Diehard GameFan writes: "Strategy games have been around for a long time, and titles like Risk and Axis and Allies eventually made the transition to electronic media. Many people have heard of those titles, but a lesser known French board game by the name of Europa Universalis was also made into a PC game in 2000. Developed by Paradox Interactive, there have been three sequels to the original: EU2, EU3, and now Europa Universalis: Rome.
The common thread between all four titles is that you are wanting to lead a European empire to dominance. In the case of EU:Rome, you lead a country during the height of the Roman Empire, be it Rome, Greece, Carthage, or any number of outer countries.
There is no story to the game, per se. You aren't really trying to recreate history. You are given the opportunity to run the country as you see fit. There are no real goals either. If you want to lead Rome to total European domination, you can do that. Or if you want to lead a lesser known country to be a trading powerhouse, that's an option to. The world is very open, which could be a good thing, or a bad thing. A lot of people like things to be open ended, but I personally like to have an eventual goal to achieve."
Direct2Drive has slashed $15 off the price of Paradox's strategy title Europa Universalis: Rome Gold, taking the game down to $5 as part of the digital distributor's Deal of the Week.
The Reticule writes: "Paradox may be all hands on deck at GamesCom in Germany but I managed to sneak some questions through to the companies CEO, Fredrik Wester. Read on for his comments on DLC and newly announced titles from Paradox.
The Reticule – You describe the new titles as being a 'tribute' to those who play your games, to what extent does this mean the new games will be designed according to what your fans want to see?
Fredrik Wester – We are always working close to our customers when designing and developing games. This is the result of many years of interaction between our studio and our fans. Several people from the publishing team also interacts with our forum users on a daily basis to discuss, get feedback and to help us develop the company and our games."
GamersInfo writes: Europa Universalis: Rome is an empire builder set in the time of ancient Rome. Despite my love for all things Rome and empire or city builders, I found the game to be tedious, boring and frustrating.
In my experience, there are typically three elements to all empire builders, though most good games will focus on at least two. The primary one is conquering your foes through epic cinematic or stylistically rendered combat. The second element that you can find is winning through the simple strategy of micromanaging your city or empire. That is, you win through trade, diplomacy, alliances and financial gain. And, through all good empire builders, there is the undercurrent that you are somehow a supreme figure looking over all you survey with a sense of power and control.
