zillion rebels every turn". It still spoils the game somewhat.

In the Victoria 2 blurb, Paradox tells you that you will "carefully guide your nation...", and this is exactly what you will do. The political and economic aspects of this game are less about management and more about guidance, and the game rewards taking time to understand the economic and political model.

The game's political model requires the player to manipulate the people to achieve their goal - ironically, happy people are often the biggest impediment to progress (as they tend to be more conservative)! One side effect of this modeling, is that as of patch 1.2, a successful nation can hit a point where so many people are happy that the nation can't pass reforms, causing the thousands (or millions) people who desperately want reforms to become angry and revolt.

The economic model is deep and complex - it does a good job of modeling the progression of agricultural and industrial efficiency. The model is still somewhat unbalanced as of 1.2, but is still playable and enjoyable.

Finally, the military model is designed to imitate the grueling, deadly wars of the period. Nations must balance that war kills off segments of the population (soldiers, conscripted poor) as a price for every conquest. This leads to situations where players may have a short-term military advantage, but must make careful choices lest they leave themselves drained and open to attack from another side.

The game clearly requires more balancing work, but it is highly enjoyable without being a micromanaging nightmare.

Victoria 2 is the greatest game i have ever play in the imperial time. Is even better than Victoria 1, they have new resourc like sphere countries to control the countries around you, and the production system is even better. They have issues with rebels but with patch 1.2 is now work fine.

Though not flawless, Vicky 2 accomplishes what so many sequels to games like this seem to be unable to: being simple enough for new players, but complex enough to ensure re-playability and retention. Hopefully a few more patches, as well as community modding and bugfixing, will bring this game into its rightful 'place in the sun'.

Victoria 2 offers a unique experience among strategy games. It is far more complex than your standard "divide and conquer" type of game.

In Victoria 2, careful management of your population, resources and alliances are key to a succesful session.

The political minigame is also enthralling and rewarding in it's own. By allowing you to do what you want but within the limits of what your population has agreed on the game creates a healthy environment for fun play.

The economic part of the game also features a nice style of play. It is tied nicely with every other aspect of the game. Unemployed population will seek carreer in the ranks of the army, at the same time, they will ask for social reforms and if taken lightly might even revolt.

The diplomacy is simple but functional. Declaring war, building alliances, asking for military access are all withing the game.

The eight most powerful nations also have a minigame of their own. Through influencing other nations they can bring them into their sphere of influence where they will bypass any tariffs those countries might have imposed as well as having preference in buying or selling to those countries.

This game is highly entertaining and will reward thought plays and careful decision-making.

Excellent game. As with most Paradox releases, it needs a patch or two to get rid of a few remaining bugs, but it was a much smoother release than others have been.

Spend some time with it, there's a learning curve... Play a few games with different nations and you'll start to see how everything works. After that, you're ready for world domination. :)

Victoria 2 represents a worthy addition to Paradox’s game lineup. The essential elements of game play are very easy to pick up with the help of a decent manual and, for the first time ever in a Paradox game, a truly first rate tutorial. After you learn the game you will find many hours of fun trying to master all the concepts.

It is truly a game worthy of any strategy buff. Whether you like running an economy, prosecuting wars, or managing the wants and needs of a population Victoria 2 offers something for you.

Overall it is a solid and stable game. A few negatives to be aware of, the game speed will slow in the late stages of the game, and starting around 1870-1900 depending it seems on the capabilities of your machine. Other than that most major issues have been solved by the recent 1.2 patch. Any remaining problems (there are few in my opinion) will be solved by the eventual patch 1.3 which Paradox will likely release. (I don’t know if there has been an officially announced 1.3 but given Paradox’s track record for support there more than likely will be)

Victoria 2 is a great game.Some people hate it and some love it.Just like the Ramones :)

Good sides:Great immersion,industrialization,diplomacy,warfare,unification of countries during the nationalism period(Yugoslavia etc.)

Bad sides:Fast assimilation in colonies resulting in military powerhouse India,stupid mobilization mechanic

First: Victoria 2 is an excellent game (1.2) and has been a good game from the start. You can control your country's politics, diplomacy, warfare, research, industry and demographics (population). One must not be an expert to play the game, it can be played without knowing too much of the details that drives the game. But inside the seemingly easy game there are complex things going on an experts can influence these to make the country run better. Graphics and interface are great also.

There are still a few issues with the game. Democracies get a lot of liberal rebels and population assimilation is too fast.

