Crusader Kings II is probably the best game Paradox has ever made. The nordic studio is getting more and more experienced in the strategy genre after years making excellent titles, and the depth of Crusader Kings II is simply overwhelming. Thanks to its good AI, the game gets challenging and realistic. Its only flaws are the limitations in the military part.
Crusader Kings II is quite unique. It's focus on dynasties and family
leads to original and entertaining gameplay with great depth and
variation. If not for a steep learning curve, it would be close to
perfect.
Probably the best game in its class. It's the usual strategic made by Paradox: deep and realistic but unable to catch if you're not into this kind of game.
Crusader Kings 2 explores one of the most important periods of human history with accuracy and passion. A must-have for all fans of Paradox strategy games, but a bit too complex for other players.
But there's something mildly sadistic about Crusader Kings II's complexity and reach. Maybe even passively aggressively sadistic. I'm not saying it's not accessible, becuase it is, to an extent.
A game i can play for hours and hours well if i have a good start and don't get strewed with a bad hair that is and aside for how they do DLC i only have one thing i don't like with the game and tho most people wont have this, when ever my army is fighting another over 50% of my map is covered by the UI but aside from that good game
CK2 is a great game. It's not perfect, but it has a wealth of content and much like most Paradox grand strategy games, great replayability.
It focuses more on building your own dynasty and fame for yourself, rather than simply bulding the biggest empire - although that is certainly a valid way to go about it. Unfortunately, it is a bit limited in the roleplaying aspect by a rather limited interactions system, and by over-reliance on randomized events. While it is a lot of fun, at times, you feel like playing a slot-machine - and you, of course, lose more often than win. Considering the rest of the game suffered from this focus on interaction and events and is therefore a bit more simplistic than the other Paradox GS type games, it can be a bit shallow and frustrating to deal with at times.
Still, it is a great window into the life of a medieval ruler, and if you like this type of games, you will easily sink hundreds of hours into it, and it is still one of the best games to roleplay in Multiplayer, where the game really shines, as you can get an actual conversation with your adversaries and allies instead of the limited interactions menu. However, even in singleplayer, the game can still be a lot of fun.
The graphics are passable, given the age of the game, and the genre. Music is pretty good, ambience is as well, but some of it will become annoying pretty quickly and the ability to manage sound types and volumes is a bit limited, the game could use expanded options for audio instead of the very simple ones it has.
Also, I would recommend getting at least the DLCs that expand the roleplaying aspects, such as Conclave, but I cannot recommend the game and DLCs at full price - if you are interested, definitely wait for a discount campaign, they happen often enough.
Interface is terrible. It takes a really long time to learn the game because there is no proper tutorial. There's also not enough language support. There's too much DLC. You can't play the game without them. Paradox unfortunately sees their player base as a cow to be milked. The milk analogy here is of course money. Release a supposedly complete game in early access, then sell the features that should already be in the game separately in the form of additional packs to make the game what it should be. That's the way it's always been and always will be. One of the worst companies in this industry.
My score for CK2 would be a 10/10 if Paradox did not have its current DLC policy.
Paradox Interactive is one of the most scummy gaming companies in the industry.
SummaryIn Crusader Kings II, you will get to control one of the great Christian dynasties of the West, attempt to conquer all of Europe, and liberate the Holy Land.