Europa Universalis II

Europa Universalis II is a grand strategy game developed by Paradox Development Studio and published by Strategy First, based on world history spanning a timeline between 1419 through 1820. It was released on December 11, 2001.
Gameplay
In the game, the player controls a single nation across five centuries, managing its economy, military, political alliances, scientific development, exploration and colonization, religious affairs, and internal stability. In addition, yearly random events, as well as hundreds of pre-scripted ones based on the historical record, make for a great deal of gameplay challenge and variety.
Europa Universalis II differs from many similar turn-based strategy games in that time flows continuously during gameplay, rather than taking place in discrete turns. The player is able to pause the action to ponder the situation and give orders, then speed up or slow down time to let events take their course.
The game ships with several historical scenarios, including games that take place during the Age of Exploration, the American Revolution, and the Napoleonic Wars. The Grand Campaign lets players choose one world power and guide it from the end of the Middle Ages and into the 19th century. There is also a Fantasy Scenario, starting in an unoccupied and unexplored earth with only 8 civilizations to choose. In this scenario, casual gameplay and strategy that should be applied are slightly different, more like a 4X game with a strong emphasis on colonization.
While the Grand Campaign is geared primarily towards the major European powers of the time, such as Austria, England, France, Poland, Portugal, Russia, Spain, Sweden, and Ottoman Empire, the game is unique in that players can choose to play as one of more than a hundred obscure, no longer existing nations, from the Indian subcontinent to the Balkans.
Development
The game, based on the Europa Engine, was developed by Paradox Interactive as a sequel to Europa Universalis, and was first released for the PC in 2001 by Strategy First, with a Macintosh port created by Virtual Programming and published by MacPlay. A Linux port was in development but was not released.
Asia chapters
A version of the game, called Europa Universalis II: Asia Chapters, was released for Asian markets, adding new graphics and scenarios that center around Asian history instead. It featured an updated map with greater detail and added provinces in Japan, Korea, and China.
Reception
Europa Universalis II was nominated for Computer Gaming Worlds 2002 "Strategy Game of the Year" award, which ultimately went to Freedom Force. Europa Universalis II received "generally favourable" reviews according to review aggregator Metacritic.
See also
List of grand strategy video games
List of Paradox Interactive games
Wargame (video games)
References
External links
Official website
2001 video games
Age of Discovery video games
Government simulation video games
Grand strategy video games
Japan in non-Japanese culture
Classic Mac OS games
MacOS games
Paradox Interactive games
Real-time strategy video games
Video game sequels
Video games developed in Sweden
Video games set in the 15th century
Video games set in the 16th century
Video games set in the 17th century
Video games set in the 18th century
Video games set in the 19th century
Video games set in the Russian Empire
Windows games
Strategy First games
Multiplayer and single-player video games
Virtual Programming (company) games