Το παιχνίδι που κατακτάει τον κόσμο των sims… στη θέση του παιχνιδιού που τα ξεκίνησε. We live in interesting times!
Μπράβο ρε Collosal Order. Μπράβε ρε Paradox…
Tag: paradox interactive
VICTORIA COMPLETE FOR €4,49!
I was casually browsing /r/gamedeals (yeah, as if I don’t already own enough games!), inspired by the latest Humble Bundle to look for a good price for chronically expensive Crusader Kings II plus expansions, when I stumbled upon this great offer by previously unknown to me BundleStars: Victoria 1 + 2, together with all expansions and DLC, for only €4,49! Steam keys and all! I only had vanilla Vicky 2 on GamersGate, where I received the review key, so I was itching to get it on Steam somehow. I got it and spent 6 hours non-stop trying to get the Netherlands into Club Great Eight. Alas, my warmongering and trying to take advantage of a surprisingly weak Prussia alerted the bouncers.
Once upon a time, I was writing here about how excited I was that Vicky 2 was announced… “Looks like it could be the best Paradox game yet”, I wrote. Heh, it was still two years too early for Crusader Kings II and three years too early for Europa Universalis IV. Paradox Development Studio has come a long way. Proud of you Swedes. ^^J
Wow. I just realised I’ve reviewed all of these games; that’s where the links go. The reviews are in Greek though. Here’s the one for Vicky 2 also.
In that last review, four years ago, I wrote that Vicky 2 was still a little bit unpolished. Two expansions and lots of patches later, it’s still not perfect, but it’s much more playable. If you also consider all of the mods that inevitably emerged, which I can’t comment on because I haven’t tried them yet, there’s a lot of stuff to discover.
Consider this, from the description of Episode 217 of podcast Three Moves Ahead:
3MA Producer Michael Hermes and GWJ editor Erik Hanson joins Rob and Tom to talk about Victoria II: Heart of Darkness. Rob is reconsidering some of his earlier, harsher views on Victoria while Tom argues that it is a towering achievement of game design that speaks to real-world politics in a way few others have ever attempted.
Victoria 2 might be a more polished gem nowadays, but it’s still notoriously difficult to understand and play, even compared to other Paradox games. Definitely one of the most complex games out there.
But don’t worry. If you buy it at this incredible discount, and I would strongly encourage you to do so if you can see yourself remotely enjoying such a game, here are a couple of videos to help you get started. Let’s play together then and carve Europe between ourselves. }:}
Game 2.0 – Europa Universalis IV Review
65 ώρες και συνεχίζουμε, εξαιρόντας τις ώρες που άφησα το παιχνίδι να τρέχει μόνο του για να δω τι περίεργος διαφορετικός κόσμος θα έβγαινε μέχρι τη 2α Ιανουαρίου του 1821. Ο λόγος -ένας από αυτούς δηλαδή- που δεν γράφω όσο θα ήθελα αυτές τις μέρες. Να, τώρα ας πούμε. Ήθελα να τελειώσω ένα ποστ που γράφω εδώ και έναν μήνα αλλά με συγχωρείτε, το χρέος με καλεί…
European border change timelapse (1000AD-2003AD)
European time lapse map από stefanelonikitelo
Awesome! Reminds me of all the hours I’ve spent playing Civilization, Europa Universalis, Victoria and Crusader Kings. 🙂 I had a similar idea for a time lapse but more interactive… I guess that’s not needed now.
Also: the music is EPIC!
Highlights:
0:00-0:30 Muslim Spain… <3 0:16 Breakup of Byzantine Empire into Latin duchies. 0:25+ THE GOLDEN HORDE! 1:05 Constantinople/Istanbul changes colour. 1:25+ Poland-Lithuania. Will you look at that! 2:35 Wild Greece appears! 2:45 Unificiation of Italy and Germany 2:50+ Greece, Balkan Wars and Asia Minor campaign. Around 2:50 the change is almost poetic, in its fashion...
Game 2.0 — Crusader Kings II Review
Η Paradox ξαναχτυπά με το game το οποίο καλύτερα από κάθε άλλο θα μπορούσε να λέγεται και Game of Thrones και να το εννοεί! Εξαιρετικό.
