Crusader Kings II
Developer(s)Paradox Development Studio
Publisher(s)Paradox Interactive
Director(s)Henrik Fåhraeus
Producer(s)Johan Andersson
Designer(s)Henrik Fåhraeus
Christopher King
Programmer(s)Henrik Fåhraeus
Johan Lerström
Fredrik Zetterman
Artist(s)Fredrik Toll
Composer(s)Andreas Waldetoft
EngineClausewitz Engine
Platform(s)Microsoft Windows, OS X, Linux
ReleaseMicrosoft Windows
February 14, 2012
OS X
May 24, 2012
Linux
January 14, 2013
Genre(s)Grand strategy, role-playing
Mode(s)Single-player, Multiplayer
Crusader Kings II is a grand strategy game set in the Middle Ages, developed by Paradox Development Studio and published by Paradox Interactive as a sequel to Crusader Kings. It was released for Microsoft Windows on February 14, 2012. An OS X version, Paradox Interactive's first in-house development for the operating system, was released on May 24, 2012. A Linux version was also released on January 14, 2013.
It has sold over 1 million copies, which made it Paradox's most successful release before Europa Universalis IV.[1]
  • 1Gameplay

Gameplay[edit]

The game is a dynastysimulator where the player controls a Medieval dynasty from 1066 to 1453, though the DLCThe Old Gods and Charlemagne allow for earlier start dates of 867 and 769, respectively. Through the strategic use of war, marriages and assassinations among many other things, the player works to achieve success for their dynasty. The game contains numerous historical figures such as William the Conqueror, Charlemagne, Genghis Khan, Harold Godwinson, Robert Guiscard, Robert the Bruce, Harald Hardrada, El Cid, Constantine X Doukas, Harun al-Rashid, Alexios I Komnenos, Richard the Lionheart, Ivar the Boneless, Alfred the Great, Baldwin I of Jerusalem, and Saladin, but allows for the player to choose less significant figures such as minor dukes and counts, and creation of entirely new characters with the use of the 'Ruler Designer' DLC.

Crusader Kings 2 Guide

Success is defined solely by the player. The only in-game objective is to obtain as many prestige and piety points as possible in order to surpass the various historically relevant European dynasties in a fictional prestige ranking (the three most prestigious ones being the Capetian, the Rurikovich and the Habsburg dynasties). The game ends when the player's current character dies without an heir of the same dynasty to succeed him/her, when all landed titles of the count rank or above are stripped from all members of the player's dynasty (including themselves), or when the game reaches its end in 1453.
The game employs a genetics and education system where children will inherit many traits, culture, religion and skills from their parents and guardian. This adds an additional layer of strategy to marriages, such that a player will attempt not only to form beneficial alliances, but also to select marriage partners with strong heritable traits to maximise the quality of offspring and thus strengthen the dynasty. This requires balancing sometimes conflicting interests. For example, while one possible marriage might allow some desirable alliance to be formed with another ruler, it may also require marrying a Spouse with some undesirable traits. Such a trade-off can occur in the reverse as well: one possible spouse could possess highly desirable traits but yield no new alliances for the player's dynasty.[2]
While the player can choose any noble with at least a county in their possession to play as, there are some Government types that are unplayable without modding the game. These include Theocracies (such as The Papacy), holy orders, mercenaries, and republics. The merchant republic government type, however, is playable with The Republic expansion. In addition, all non-Christian characters are unplayable without the purchase of the DLC that unlocks them, including Muslims, Jews, Hindus, Buddhists, Taoists, Zoroastrians, Jains, Zunists and various Pagans.

Expansion packs[edit]

