Crusader Kings 2 Demo

Back in the day, history was made by the people who were born in the right family, because the common citizens rarely had a chance to prove their worth, or achieve something remotely great. Queens and kings give birth to princes and princesses, however, which is why the royal lineage is difficult to break and it can hold the power for centuries, or at least for as long as other families do not try to seize it from them.

Crusader Kings 2 is an intricate grand strategy game which is based on this exact idea, which means that it may not be as straightforward as Europa Universalis, or other similar games. The main goal is to maintain the line of succession and use it to advance from a mere count, to an emperor, all over the course of a few generations, and certainly not without a lot of hard work.

The map is that of Europe between 1066 and 1453, which means that you have almost four centuries to ‘win’ the game. As you might suspect, a victory can come in many different forms, because there is no actual end goal in the campaign, other than not to let your line of succession die out. At the end of those four hundred years, you can consider yourself a loser or a winner, depending on what title you happen to possess and how much power you have over the kingdoms of Europe.

Being in charge requires a hefty set of skills, which is why there are multiple aspects you must keep an eye on if you intend on becoming an absolute leader. Religion, politics, military and the law play an equal part in the life of a ruler and the game provides you with the means to keep an eye on all of them, although you obviously need to concentrate on just a few at a time.

Graphically, the game looks nice and the map is detailed enough to maintain the illusion, but do not expect anything amazing. The battles are resolved using your CPU rather than your wits, while everything else is usually nothing but a symbol on the screen, which might prove to be annoying for those who crave non-stop action. On the other hand, the game does not require a powerful computer to run, which is why it might appeal to a larger fanbase.

Crusader Kings 2 has some pretty weird ideas, but they are superbly put into practice, even if there are some minor inconveniences here and there. In essence, every strategy fan should find something interesting in it, as well as quite the challenge most of the time.