Victoria II for PC reviewed by Jakob Paulsen. Game supplied for review by Paradox Interactive

Let’s be frank for a minute. