While the game is quite infuriating due to an evergrowing DLC screen, I still find it enjoyable to play. The game itself is what I will be focusing on, and I will not be mentioning DLC content all that often.

Now, the game is a grand strategy game, which allows you to pick and play as any nation that existed between 1444 and 1821, and you can even form other nations, such as Andalusia or the Kingdom of Jerusalem. The game ends at 1821, although you can start whenever you want between the two aformentioned years. It has a steep lerning curve, but once mastered, the game has a great many opportunities to take. You can play as the Ottomans and do what they did historically, and focus on southward expansion, or you can decide to eliminate Europe. Maybe you wish to invest in trading and gain a rediculous gold income. Converting to another religion is also possible, as changing the culture of the country, which can open the gates to forming nations that you otherwise wouldn't be able to as the country you started off with. As new content is made, you have the choice of buying DLC (Which is mostly mandatory to enrich gameplay, damn you for that Paradox) but the vanilla is still enjoyable. To keep the learning train chugging, theres over 200 acheivements and the list continues to grow. All in all, the game is great, and no shortage of paths to take. The great thing about this game is the replayability. You can finish one game as Catholic France, and then start a new one as shinto Japan, with different thing to try. Its a good game, and an unfortunate victim of DLC spam, but hey, it works without DLC! Give it a try, if it isn't your cup of tea, just refund it. Have a nice day!

While the game is quite infuriating due to an evergrowing DLC screen, I still find it enjoyable to play. The game itself is what I will be focusing on, and I will not be mentioning DLC content all that often. Now, the game is a grand strategy game, which allows you to pick and play as any nation that existed between 1444 and 1821, and you can even form other nations, such as Andalusia or the Kingdom of Jerusalem. The game ends at 1821, although you can start whenever you want between the two aformentioned years. It has a steep lerning curve, but once mastered, the game has a great many opportunities to take. You can play as the Ottomans and do what they did historically, and focus on southward expansion, or you can decide to eliminate Europe. Maybe you wish to invest in trading and gain a rediculous gold income. Converting to another religion is also possible, as changing the culture of the country, which can open the gates to forming nations that you otherwise wouldn't be able to as the country you started off with. As new content is made, you have the choice of buying DLC (Which is mostly mandatory to enrich gameplay, damn you for that Paradox) but the vanilla is still enjoyable. To keep the learning train chugging, theres over 200 acheivements and the list continues to grow. All in all, the game is great, and no shortage of paths to take. The great thing about this game is the replayability. You can finish one game as Catholic France, and then start a new one as shinto Japan, with different thing to try. Its a good game, and an unfortunate victim of DLC spam, but hey, it works without DLC! Give it a try, if it isn't your cup of tea, just refund it. Have a nice day!