Crusader Kings II [Download]

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The Dark Ages might be drawing to a close, but Europe is still in turmoil. Petty lords vie against beleaguered kings who struggle to assert control over their fragmented realms. The Pope calls for a Crusade to protect the Christians in the Holy Land even as he refuses to relinquish control over the investiture of bishops - and their riches. Now is the time for greatness. Expand your demesne and secure the future of your dynasty. Fill your coffers, appoint vassals, root out traitors and heretics, introduce laws and interact with hundreds of nobles, each with their own agenda.

 

A good lord will always need friends to support him. But beware, as loyal vassals can quickly turn to bitter rivals, and some might not be as reliable as they seem... Stand ready, and increase your prestige until the world whispers your name in awe. Do you have what it takes to become a Crusader King?

Crusader Kings II explores one of the defining periods in world history in an experience crafted by the masters of Grand Strategy. Medieval Europe is brought to life in this epic game of knights, schemes, and thrones...

• Start a game at any point between 1066 and 1337 and play until 1453
• Pick a Christian lord and make sure his dynasty survives as you play a succession of his descendants through the ages
• Gain Prestige for every successive character you play, furthering the glory of your Dynasty
• Unravel the plots of your courtiers and vassals, each with their own opinions and agendas
• Relive the Middle Ages with up to 32 other players in a competitive multiplayer mode

Minimum Specifications:

	Minimum Specifications:
OS:	Win 7, Vista and XP
Processor:	Intel Pentium IV 2.4 GHz or AMD 3500+
RAM:	2 GB
Hard Drive:	2 GB
Video Card:	NVIDIA GeForce 8800 or ATI Radeon X1900 video card, 512MB graphics memory required
Additional Info:	Direct X-compatible sound card, DirectX 9, 3-button mouse, keyboard, speakers, Internet connection for multiplayer Requires Steam account for installation and activation

Crusader Kings II [Download]
by Paradox Interactive

    $39.99

Download size:
700 MB
Download time:
19 minutes - 1 hour on broadband
Note: After purchase, this item is stored and can be downloaded again from Your Games Library.

Customer Review 

Paradox Games is known for making incredibly complex, but also incredibly hard to learn, games. However, CK2 is probably the most accessible game they've made thus far. While it's still certainly complex, CK2 has simplified your means of interacting with the world to make it all a bit more understandable. As a noble, you have a council of five characters, who control your diplomacy, your military, your economy, your religous standing, and your espionage. These five characters can be assigned to different tasks, both domestic and foreign, and serve as your primary means of interacting with the world. Your other main form of interaction comes from diplomacy - arranging marriages, giving gifts, bestowing titles, and other things necessary to keep people happy. Other parts of the game, such as the military and the economy, have basically been made automatic; you can make decisions about them, but for the most part they take care of themselves.

 

What gives Crusader Kings 2 a lot of its detail and vigor is its character system. Characters possess traits, gained through game events or random events, that define who they are and how they act. Whether they're proud or humble, shy or outgoing, warlike or peaceful, lustful or chaste, all affects how they act as characters and gives the player more of an understanding of what's going on in the game's narrative. While the game tends to throw a lot of characters at you (courtiers, mayors, bishops, etc.), it's still neat to see the development of one of your children, or tutor a courtier's son so that he can grow up to be your marshal, or something along those lines. Of course, you'll have to make hard decisions, too - if a rival family is in a position to usurp your dynasty, you may just have to take them out. These events, and the realism latent in them, help to define CK2 as something more than just a game system.

The only bad parts of CK2 is that, despite the great advancements in gameplay design, the game is still kind of complex to look at. There's so many baronies, duchies, kingdoms, and empires on the game map that it becomes hard to tell who's who, despite the ability to switch between different filters on the map. Similarly, there's so many characters in your court that it can become hard to pick out who's who and manage them all. This is sort of an inevitable problem with the level of detail that CK2 has, though, so it's not necessarily their fault.

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