Europa Universalis II

aka: EU2, Europa Universalis II: Conquista, commercio, diplomazia dal medioevo a Napoleone, Europa Universalis II: Der Kampf kann beginnen, Europa Universalis II: La batalla puede comenzar, Europa Universalis II: Luttez pour le pouvoir, Europa Universalis II: The struggle can begin
Moby ID: 5567
Windows Specs
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Description official descriptions

The sequel to Europa Universalis adds new provinces, new empires, more control over your empire (examples: free subjects/serfdom, Centralized/Decentralized government, Defensive/Offensive Doctrine, etc.), new religions, 100 more years (1419-1819), new music, and the ability to control any empire and annex any empire.

The economic part is basically the same as EU I, but some of the technology levels have changed. Many new random events have been added, and also historical empire-specific events are now possible (in other words, things that happened in real history can happen and you must choose one of several options that will determine the way your empire will progress).

Spellings

  • ЕĐČŃ€ĐŸĐżĐ° 2 - Russian spelling
  • ăƒšăƒŒăƒ­ăƒƒăƒ‘ăƒ»ăƒŠăƒ‹ăƒăƒŒă‚”ăƒȘă‚čII - Japanese spelling

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Credits (Windows version)

244 People (240 developers, 4 thanks) · View all

Reviews

Critics

Average score: 83% (based on 30 ratings)

Players

Average score: 4.0 out of 5 (based on 31 ratings with 2 reviews)

Still one of the best strategy games money can buy.

The Good
Read my review on "Europa Universalis"; this game being 98% of the same game, that review works for this.

Several nice upgrades have been added. The game now allows the player to play any country in the world, as opposed to just eight major European powers. An engine forcing the player to make decisions around key historical events has been added. The AI seems smarter. Missionaries have been added, adding to the impact of religion on the game. A lot of idiosyncracies that made the game unrealistic have been cleaned up, too.

The Bad
Don't get me wrong; this is a GREAT game, and if you like strategy games you should buy it. But it's really not a new game at all; the sum total of changes is just a patch to Europa Universalis... a small patch. I was hoping for more. The graphics could still be a lot more elegant, the sound is still bad, and there's no scenario editor.

The Bottom Line
A classic, wonderful game set in the era of renaissance and imperialism. A must have for the PC gamer.

Windows · by Rick Jones (96) · 2002

Strategy worthy of that name... but not what I expected.

The Good
Without a doubt, EU2 is a strategic simulation. The game features countless different variables to take care of, each well fitted in the whole. Inflation, investments, religion, politics, stability, war, risk of revolts
 You’ve to put the six senses if you’re to succeed. Al of them are interlinked, meaning you can’t afford the cost of a war for too long without smashing your economy or facing rebellion after rebellion. A fine designing work, indeed.

Although I’m turn-based driven (an so was frightened when heard EU2 was real-time), the SimCity-like system (thanks, it can be paused to give orders) was excellently implemented; it doesn’t have the typical click-fest feeling, as the game is not about constructing hordes and send them against the enemy.

I can’t speak about historical accuracy (well, except about some minor Japanese history issues, but again, I’m not an expert), but hundreds of historical events indicate there’s hard work here, too. Add random events, nearly 200 countries to choose from – each with its own optimal strategy -, and you have a historical game with unmatched replayability in the subgenre.

The Bad
At first, the game sounds very promising, and a good game it is, as I’ve said. However, my experience with EU2 was somewhat lacking. Even with the hundred variables, sometimes the game seemed to run alone, as I didn’t have control (or so I felt) over them. Given the worldwide approach of the game, there’s very little micromanagement, and that’s what I liked the least. Some areas are too abstract (trade, for example, seems to be reduced to fill all Centers of Trade in sight with your merchants; you don’t have to choose the best commodity to offer/buy).

Diplomacy is plenty of options, but roughly can be categorized, save a pair of exceptions, in two groups: improving relations/insulting and make alliances/declare war; no more complex diplomatic interaction. Well, I guess it’s because the macromanagement approach, but I found it unsatisfying.

Since I haven’t played EU, I cannot speak about the little differences between it and the sequel, but seems EU2 is more an expansion than a new game (Civ2 comes to mind).

The Bottom Line
Don’t let the bad part of this review fool you: EU2 is an excellent game that can satisfy a strategy fan like few others
 Simply, my personal impression was not as good as I expected.

Windows · by Technocrat (193) · 2002

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Europa Universalis: Rome
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Europa Universalis III: Chronicles
Released 2011 on Windows, Macintosh
Europa Universalis III: Revolution Spritepack 2
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Europa Universalis: Rome - Vae Victis
Released 2008 on Windows, 2009 on Macintosh
Europa Universalis IV: King of Kings
Released 2023 on Windows, Linux, Macintosh
Europa Universalis III: Complete
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Europa Universalis IV: Guns, Drums & Steel Music Pack
Released 2014 on Windows, Linux, Macintosh

Related Sites +

  • Europa Universalis II - Wiki
    A very informative site. Containing very useful information for beginners as well as experts.
  • The View From Here
    An Apple Games article about two games available for the Mac, one of which being Europa Universalis II (July, 2003).

Identifiers +

  • MobyGames ID: 5567
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Contributors to this Entry

Game added by Raphael.

Macintosh added by Kabushi.

Additional contributors: Rebound Boy, Foxhack, Silverblade, Stratege, Zeppin, SGruber.

Game added January 11, 2002. Last modified January 21, 2024.