A must for history and hardcore strategy junkies, but the initial release isn't as polished as might be hoped. Several issues mar the 1.0 version of the game, but given the game's amazing complexity, it isn't entirely unexpected.

To get a better gaming experience for V2, go to the paradox forums for patches and mods. Paradox games have a strong modding community, and there are already some good ones out there that drastically improve the basic game.

Bottom line: Definitely worth buying.

I liked Ricky alot, even though it was so far above me that I struggled with it constantly, so I bought this one right away.

Vicky2 is great and lots of fun. It is also hyper-complex, even for a Paradox title, so expect a learning curve and some struggling as you get the hang of it.

Victoria 2 ist wie zu erwarten ein typischer Paradoxtitel geworden. Unausgereift und unausgewogen mit extremen Tiefgang.

Das Potential was Victoria 2 in sich birgt ist gigantisch, doch leider trüben derzeit noch einige Balancingprobleme den Spielspaß.

Nach Patch 1.2 wird aber zu erwarten sein, daß ein Großteil davon bereits behoben sein wird, sein volles Potential wird Vicky II sicher erst mit Patch 5 und 2 AddOns entfalten, auch das ist bei Paradox ja so üblich.

Fairerweise ist aber zu betonen, daß das Meckern auf höchstem Niveau ist. Der Tiefgang den Vicky bietet hat nichts zu tun mit dem üblichen Civilization Einheitsbrei für den Massenmarkt. Victoria ist knallhart und bietet eine Optionsfülle jenseits dessen was alltägliche Strategiespile bieten und weiß für Monate wenn nicht Jahre zu begeistern.

Die Unterschiede zu Vicky ! liegen vor allem in der Präsentation, da endlich Victoria damit auch auf die Cluasewitz Engine portiert wurde und nicht mehr mit der alten Europa Engine auskommen muss sowie in einigen sehr sinnvollen Detailveränderungen. Pops müssen nicht mehr einzeln gesplittet und zugewiesen werden, Politik spielt jetzt eine noch wichtigere Rolle, die Diplomatie sowieso. Bei Handel und Produktion wurde eher verschlimmbessert, das ist bei Paradox aber bekannt (derzeit V. 1.1) und hier werden die nächsten Patches einiges verändern.

Leider wurden die Schlachten nicht von Hearts of Iron übernommen so wie bei Victoria I sondern funktionieren wie die Europa Universalis Schlachten. Wie ich finde ein Rückschritt, villeicht wollte man dem hauseigenen Hearts of Iron III keine Konkurrenz machen.

Entwicklungen einzelner historischer Gegebenheiten sind nicht mehr gescriptet wie bei Victoria I oder HoI sondern sind vollkommen in den Spielverlauf eingebunden. Dieses Feature ist phänomenal und schafft eine enorme Motivation.

Für die Verinigung Deutschlands musste man in Vicky I noch einfach zum richtigen zeitpunkt die richtige Option wählen. Bei Vicky 2 gilt es bestimmte Bedingungen zu erfüllen um dann bspw. den norddeutschen Bund und daraus hervorgehend Deutschland zu proklamieren. Diese Einebttung direkt in das Spielgeschehen gestattet es historische Gegebenheiten nachzuspielen, ohne daß es sich exakt so abgespielt hat wie es in der Geschichte der Fall war. Eine vereinigung Deutschlands ist somit auch schon theoretisch 1836 möglich, wenn auch kaum zu schaffen. 1850 regierte ich doch über ein einziges Deutschland während die Vereinigung Italiens nie stattfand.

Ein wirkliches Problem scheint für Paradox mittlerweile Asien zu werden. War bei Europa Universalis III in Asien noch gähnende Langeweile angesagt die erst mit dem vierten AddOn angegangen wird, so sorgt die Victoria II Spielemechanik dafür, daß China sich zu einem gealtigen Monster entwickeln kann, was nicht nur binnen einiger Jahre zur dominierenden Großmacht mutiert sondern es besteht die Möglichkeit, daß China mit der Industrialisierung bereits im zweiten Drittel des neunzehnten Jahrhunderts beginnt und zu Beginn des 20sten Jahrhunderts nicht nur die Weltmärkte dominiert sondern auch jede beliebige andere Großmacht in Grund und Boden stampft. Zwar besitzt China zu Spielbeginn keine einzige Fabrik und kann auch keine errichten bis die nötige Technologie nicht langjährig erforscht wurde, aber das ist auch gar nicht nötig. Mit seinem Heer aus Millionen von Handwerkern die vom Holzbrett bis zum fertigen Teeklipper alles fertigen können in nahezu unbegrenzten Mengen ist China von Anfang an eine Gefahr die die gesamte Welt zu erschüttern droht. Glücklicherweise scheint die KI zu dumm zu sein, dieses Potential einzsetzen. Ein Spieler ist dazu jedoch fähig und schafft es bereits 1860 mit einem kaiserlichen China die Grundefesten der Welt zu erschüttern. Militärisch, politisch und wirtschaftlich. Hier bedarf noch Nachbesserung.

