Customer Reviews
Complex, but worth it - well worth the price
There are many games you can
jump into and understand well in a few minutes. After a few hours,
you're done with nearly any of them.
Victoria is not one of these
games. After a few hours you're still early in the learning cycle, but
you're having fun, and you are just starting a long-term relationship
with a great game.
You have to approach Victoria differently than
a simpler game. Download the latest patch (1.03c as of this review), go
to the Paradox website to review the advice to new players, and play as
an easy country for your first game. I suggest Sweden (ignoring the
military) so you learn the economic system, and eventually build up to
playing countries like the USA, before taking on the UK or Russia.
What
you'll get is the ability to play an incredibly detailed recreation of
the world as it was 1835-1920. You can play as any of dozens and dozens
of countries, from Japan to Sardinia-Piedmont, from the Confederate
States of America to Prussia. You advance scientifically, developing and
buildign railroad, advancing politically (if you like), moving from
Monarchy to democracy.
There are shortcomings to the game. The
manual contains information on what is in the game, but not much on how
you *should* play. The Paradox forums provide plenty of advice, however.
There's a reason for this - once you learn the game, you'll get far
more playing time for the tiny price Amazon wants for this game than you
will out of nearly anything else you play (that isn't by Paradox, that
is). Others have already realized what a great game Vicky is, and they
are eager to share the joy with the rest of us.
This is a deep,
sometimes difficult game, but it is worth the effort. It offers more
replayability than any game I have ever seen from any other publisher.
Another fine game from Paradox Entertainment
Victoria is perhaps one of
the first near-perfect political/military simulators to come out in a
long time. You can not only decide who's tail to kick, but you can also
decide what rights to give your people, and how conservative or liberal
your nation will be.
On the military level, the game is pretty
much what you might expect from other Paradox games. The one exception
is that, unlike Hearts of Iron, the troops themselves gain experience
instead of commanders. Otherwise, it won't be any thing unfamiliar.
Troops still move out to ships at sea, they can land any where (not
beaches like Hearts of Iron), and moral can be more decisive than
numbers.
On the political scene (country via country) things are
fairly the same but more fleshed out to reflect Paradox's earlier games.
As you could in Europa Universalis II, you can make demands to end wars
and don't have to annex the entire nation to gain territory (as you had
to in Hearts of Iron). Interesting, however, is the extra feature of
"negotiations." You can ask for territory, tech, make demands, or give
or offer money using this option. It makes for a fare more interesting
diplomacy engine.
In regards to internal affairs, this game makes
you actually care (or hate) your people. How? Well, you can actually
make social changes with regards to health care, working hours, minimum
wages...you can even decide if the press is free and who can vote! Start
your own social government, or just oppress the working man. The way
your main civil rights function goes (as well as your limitations on
your budget) comes from who is in power in the government. You can
ban/allow parties based on your government type, and you hold elections
to get choose which alignment your nation goes on issues, as well as to
get one party out of power or, inadvertingly, get it back in power.
Overall,
it is a very impressive and ambitious game. I must warn people that
this game (if you haven't noticed already) is A LOT of micromanaging.
Particularly the economic part of the game, which has turned many
players away. If you stick with it, play a few times, and learn how to
manage it, you CAN get the hang of it. Trust me, I'm awful at economics
and even I figured out how to work it.
Even though Paradox
recently said they would try to do less complicated games in the future,
I believe this is one of the greatest engines to use in regards to
foreign diplomacy and internal affairs. I have spoken with many people
who agree with me that a game set in the modern day age using Victoria's
engine would be a fun game. Hey, Paradox, did ya hear me?
A truly wonderful strategic game
Victoria, or Vicky as it's
called on Forums, is a complete piece of art in strategy games.
Using
the engine of popular and award winning games as Europa Universalis or
Hearts of Iron, Paradox Entertainment gave birth to a new installment of
the saga. This time the scenario is set in 1836 and brings back to life
the Victorian era. You can play almost 100 years (as a matter of fact
84 years exactly) and your goal is simply to be the most prestigious
nation.
But, what exactly is prestige? Prestige is a mixture of
several things such as economic power (industrialize your nation and
enjoy the benefits of the new economy), colonial presence (let your flag
rise over far and distant lands), technological progress or education,
for instance.
Veteran players will find the UI (user interface)
familiar and newbies not so perhaps. But it takes no more than a couple
of hours to grab the basics and start playing fairly; although several
days or weeks to master the game (assuming you dedicate 3 hours a day
approx). But you have available and at your disposition a wonderful
forum on line where to ask any kind of question or share your thoughts
with developers.
What's interesting, or at least in my opinion, is
the cultural progress you can give to your population. You can educate
your steel miners, for instance, to make them become craftsmen at
factories or officers for your armies. This, accompanied by social and
political reforms in your state, can maximize wealth and achieve high
standards of living. Fail and suffer popular rebellions throughout your
empire.
Overall is a very addictive game and worth to give a try
if you feel attracted to historical games.
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