NameRelease dateAccompanying PatchDescription
Sword of Islam26 June 20121.06This expansion pack allows the player to play as Muslim rulers. It also adds story events involving Sunni and Shia Muslims.[3]
Legacy of Rome16 October 20121.07Legacy of Rome is focused around the Byzantine Empire, adding new events and game mechanics. It also adds the 'Retinue' mechanic allowing the player to maintain a standing army.[4]
Sunset Invasion15 November 20121.08The main feature of Sunset Invasion is the fictional invasion of more technologically advanced Aztecs, from the late 13th century onwards to the end of the game alongside a new religion and culture unique to them.[5]
The Republic15 Jan 20131.09Makes naval-based merchant republics playable with their own unique play-style centering around wealth and elections. It also adds a few new casus bellis and events concerning Republican politics and familial feuds.
The Old Gods28 May 20131.10Adds a new 867 AD start date and makes pagans playable with their own unique mechanics. Also unlocks new revolt mechanics and adventurer claimants.
Sons of Abraham18 November 20132.0Gives further depth to the three Abrahamic faiths; Christianity in particular, but has also added some content for Muslims, as well as the Jewish faith. Also adds Holy Orders for all faiths alongside new Events.
Rajas of India25 March 20142.1Makes Hindu, Buddhist and Jain rulers playable. Expands the map as far east as Bengal. With Patch 2.8, Taoist rulers will now also be unlocked by this DLC.
Charlemagne14 October 20142.2Unlocks several improvements to narrative aspects of the game, custom kingdoms and empires, vice royalty and the 769 start date.
Way of Life16 December 20142.3Improves role-playing and immersion, by letting player influence more directly the type of events that may happen, rather than relying solely on personality traits or randomness.
Horse Lords14 July 20152.4Unlocks playing as a nomadic government.
Conclave2 February 20162.5Improves interaction with your vassals, gives power to the council and overhauls the education for children system.
The Reaper's Due25 August 20162.6Improves the Plague, epidemics, minor diseases, prosperity and interactions with your court.
Monks and Mystics7 March 20172.7Adds societies, artifacts and relics, new councilor jobs and the ability to give commands to allied armies.
Jade Dragon16 November 20172.8Adds interactions with China, new Chinese artifacts, new Casus Bellis, and Rally Points along with making the Tibetan plateau playable.
Holy Fury13 November 2018[6]3.0Allows the player to 'design' Pagan religions upon reformation, introduces new crusade mechanics and events, mechanics for coronations, sainthood and bloodlines and also includes shattered and random maps.[7]

Release and reception[edit]

Reception
Aggregate score
AggregatorScore
Metacritic82/100[8]
Review scores
PublicationScore
GameSpot8/10[9]
IGN8/10[10]
PC PowerPlay7/10[11]
A demo was released on February 4, 2012, which featured four playable characters over a 20-year span.[12] A marketing campaign for the game featured light comedy videos on the concept of the Seven Deadly Sins.[13]
The game was met with generally positive Reviews and has attained a metascore of 82 at Metacritic.[14]GameSpot reviewer Shaun McInnis stated 'Through a complex system of diplomacy and backstabbing, Crusader Kings II makes every power struggle an engrossing one' and he lauded the gameplay while noting the 'lackluster tutorials'.[9]IGN summed up their review by saying 'An intense learning curve, but a unique strategy experience'.[10] IGN rated the gameplay and 'lasting appeal' a 9/10.[10] A reviewer for Rock, Paper, Shotgun stated that Crusader Kings II was 'probably the most human strategy game' he ever played.[15] Rob Zacny of PC PowerPlay, who gave the game a 7/10 score, called it a 'brilliant treatment of feudalism in terms of strategy and story' but also stated it 'requires major investment to overcome information overload'.[11]Kotaku named the game as one of their game of the year nominees.[16]
By September 2014, Crusader Kings II had sold more than 1 million copies, with the expansion pack and DLC sales totaling over 7 million units. According to Paradox Interactive, the game was played by an average of 12,500 players every day, with an average playtime of 99 hours per player.[17]

Modding[edit]

When a Crusader Kings II (CK2) game is launched, Paradox servers collect information about the game setup such as game version, single player or multiplayer, and what mods are in use.[18] Data collected on 23 April 2017 showed that at least 42% of users on that day had activated at least one mod.[18] Data also reveals that multiplayer 'cheat mods' are popular too, as are graphics or GUI mods. A number of realism mods have been produced by fans such as Historical Immersion Project and CK2+.[19][20]
A number of total conversion mods are available:
  • A Game of Thrones, based on George R. R. Martin's A Song of Ice and Fire fantasy novels, released in May 2012,[21][22][23] which 'has long been the most popular CK2 mod.'[18]
  • Elder Kings, based on Bethesda Softworks's The Elder Scrolls video game series, released on April 1, 2013.
  • Middle Earth Project,[19] based on the works of J. R. R. Tolkien, released 2014.[24]
  • Witcher Kings, based on Andrzej Sapkowski's The Witcher series of novels, as well as CD Projekt Red's video game series.
  • After the End, which is set in the 27th century in a post-apocalyptic North America.
  • The Winter King, based on The Warlord Chronicles trilogy by Bernard Cornwell.
  • When the World Stopped Making Sense, which is set in the Dark Ages and adds Pre-Schism Christian Denominations such as Nicene Christianity, Arianism, and Insular Christianity along with other religions such as Celtic Polytheism and Ancient Egyptian religion.
Paradox actively encourages such modding, and the company is 'constantly considering how we can ensure new additions to the game are moddable, and we often go back and tweak existing functionality to open it further to modding.'[18]