Ansonsten, Klasse Spiel, sehr zu empfehlen., Die Downloadversion kann wie immer deutsch, es muss aber manuell umgestellt werden im Configfile, auch nichts Neues. Das Deutsch ist wie üblich nicht lesbar und unverständlich. Es handelt sich um Wort für Wortübersetzung mit grauenhaften Begriffen. Dafür gibt es aber bereits einen hervorragenden Mod.

This is the greatest game on release Paradox have ever created. Even in its current 1.1 state it is better than the majority of their games.

Although simple combat is really engaging and even after hours of play I still think it is quite challenging when facing an AI opponent with similar strength.

Politics remains a little simple and its harder to influence elections than I'd like but it is still enjoyable.

The SoI mini-game does take a bit of micro-management but if you pay attention to it you can reap rich rewards. Indeed creating a good SoI can really make or break your attempts at industrialisation. It allows you to find the resources your factories and POPs need and markets for your exports. The SoI game also creates new geo-political conflicts. Austria and Russia might be drawn into a conflict with one another if they fight over the scraps created by the fall of Ottoman control in the Balkans or the British might engage with the Americans over Latin America. Brilliant and very 19th century.

Industrialisation is something that I always enjoyed in Victoria 1 and Victoria 2 is no different. Here the National Focus mechanic is a godsend. Used well national focusses can pull your country kicking and screaming into the modern era by forcing POPs into the factories when they would otherwise stay in the fields.

Now on to the problems:

Rebels are simply ridiculous, even in liberal democracies with genorous welfare programs. If you try to stay authoritarian rebels can break your game by as early as 1880. This really needs to be fixed.

Assimilation happens at an incredible rate. For example with Austria by 1900 the vast majority of your Empire will be populated by South Germans whilst within decades 10s of millions of Indians become British. According to the devs the high spead assimilation was designed to improve play spead so it might have to stay and we'll have to suspend our disbelief.

Play spead is attoricious on my PC are 1870 or so.

Migration to your colonial provinces is bumped up in Victoria 2. A terrible idea. The most ridiculous examples come from Greenland which can have a population in excess of 1,000,000 by the 1850s.

Overall this game has some big problems but I overlook them as what this game gets right really out weighs what it gets wrong. 5/5

Victoria is a great game. A must for gamers who like grand strategy and empire building games. Economy, war, politics, diplomacy, colonization, ... it's all there.

Great game, much easier to get into than Victoria 1. The fun thing is you can shape your country and prosper without going to war. There are some problems thought. Most importanly the rebel system, doesn't work that well in late game, they keep popping up and up. The economics also needs some balancing late game, but they are working on patches. It will truly be great ones the the flaws get fixed and knowing paradox they will.

Paradox's finest! Nigh bugfree upon release and filled with amazing features, this is a must have for any Grand Strategy game lover!

From the World economy, up to the accurate representation of Social change and Diplomacy, Victoria II is almost perfect; if anything some things like the US not always going for their Manifest Destiny or the Laiszes-Faire problems currently plagging 1.1 do need some polishing, but since they're on the list of changes for 1.2... this game is bound to soon be truly great. =)

One thing though: while not as complex as the first installment this game is NOT for the faint-hearted! To all those of you to whom this kind of game appeals not, stay clear of it! Lest you find yourself in an intricate maze of byzantine concepts and charts...

The game is very very nice, amazing. I strongly recommend you buy it if you like empire building games. You can control any nation or empire and create colonies and policies. Moreover, the economy is kind of realistic which is amazing. However, the revolts, dissidents and revolutions are quiet annoying because they happen alot but they can be controlled in variouse mods. The reforms it would be better if it gave us more control and made it easir for uncivilized nations to civilize but that still not impossible and quiet challenging which is fun.

This must be the best Paradox game on release. Like the other Paradox games? Then you will love Victoria 2. The best thing is, it can still be improved. And after a few expansions it will be truly the queen of all Paradox games.