Game 2.0 — Victoria II Review
Μέσα σε όλη την συγκίνηση των ημερών, κατάφερα να παίξω και το Victoria II. Διαβάστε τι έχω να πω γι’αυτό το ακαθάριστο διαμαντάκι εδώ.
Victoria II Features Trailer
I seriously can’t wait for this game… It looks like it’s going to be the best Paradox game yet…
And the older one…
Game 2.0 — Hearts of Iron III Review
Το review μου για το Hearts of Iron III της Paradox είναι online. Λίγο αργά βέβαια αλλά κάλιο αργά παρα ποτέ!
Plus*2/Minus*2
I’m reading a book written by a spectacularly honest frenchman titled “How to talk about books you haven’t read”. In this book, among many other things, he says that a lot of authors refer to books they might have skimmed through or even not read at all. He uses a system within his own book that puts a certain tag next to each book he refers to, ranging from. He also uses a rating system from ++ to — to express his opinion on the particular book.
In detail, ++ is extremely positive opinion, + is positive opinion. – and — are negative and extremely negative opinions respectively. I think this system is perfect for sharing your disposition to something without having to use a 1-10 or 1-100 system. I hate it when people ask me to rate a girl, game, movie, or just about anything from 1 to 10. What’s a 1? Even more importantly, what’s a 10? Can you rate anything with a 10 without having any doubts about whether anything will surpass it, ever? Everything in life is experiences, including all the above, and experiences are rating-proof! By the way, before any of you say it: Yes, since the YRS (Yummers Rating System) is a 1-10 deal, I have concluded that it too is incomplete and needs revision.
I like the ++ to – – so much that I’ll use just it to describe what’s going on in my life at the moment by how much I like it!
++
Paradox Interactive. These guys are one of the best studio/publisher around. I’m seriously hooked with Europa Universalis III and Victoria. Hearts of Iron looks like a thing to check out soon (what am I saying, I already own two copies! I’m not going into detail with that, I want to forget…)
CouchSurfing. I just hosted an Italian guy, his name is Duan. 2 nights it was. I had almost forgot how nice and cozy hosting makes you feel, especially when it’s people you’d easily make friends with but will probably never appearin your life again.
SPACED!! After Hot Fuzz and Dawn of the Dead (I mean, um, a couple of years before those), comes Spaced. It’s awesome, pure awesome, and I recommend it to anyone who has a thing for cleverly stupid humour. Anger, Pain, Fear, Aggression…
Jose Saramago. This guy is quickly, and I mean quickly, becoming my favourite writer. Period. I couldn’t resist and gave ~100 euros to get 5 of his books together (along with the book I mentioned first and 1984). Which brings me to…
1984, by George Orwell. It shocked me. A masterpiece of 20th century literature. I may write something on it one day…
+
Soon I’ll be translating and subbing eco films, and not for free! I am excited for what may be my first paid job.
The Balkans, by Mark Mazower. An excellent read on the real side of “European Turkey”.
I’m entering a Guitar Hero contest. Yay?!
I’m learning Japanese… And want to learn Turkish. I want to communicate with the world! Is it normal that I’m only learning the languages of the… “bad guys” (plus german)?
We dressed up as vampires with Alex. It had been so long since I had done something like that…
In January we made a little cut-out animation for uni. It’s not completely ready yet so don’t expect to have a look if you haven’t already! 😛 It did turn out well though…
–
My money is running low much faster than would be desirable, even if we eat everyday at the Uni with Mario!
I still think I have no certain purpose or goals. That I’m not really good at anything but only mediocre in lots of things. Same applies to everything. Is this good or bad in the end?
Nationalistic idiots annoy me.
Pop songs that use Beethoven’s 9th also annoy me.
Waking up early to catch those pesky morning lectures is always a problem… So it is now!
No time for everyone that I would like to have more of in my life… You know who you are.
– –
Keeping my house clean is a nightmare.
Rain and cold. Cold and rain. And no central heating This pretty much sums up 2009’s weather up till now. And for the past week, it’s extreme rain and cold. Where’s summer? Where’s the sun?! I seriously don’t believe I’m uttering these words…
Every time it rains, my second room gets flooded. Argh! How can people be so stupid they mess up a balcony this much?
I hate the announcements in the ships. All of them. Lissos, Mytilini especially. I want to kick the (taped) announcers to death. Yes, that’s how much I hate them.