See also[edit]

References[edit]

  1. ^Zacny, Rob (September 20, 2014). 'How Crusader Kings 2 caught Paradox by surprise'. Archived from the original on September 22, 2014.
  2. ^Joe Martin (February 9, 2012). 'Crusader Kings 2 PC Preview'. bit-tech. Retrieved September 6, 2012.
  3. ^Hatfield, Tom (31 May 2012). 'Crusader Kings 2 Sword of Islam expansion announced, will let you side with Saladin'. PC Gamer. Retrieved 25 November 2017.
  4. ^Petitte, Omri (30 August 2012). 'Crusader Kings 2: Legacy of Rome expansion lets you flex your Byzantium Maximus'. PC Gamer. Retrieved 25 November 2017.
  5. ^Hafer, T.J. (31 October 2012). 'Crusader Kings II DLC sacrifices history, adds Aztec invasion of Europe'. PC Gamer. Retrieved 25 November 2017.
  6. ^Horti, Samuel (13 October 2018). 'Crusader Kings 2's Holy Fury DLC release date announced'. pcgamer. Retrieved 14 October 2018.
  7. ^Donelly, Joe. 'Crusader Kings 2 unveils Holy Fury DLC'. PC Gamer. Retrieved 19 May 2018.
  8. ^'Crusader Kings II for PC Reviews'. Metacritic. 2012-02-14. Retrieved 2013-04-21.
  9. ^ abShaun McInnis (February 16, 2012). 'Crusader Kings II Review'. GameSpot. Retrieved September 6, 2012.
  10. ^ abcEric Neigher (March 5, 2012). 'Crusader Kings II Review'. IGN. Retrieved September 6, 2012.
  11. ^ abZacny, Rob (1 May 2012), 'Crusader Kings II', PC PowerPlay, Australia: nextmedia, no. 203, p. 52
  12. ^'Crusader Kings II Demo'. Fileplanet.com. Retrieved 2013-04-21.
  13. ^Gonzalez, Christina (10 January 2012). 'Crusader Kings II: Greed Enters the Fray in The Latest Deadly Sins Comic Trailer'. RTSguru.com. Retrieved 22 June 2013.
  14. ^'Crusader Kings II for PC Reviews'. Metacritic. Retrieved 2015-09-30.
  15. ^Adam Smith (2012-02-23). 'Wot I Think: Crusader Kings II'. Rock, Paper, Shotgun. Retrieved 2013-02-02. When the consequences are so human they mean all the much more and this is probably the most human strategy game I’ve ever played. If it doesn’t wind up being among my very favourite games of the year, spectacular things will occur in the next ten months.
  16. ^Plunkett, Luke (4 January 2013). 'Why Crusader Kings II Should Be Game Of The Year'. Kotaku. Gawker Media. Retrieved 10 August 2013.
  17. ^Graft, Kris (September 18, 2014). 'Aiming for the 'niche' pays off for million-selling strategy game'. Gamasutra. Archived from the original on November 10, 2014.
  18. ^ abcd'CK2 Dev Diary #49: Mods and mod telemetry'. 2018-01-18.
  19. ^ abDonnelly, Joe (2017-03-23). 'Best Crusader Kings 2 mods'. Rock, Paper, Shotgun. Retrieved 2018-01-19.
  20. ^'[CK2] List of Mods'. www.twcenter.net. Retrieved 2018-01-20.
  21. ^Plunkett, Luke (28 May 2012). 'There is an Awesome Game of Thrones Video Game. You Can Play it Right Now'. Kotaku. Retrieved May 31, 2012.
  22. ^Adam Smith (May 28, 2012). 'A Mod Of A Game Of Thrones: Crusader Kings II'. Rock, Paper, Shotgun. Retrieved 2012-10-21.
  23. ^'Crusader Kings 2's Game of Thrones mod update lets you feast on new scenarios | Mods, News'. PC Gamer. Retrieved 2013-04-21.
  24. ^'Paradox Wiki'. 18 January 2018.