Definitely Paradox's best release-day product. The game has it's issues, as does any game, but I think it has easily surpassed Hearts of Iron III and is on the verge of overtaking Europa Universalis III as the best title in Paradox's current generation.

The game has been streamlined from the first installment, and made a lot better. Much less unrealistic and unnecessary micro-management and gives much more room for enjoyment.

If you like the other Paradox games, you'll love this. Fans of Victoria I's micromanagement may be upset, but the sacrifices in control are made up for with constant adjustments of the few "National Focus" that are available. Additionally, the combat system has been overhauled - for the better in my opinion. It seems as though Europa Universalis III has a challenger to the throne, and with a patches (or two), Victoria will be able to claim her throne.

The first approach with the game is surely awesome, with an interface simple and very good. The game offer a great number of oppurtinity, you can choose to play as a nation, and a second time choose another nation, but a third time you can play the first with a new different experience. But the game is not perfect becouse when a player learn the mechanics of the game, it is very simple and the AI is not more a true challange. Another problem is the presence of some bug and other issues, but the game is a good choiche, and probably future patch improve this game is a good political, economical, simulator and is very fun. (but too simple)

Great mix of the best aspects of various paradox games:

1 - Combat and military aspects taken fom 'Rome" (which I have always considered the best in paradox titles);

2 - Map and province management similiar to "EU3";

3 - Same good and old political and economic interfaces, but with improvements;

4 - New aspects and new little perks everywhere.

5 - Last but not least, there were several things in VicOne that you kinda had to take assumptions for it to make sense. The "soldier POP" vis-a-vis the actual unit, for instance. Now, the populace and the fightint unit actuall are directly connected. Soldiers die in battle, the pop reduces accordingly. And so on.

To be fair, usually paradox game lovers tend to have them all, even if just for compairson reasons. This is a game that requires no selling effort really. A must-have.

Simply the more stable and playable game Paradox has ever made! And really fun to play: no more micro-management, wasting time or obscur concepts, nothing compare with the first game (Victoria)!

The game get more easy to learn & understand all the concept, have no boring mechanism but still remain difficult, realistic (even if not yet well balanced yet, but just wait for futur patch) and playable!

This game is a great remake of Victoria. Many gamers that have played other Paradox Interactive games will notice the mixture of Heir to the Throne and Hearts of Iron 3. Its an amazing game that any strategist will enjoy, and a needed game for any Paradox Interactive players

Awesome, and I that's really the only word I can think of to describe it. I'm yet to encounter any bugs. The game is complicated, very complicated, and that's why I love it.

It finds a very nice mid-point between Hearts of Iron and Europa Universalis (Both in terms of the time period and gameplay) and is a must have for any decent strategy gamer.

Victoria 2 is a real masterpeice in the Paradox line of historical simulations. The really have improved the internface and included all of the lessions they have learned from their other titles to create the most refined historical simulations I have ever played.

My enjoyment of the game is hampered by the unresponsiveness of their tech support. For over one week, I have yet to receive a response on a crashing issue. I do not expect PC games to be plug in play, but a timely response from a company's customer service department shows a degree of common courtesy. Even if the response is "we do not have a solution for your issue at this time."

Best and most polished Paradox release ever! It certainly has its flaws and fair share of bugs, but nothing gamebreaking (unlike HoI3). Give the game one or two patches and wait for the mods to kick in and this may very well become the best strategy game ever.

Its not worth buying before patch 1.2 will be released. And nobody know when it will be released. Every question in the forum about when it will be released will be flagged as spam.. in my opinion this is a pretty radical developer.. We can pay them 40 € but cant ask when the game will work correctly? It is radical as I said.

But now about the problems:

- POP´s dont work

- industrialising wont work as good

- your only mission is right now to fight hundreds of rebels.. they spam your country.. the frequency of that results into click sport.. its not hard to fight them but you will get annoyed and boring very fast because of that

There are some other issues..

All in one they are gamebrakers imo..

So do not buy before the problems are adressed with patches.

Greetings

This game is a really indepth view of the XIX/XX sec. World history with a very good political simulation aswell as an incredibly good economics representation ;)

I Give it a 5/5 for the excelent quality of it and i hoipe Paradox keeps realeasing these highquality games!

