August 16, 2010

Victoria 2 Review

Victoria 2 is a new strategy game released by Paradox Interactive. This video game allows you to play a country during the colonial era in the 19th century. You are in control of everything from the colonization, military conquests, industrialization, politics and much more. What you do impacts the population and if they don’t like it they will revolt!


Features:
• Deep engrossing political simulation with dozens of different governments
• Detailed economy with over fifty different types of goods and various production factories
• Over 200 different countries can be played, during the era stretching from 1835 to the onset of WWII.
• Advanced Technological system with thousands of inventions to discover
• Improved graphics and interface, as well as multiplayer support
• A streamlined interface makes the game easily accessible.
• Automation of various tasks including, trade and population promotion.
• Advanced spheres of influences system, where the great powers battle over the control of the world.
• Cottage production simulating pre-industrial economies.
• Gunboat Diplomacy, no need for negotiating as a fleet outside a port may be a more persuasive argument.
• Historical and Dynamic missions guiding your country through the history.

My Thoughts
I love city building games and simulation games. I’ve even quite liked some country ruling and fighting strategy games. Victoria 2 is a grand game for all those who enjoy this style of gaming.

It offers long and sometimes intense ruling of countries and overseeing the population of your country. It is not something that is easily beaten in a day or even a weekend. This is a game that once started and enjoyed has a long playing life – which is really what most gamers are looking for, right?

However, it is not directed for the gamers who prefer to experience things on a closer level such as in The Sims or Sim City type of games. Not to say that those gamers wouldn’t like it, just that it is different. Maybe that type of gamer would prefer Majesty 2 if looking for a new simulation game.

Overall, I liked Victoria 2. It is a newer style of game for me, and something that I am glad I tried out. Expanding your horizons in video games is also a good thing. I recommend it for everyone who likes this kind of video game and also for those that may not or are unsure – give it a shot!






System requirements
• Windows XP/Vista/7.0
• Intel® Pentium® IV 2.4 GHz or AMD 3500+
• 2GB RAM
• 2 GB hard disk space, NVIDIA® GeForce 8800 or ATI Radeon® X1900 video
• card,
• Direct X-compatible sound card,
• DirectX®: DirectX 9
• 3-button mouse,
• keyboard, speakers,
• Internet connection for multiplayer
• MULTI-PLAYER UP TO 32 PLAYERS





* Thank you to the publisher of Victoria II, Paradox Interactive and Gamers Gate for providing me a digital copy of this game and allowing me to review it.

3 comments:

Anonymous said...

Would this be worth getting if you already have Victoria? Is it that big of an upgrade?

Sheri, RN said...

It is a new game, so I would say that yes it would be worth getting if you enjoyed Victoria.

Andrew Simpson said...

The bad boy rating (infamy) you get from attacking countries doesn't decrease fast enough. This means you can do an attack every 10 or so years in game time. Also there isn't much in the way of casus belli's in this one compaired with EU3. I adjusted the loss of bad boy so i wears off quicker. (Just a quick text edit of a file). Otherwise its a long boring game, waiting answering silly questions which change militancy or consciousness in a region over and over. You wait for a government change so you can actually build or control factories other wise your capitalists build ferilizer and fancy clothes factories everywhere which don't make a profit. Then lazie fair comes in and shuts them down.
I did like it, I played hours before changing the bad boy. I always liked playing Spain in Vic and EU. France is fun too.
Now we just have to wait for Crusader Kings 2 to come out.