Customer Reviews
Intel Inside? Stay Away 
2008-01-06
Why is it that reviewers never tell you that if you have a certain chipset, the program won't run?
I was forced to give it one star, but this game does not deserve any.
This program suffers from a serious bug. If you don't have the right chipset, the maps don't display. All you get is one big ocean. The company is aware of the problem, and has a patch which really does not fix it. That is, with their patch, you get a funny looking map, but forget trade, dipolomacy and other things which make the game interesting. Of course the programers blame the problem in Intel. But as a consumer, I cannot get it to work on either an HP Media Center or two different Dell computers.
Third Time IS the Charm 
2007-07-30
I have purchased each release upgrade in this game series and, in my opinion, EU III is by far the best in the series. Unlike other reviewers I really like the new look of the game and the ease and access to more information you get from the other views of the map - terrain, political, religious, etc. - really an enhancement. As to the divergence from historical events, I rather like the play of this edition better than the slavish approach of EU II to history which caused things to happen that, in the context of the game being played, made no sense at all.
The big plus to me is that I have not encountered any bugs in EU III after many hours of play. EU II was very buggy, even after downloading patches. III has been solid.
Another thing I really enjoy is that the economic logic really makes sense - you don't have to experience hyper-inflation as was inevitable in II. The national development options also make better sense. I enjoy the military improvements - vastly superior to previous releases; the whole game is just better in every way.
I absolutely love these games and am deeply addicted to playing them at virtually every opportunity. If you enjoy thinking about what you're doing and really planning things and then watching your vision take shape, this game is a winner hands down!!
Buyer Beware 2007-06-08
I downloaded the demo and was very impressed. However, the game itself is not compatible with my system, and if you're interested in this game, do the research. EU3 has a tremendous number of bugs and compatibility issues, and if you're willing to deal with that, it can be a rewarding game. Otherwise...
Good strategy game 
2007-05-18
The game is not visually appealing compare to Medieval 2 but overall the computer opponent's AI or gameplay is far superior in Europa. You actually have to think twice before you declare war on your neighbour because allies will actually send troops to help your neighbour and your allies will actually send troop to help you. This will never happen in Medieval 2. If you get attack by your neighbour. You are on your own because your allies will just watch and do nothing. This game has endless posibility as to what route you want to pursue such as exploration + colonization of new world or world domination where as Medieval 2 you only have one choice: conquer or be conquered.Europa has more replay value and more options. You want a game that makes you think or one that looks beautiful?
Excellent game on par with Paradox 2007-04-23
You need a somewhat modern system with a video card that supports Pixel Shader 2.0 to play this game. If you don't you will be disappointed.
The game itself is incredible and blows away it's predecessor EU2. The new 3d graphics are nice and the interface is quite easy to grasp. Of course this being a Paradox game there are bugs, but with their user feedback forum and participation of the dev staff in said forum, patches have been released fixing many of the issues.
If you liked EU2, Victoria, or HOI...you will LOVE this game
EUIII - Review 2008-06-20
Paradox Interactive makes Grand Strategy games. Emphasis on Grand. If you plan on playing a PI game, you'll be playing for days, if not weeks. And EUIII is definitely built from the same mold. If you're familiar with Civilization, then EUIII is a lot like that, only even more unforgiving and complicated. There's about a thousand things happening at once, except very very slowly. It may take you a game or two before you start understand enough of it. It did for me, and I read the manual through first. That said, it's incredibly engaging and allows the player to take a myriad of actions in response to any single action. Even if they have no idea what the outcomes of those actions will be.
Not fun 
2008-06-14
I was disappointed with this game. The graphics, while improved, really got in the way of gameplay. Also, the gameplay has changed to the point where I have to go through tedious tutorials to learn how to play. I figured it out, but there's just not engaging like the first two games were. Also, I highly recommend the game Victoria. While I think Paradox is a great game company, nobody's perfect. They have unfortunately fallen short with this one.
Good game - Awful graphics 2008-05-11
One year after buying this game I finally have the opportunity to play it. The reason - I had to wait the prices of computers to go down, in order to buy one that could meet the demands of the game. Conceptually, EU3 is a further development of EU2. Experienced players of EU2 would have no difficulty in jumping into this new game after just half an hour after checking how new concepts (like advisors, national ideas, or reccruitment of regiments) work. Therefore, I give 5 stars for the improved game mechanism !!! On the other hand, visually this game is simply awful ! The charm of EU2 map is totally lost. Taking into account that this is a strategic game (so that it does not need 3D graphics at all), you will spend most of you time (measured in tens of hours) staring into its ugly map. Furthermore, as this 3D map is the only reason that I had to spend 1000 EUR more when buying the appropriate computer, my rating of this aspect of the game is minus infinity. Altogether, I give 2 stars. What could be done ? (a) make another version of EU3 with two-dimensional map of EU2 or, (b) make a new mod for EU2, which would try to simulate through the system of events (as much as it could) new concepts (like court advisors or national ideas).
Very Addicitve 2008-03-13
This game in my opinion is the best earth strategy game that I have encountered since Civilization IV. Game play is very addictive due to the long period of time it takes to accomplish your goals, i.e. colonization, expansion and construction.
In agreement with some of the other comments, I do wish the tech tree moved faster but if you are any good with programming, that is easily changed.
As far as all the other comments about bugs and crashes, I don't have anything to say except that it has run to my surprise flawlessly on my system. I don't know if the problem is perhaps that those who have problems, simply have older systems or operating systems that are inhibiting gameplay. So I'd say be cautious, but if it works for you I hope you enjoy it as I did. I would've given this 5 stars for fun if the gameplay went a little bit faster.
Also I wish the AI's were a little bit more intelligent and could mount a truly good military offensive across multiple fronts. But this has been a problem with almost every strategy game.
All things considered, I would recommend this game.
FLOP 2008-02-22
What a let down, after installation I had to endure one game program problem after another.
Game will not respond to commands.
Game will not stay centered on my computer screen thus denying me access to some command selections.
World view stayed blurry,and other visual problems.
Yes my computer has been upgraded with all the max memory etc.
All my other comp. games play well.
I do not recommend purchasing this game !!!!
