14 DAY TRIAL // One of the best elements of Crusader Kings II as a game, regardless of how many expansions are installed or not, is the way the Artificial Intelligence powering the other characters can often create situations that are more elaborate than those thought out by the player.
There are plenty of moments when my ruler gets killed by his children, because I have a tendency to carefully choose my successors and sometimes violently prune the family tree in order to make sure that someone worthy is in line first.
Friends have reported families enacting their revenge after more than 50 years, getting back territories that were seized via plots and often showing no mercy to the children of those who engineered the move.
Crusader Kings II – Way of Life enhances the AI-controlled characters' power to surprise by giving them the option to choose Focuses of their own, which seem to enhance their primary attributes.
I would have loved to see the new expansion adding a few more options to plots and the way another characters can be persuaded to support one, especially for those who want to focus on their intrigue skills.
But even as it is, Way of Life feels like a good way to enhance certain elements of Crusader Kings II, although it is not necessary to enjoy the game.
Mods can create an entirely new experience
For those who get a little tired of the core Crusader Kings II experience, the best alternate reality is that offered by A Game of Thrones, the mod which a team of enthusiasts has created based on the universe of George R.R. Martin’s books.
The experience has evolved a lot since it was first introduced and it has managed to find unique ways to use the extra mechanics added in the Paradox Development Studio-made expansion.
Way of Life, with its extra Focus feature and the newly added options, will probably give the team new ways to enhance the role-playing elements.
It will be interesting to see what happens to the characters of A Song of Ice and Fire, who tend to be outsized in their actions and addictions, when they are able to choose a focus and act on it with new options, especially considering that they can be tweaked by the developers.
Way of Life might not be essential to enjoy Crusader Kings II, but I suspect at least a subset of fans will buy it just to see how mods use it.
