Review: Crusader Kings II

Crusader Kings II is a title I initially overlooked.  A game based on the same engine as Europa Universalis and Hearts of Iron, I expected Paradox to deliver another version of the same wrapper, leading to the same stalemate with 2-3 large nations.  It didn't help that I played both until I was so sick of them I couldn't stand to even look at a map.  I admit it, I was wrong to overlook this one.

Concept 

A unique spin on a genre I love.

There's no way around it -- Paradox has essentially carved a niche out of the grand strategy genre.  Civilization is perhaps the father of this type, but where it lets you play Buddhist Abe Lincoln, King of the Pyramids with no historical ramifications, Paradox has a much more historical focus.  Between Hearts of Iron and Europa Universalis, they've made sure that you're actually playing factions with vaguely historical consequences.  You can actually face historical perils, like the golden horde.  The Total War series is really its only competition here, and the level of grand strategy actually pales in comparison to this, primarily because of Total War's heavy focus on tactical gameplay.

Each shield is a playable faction.

I'm a nut for the grand strategy market, and have perhaps sunk more hours into it than any other genre -- including the MMO.  Building an empire is completely rewarding and satisfying.  It can even be fun, in the Dwarf Fortress sense.  That being said, there's a point at which grand strategy games become completely un-fun.  That point is consistent across nearly every game in the genre, and that is in maintaining your empire.  The twist Crusader Kings II brings breaks that mold, because every 4-5 years, your ruler dies, and a new one comes into play, creating power struggles.  Because the game is set in feudal Europe, succession conflicts happen.  Vassals rise up in rebellion.  All the while, you're dealing with the conflicts every game set in the medieval period offer -- the mongols, the crusades, and religious conflicts.  Instead of using invasions as the only thing that brings the fun, you're getting that conflict with significant regularity.

 UI

The same old clunky Paradox UI.
This game uses the stock UI Paradox brings to its games, with little modifications.  That being said, the UI is particularly clunky and difficult to use for someone new to the series.  If you're used to EU3, you're not in for many surprises, and you'll be able to jump right in.  If you're not, take the time to mouse over everything before you jump in.  It may be time consuming, but it's the best way to get through the game's learning curve.  UIs in grand strategy games are extremely complicated, but Paradox does itself no favors here with anything resembling a simplified mode, or icons that make sense without mousing over.

The Character Screen

Tutorial 
There's a tutorial?
This is Paradox' weakness.  They've never managed to have a particularly thorough tutorial.  Where most games come to expect you to at least take a few minutes in a mock-game, Paradox instead gives you a quick tour of the UI, without properly showing you the icons it's trying to tell you about.

Learning Curve

 Once you get used to the UI, it's manageable.
Because of the poor tutorial and clunky UI, the bulk of the game's learning curve is learning how to do basic things that are part of the game's routine.  Once you get beyond the UI, the game teaches you by providing extremely harsh punishment for mistakes.  Did you have one too many children?  Well, now they're at your throat.  Did you sell your daughter off to the wrong family?  Now they've got ten thousand men marching for your homeland.

Marchin' to War

 Game/Faction Depth

Choose your own adventure!
While you can't tailor any faction you want immediately to your every whim like you can in Civilization, there is quite a lot of depth and variety between factions.  Historical details are not ignored -- every historical ruler or family member has a link to their Wikipedia page, for example.  Similarly, your actions significantly influence your reputation, and the events the game is scripted with give you a lot of chances to develop how you want your faction or ruler to proceed.  Where Total War is rather lackluster outside of combat, Crusader Kings shines, much like Europa Universalis before it.

Difficulty
The game becomes more or less difficult through natural play.
This is one area where the game shines.  The bulk of the difficulty is varied based on your own choices.  Because the goal isn't thriving, but rather survival, each action you take changes the difficulty.  Having trouble?  Stop having children after you have a boy, stop invading countries, and hand out landed titles to courtiers to manage your crisis.  Want things to be harder?  Start expanding, have more children, and start marrying your daughters into large powers for a chance at a power grab.

The Combat Screen

 Combat

Same old strategery; little control over combat.
Again, since this is a reskinning of EU3, don't expect anything spectacular.  Paradox has a huge variety of factors that play into combat, but knowing what they all are takes a huge amount of mousing over icons.  Even then, you are left wondering how your army of 1200 elites lost to an army of 600 peasants occasionally.  I'm left waxing poetic about what I'd give to see Paradox team up with the Total War team to see what comes out.

Graphics
Average graphics with disappointing choices.
A grand strategy game isn't expected to have stellar graphics.  Clean icons and a developed world map aren't particularly resource intensive.  Crusader Kings suffers, though, from a number of missing features.  There is no windowed mode.  Secondly, for a game that has low graphical requirements, it sure lacks the ability to turn off some of its bells and whistles to run decently on older machines.  My year old laptop can't touch this without it getting ridiculously choppy and having a resolution so low that you can't see a character portrait without it taking up the whole screen.

Sir!  The peasants are revolting!

 Replayability

Bored with your current setup?  Try a different culture, or heck, play as a vassal overthrowing your liege.  Where Civilization plays out in similar manners each playthrough, CK really takes this to another level.  Heck, if you're bored, get yourself maimed and fight through a succession crisis.

Price
The $50 retail for CK is a high price.  Civ V retails for $30, and promises a similar experience.  Still, $50 is the average retail price, and Paradox products are regularly available on Steam for a steep discount.  I snagged my copy for $10 during the Steam Summer Sale, for example.  And at that price, you really have no excuse to not be wasting weeks on it.

Diplomacy!

 Conclusion

Think the core of Civ V with historical depth and quite a lot more intrigue, with a solution for the "Welp.  Time to be bored." stalemate.
If you enjoy Grand Strategy, pick this one up when you see it on sale.