Crusader Kings II [Download]

Product Description
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.

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.

Customer Reviews
Love it By anonymousreader26
I mostly prefer to play strategy games, especially turn-based strategy, and I love, love, love The Sims 2. I'm also a history fan. So this game appealed to me. However, it is from the same company that made the Europa Univeralis games, which I've tried many times but was never able to get into. Those games seemed so dull to look at, and so complicated -- I like complicated games, but EU mystified me. Nothing seemed to happen and I could never figure out what I was supposed to do.

So I approached this game with hesitation, but I'm SO glad I got it. It's much easier to learn than the EU games. It's still complicated, and at first I didn't understand a lot of what was going on, but even so it was fun, and the Paradox forums are great and helpful. If you like arranging marriages, naming and raising your kids, deciding who to throw into jail and who to give a title to -- this is a game to consider. It does require imagination because there's not much happening on the screen in front of you. You're mostly looking at a lot of menus with static pictures. But the more you look around and tinker, the more there is to do. The depth of the game and the attention to historical detail is impressive.

Smooth download, fun game By D. Wick (Austin, TX United States)
If you are into strategy and micromanagement and enjoy the medieval theme, this is a very good game. The download worked smoothly. Warning- it uses STEAM to download, update, and authenticate the game. Some people really dislike STEAM. I don't mind it. But, Steam's "play offline" feature is mildly buggy; you might not be able to play the game if you are not connected to the internet.

Hard at first but totally worth it By Goodr
The game is brilliant! For the 2 (and possibly more to come) complaining about no manual, it's on their website, it's the 21st century, download the PDF. (Check the Paradox Forum) Took me a few hours to get the hang of it, and now I am coasting! From the Duke of Orkney to King of Norway! This is NOT a wargame. This is a dynastic SIM. Build your dynasty, watch your family tree grow! Make sure to get the Game of Thrones mod too.

Sucks you in By Magnus Arin
I've always enjoyed the strategy genre of games, but it's never been something I've really thrived at. After a while I don't want to worry about buildings and resource collection, I just want to handle the big stuff.

Crusader Kings lets me make bigger decisions and it's more about personal relationships and how my character is viewed than just building the best infrastructure and accomplishing tasks. There are no set goals for, just to gain as much prestige as possible. This can mean many different things, whether it's gaining territory, pulling off marriages to other important families, or hosting tournaments, there are a host of options. Highly recommend.

Addicted to this game By Kleiner (Hudson Valley, NY)
I love this game. It has strategy, combat, intrigue and an open style of play were you decide what or how much you want to accomplish. it can be frustrating when the ruler you are playing dies or is incapacitated before you get to accomplish a particular goal you are working towards or when your Liege gets in the way of you trying to expand your territory or when an heir that you've been grooming gets killed by typhoid, smallpox or an assassination!

Having never played Crusader Kings I or Europa Universalis before it has been hard to learn all of the concepts that are important to success in this game. i would highly recommend reading through the forums at Paradox Interactive or watching some of the many gameplay videos on youtube. My only beef with having purchased the downloadable version and not the hard disc is that I can't seem to play unless i'm connected to the internet. Autonomous or offline mode does not work.

I'm assuming it's because without the disc the game needs to connect to the Steam servers to download the video and audio files to run. There is a free demo you can try to see if you like this style of game. I recommend trying that first. Amazon had the best price I could find when I bought it. Amazon was a whole lot less expensive. Don't waste your time with Crusader Kings I, CKII blows it away!

This game is insanely fun By XRADR (Baltimore, MD United States)
The game is a detailed kingdom/dynasty strategy experience. Overall, there is little "action" and little combat. Comparatively, this game has extremely limited combat, and battles take little if any strategy. This is NOT anything like total war series. My impression is that it's nearly exactly the opposite (little combat, major diplomacy, plotting and scheming).

The game is fundamentally about relationship management. It is extremely detailed and there is a steep learning curve. The basic through advanced tutorials barely scratch the surface of game play. I would recommend reading blogs and wiki pages to understand the game. My initial play was painfully frustrating, until I started reading wikis and forums. But now, I feel immersed.