I cant wait for the 1st patch though as the anarcho liberals keep showing up in my game at incredible ammounts, still, this is a minor nuissance as im not very much affected by it and besides, paradox is going to release a patch that fixes this so congratulations paradox for releasing a very good game that is patricly bug free and and extremely enjoyable, which is unfurtunatly something increasingly rare these days.

I would also like to point out that the tuturials are much better than those found in other paradox games which is a huge improvement!

That being said, i hope u guys release an expansion and keep supporting this game :)

Great game: 5/5

I just finished the tutorial and started my first game into Victoria 2; first thing, it completely feels like Victoria 1 regarding to icons, buttons... but it's much easier to find what you need; everything is summarized in nice overviews; no more clicking a thousand times to get a certain POP or something else; very nice! moreover, the game looks very appealing, which was quite untrue for the original; vibrant colors, nice counters, a delicious map... make it much less a 'just a number and statistics game'; the economic-industrial simulation is top again in this game, with military issues still however a bit second ranking (imagine a combination between HOI and Vic!);

Toughest question is again: 'do I want the most efficient (ruthless) country or do I create the country I like to live in, no matter the prestige and overall score?' a game making me wondering about these questions is truly a great, enthralling grand strategy game! but don't underestimate it, like several other paradox games, you really have to learn how to play this game; but it's really worth the time...

This game is simply great. The fun is here, the challenge is impressive and they killed the most irritating things to do in Victoria I : the micromanagement. With a few patches (rebels are no fun to trade with - there should be a way of giving the mission of chasing them to an unit, without having so many unintersting clics to do - and the game crashes whenever I quit to go back to desktop, with a windows error notice...), it will be on my top five best loved games.

As of right now, this game is not worth buying, many bugs plague it, with the worst being rebels that spawn by the hundreds of thousands, and many countries late game being completely overrun. With that said, after a few patches come out it will be the best game Paradox has put out since EU3. If it comes on sale before a suitable patch, then it would definitely be worth it, but I would not pay full price, right now.

This update has a very similar feel to Europa Universalis 3 : Heir to the Throne. They incorporated the best features with great new graphics to improve tremendously upon Victoria. This is a great game with tremendous re-playability. Another great game by Paradox.

This game is... awesome!!! I've played hours Victoria I and I don't only see a nicer look, the game is indeed fascinating. Absolutely to be bought!

A nice game indeed. Paradox have did good with this tittle, the game is very stable and smooth. The trade, politics and influence features in the game are really nice. Hope we can get soon some DLCs to the game.

The interface is quit different respect to the previous Victoria: much effort has been spent in getting better visual results.

A very good work has been done with the tutorial, with an easy step by step guide to diplomacy, trade, military with increasing complexity (from basic to advanced tutorial). Without this tutorial a new game is mostly unmanageable, with two many parameters to take into account.

Also the military has been revised, with more realistic war goals and greater war expenses, which can lead also a superpower to some difficulties.

A very complex political system is simulated, with different control over economy (from laissez faire to state-capitalism), reforms (social reforms, civic freedoms and general consensus).

Better than Victoria, and finally a strategic simulation from Restauration to the very beginning of Second World War.

Sublime gameplay, now with a sublime sense of art.

The one thing that has always been lacking with Paradox titles, art, eyecandy, something more interesting on the mind and eyes than flat gray shapes, has finally arrived.

We all know the gameplay in these games is great, the best in the genre, so good that i take it for granted and start talking about the beautifully painted landscapes instead!

2d strategy at its finest, and in case you've never played any games such as these before, i really can not summarize the gameplay in a few sentences.

And i almost forgot to mention the interface, the best in the genre so far. Its the perfect blend between art, easy on the eyes, and mad depth and information.

How they managed to keep the population window so accessible and beautiful (in the sense that you dont get a headache looking at it), while being so chock full of information that reveals the depth of the inner mechanics of this game, is something ill never understand! :)

Paradox did it again: a wonderful game for the strategy-buff with endless possibilities. It may take you a while to get to know all intricacies, but then you're going to spend loads of time with this complex and in-depth game. Victoria 2 has wonderful graphics and a beautiful soundtrack which really pulls you into the era.

Although I have just started this game, from previous experience with Paradox Interactive games such as Hearts of Iron 3 and Europa Universalis 3, Victoria 2 already appears to be a culmination of strong points found in their previous games, such as the depth of the political and economic simulator of EU3 and the vast amount of research and customization available in Hearts of Iron 3. Unfortunately, the combat system remains as simplistic and undeveloped as in EU 3, yet this game plays more like an economic and political simulator than a real time strategy or war game.