External links[edit]

Retrieved from 'https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Crusader_Kings_II&oldid=901289828'

Some of the highest praise I can give a game is when it blows me away with how good it is that only the little “due in 24 hours” reminder email I get sent to me ahead of my deadline can drag me away from it for long enough to do my job.

And while Crusader Kings 2 is usually like that, the new Holy Fury DLC goes above and beyond even that lofty standard.

Put simply, this is the best DLC for Paradox's six-year-old, ever-evolving grand strategy masterpiece since The Old Gods came out back in 2013.

For one thing, pagans are back with a holy fury. After being effectively nerfed in Sons of Abraham and Charlemagne,and by getting stripped of feudal government by the tribal system introduced with Horse Lords, the men of the north get a big dose of power with the Swedish pagans, forged in Valhalla by the hammer of Thor.

For example, new “warrior lodges” give pagans what essentially amounts to the Companions from Skyrim, which in turn grant questlines that allow a ruler to massively improve his or her military skill, army morale, and all that other fun statistical stuff that makes the gods of the random number generator favor their generals in battle.

A ruler can duel other characters for honor and glory (governed by a brand-new Personal Combat modifier), and as they rise up the ranks, they get all kinds of other fun toys to play with like gaining a commander trait of the player's choice, choosing to turn into a berserker (which, keeping up the Skyrim analogy, is only slightly less overpowered than turning into a werewolf), and appointing a shieldmaiden to lead armies. You'll be first to the battle, first to the feast.

Crusader Kings 2 Best Dlc

Great warrior heroes of all faiths get to found legendary bloodlines. Some of them are included in the historical rulers in-game like Charlemagne, Ragnar Lothbrok, El Cid, and their ilk; others can come from that nobody you built in the Ruler Designer, starting a no-name dynasty in some far-off corner of the map.

Want to spend way too much time, money, and effort getting your spouse to love you? In-game, I mean.

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Well, that's where the new “Sway” and “Antagonize” mechanics come in, perfect for making friends and enemies to shape the diplomatic landscape in your part of the world.

There are even new sainthood rules and coronation rules for the Christians, giving them that much more historical flavor when they're getting knocked around all over Europe by the newly-beefy Vikings.

Oh, and the game even takes names so your berserker king can keep a list of every single one of his kills.

And did I mention that it's not just the Norsemen who get to have a lot of good pagan fun at the expense of the Christians in this DLC? If you want to not just revive the Roman Empire (which has been an option for years in CK2) but really bring the Classical era back, there's an entire event chain for Hellenism.

But all of the above would just relegate this DLC to another case of “depends on your playstyle” but for one mighty, overwhelmingly awesome feature that makes it an absolute must-buy:

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Shattered Worlds

Want every county in the game to start under the independent rule of a one-province minor in a massive free-for-all where nothing is predetermined except the religion and culture of certain parts of the map? Buckle up, buttercup; that's exactly what you get. And it's awesome.

If you like an aggressive game where you have lots to do in terms of claiming titles and building up your power at the expense of your neighbors in the earlygame, this is the game mode for you.

Want to raid your Christian neighbors but don't want to wait for the Viking Age event in 793 when you're playing the Charlemagne early start? Norse culture coastal provinces start with shipyards so you can make with the looting and start in on your ambitious building projects sooner than you normally would in the basegame.

Tired of having Europe bottlenecked by you being a vassal of the real movers and shakers in the world, waiting for a big realm divide before you can take advantage of the chaos? This is the game mode for you.

And if all one-province minors isn't your thing, there are even game options that create a randomized world. Same basic flavor as a historical start, but with a wildly different setup of counts, dukes, and kings than you'd normally expect to see, giving you a truly different start every single time you play.

I want this in Europa Universalis IVwithout having to use the Shattered Europa mod. Hopefully Paradox learns a thing or two from trying it out in CK2.

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But Shattered Worlds? That's why only the unpleasant reminder that I actually have to earn the free review copy of the DLC that Paradox sent me by writing this review could drag me away from playing it.

That's some of the highest praise I can give a game. If you play Crusader Kings 2, buy this DLC. I can't make it any simpler than that.

Now if you'll excuse me, I'm off to go spend every free moment I have for. oh, about the next week or so. playing it.

[Note: Writer was granted a review copy of the game from the publisher.]