Have you ever dreamt of changing the past? Ever wondered what it would be like if Napoleon never existed? Published by Strategy First and developed by Paradox Entertainment, Europa Universalis is a hardcode strategy title that sends players in to the past to control a nation and attempt to dominate central Europe. Players select one of the scenarios or head online to manage and build a nation, all the while keeping other countries at bay.

I want it to be perfectly clear from the outset of this review, that Europa Universalis is not an Age of Empires type strategy game. Before you step into command, it appears to be a massive board game, while in reality it is much more. Upon first launch the game appears complex and difficult to understand, but after a few hours of play and completing the tutorial mission it all begins to come into perspective. Only then does it become clear just how massive Europa Universalis really is.

Europa Universalis has many modes of play, which include multiplayer and eleven single player scenarios. The scenarios range in difficulty and have different objectives for victory. They occur over a wide variety of time periods, between 1492 and 1792, and feature some important events during these periods, such as the 30 Years War. The heart of Europa Universalis exists in the Grand Campaign scenario. This scenario allows players to select a country and lead it through 300 years of history, with continuous real-time decisions needing to be made, all while attempting to balance your nation and control the many factors that can affect it over a 300 year time span. Also, other nations will be rising to, and falling from, power all around you, as they struggle to compete for survival and dominance. A good example of one of the decisions you will encounter is; the alliance in which you are a member of is changing religions, and you must decide whether to follow them or remain in your current state. Following them will destroy your stability, while if you should fail to follow their lead, the alliance will have a Casus Belli (reason to declare war) against you. What should you do? The future will be changed by this decision, and it can lead to prosperity or disaster depending on the outcome.

The interface in Europa Universalis is colorful and very graphical, but is very difficult to use. So many options are present and so much information is conveyed, it can become very confusing at times to navigate. Europe Universalis uses "pop-up" type windows to convey information while the game is in progress, and although a few of them are ok, it becomes very annoying to close a massive bombardment of them every few seconds. The introduction movie and in game cut scenes are simply magnificent, and really put the player into the mood and setting of the game. The manual is very detailed, and explains everything anyone needs to know about playing. Overall, excellent cut-scenes and a spectacular manual make up for an interface that is really only half-decent.

The general concept behind Europa Universalis is selecting a nation and controlling and shaping it from 1492 to 1792. During this time, war was ramped and every country battled for control. In Europa Universalis, leadership is the deciding factor, and your decisions will decide whether you become a dominant force in Europe, or end up in ruins. Players are expected to build a nation by colonizing unsettled land, and trade with other nations for much needed supplies. While expanding your nation, you are also expected to maintain a healthy balance, and be sure your population has enough food and gold to survive. Balancing financial strategies can be more difficult than defeating nations, but can also be easy if you do it correctly from the beginning of the game. As the government, you must show control and make wise and educated decisions to avoid rebellions. Players can construct ships and soldiers, and deploy them into battle. In Europa Universalis, you do not actually control any individual soldier, but rather, control a battalion of them. You do not tell them how to fight, instead, send them into battle and move them from province to province like a board game. Managing a nation is a massive job, and it is easy to become lost and overwhelmed in Europa Universalis with the huge number of options and responsibilities encountered while playing.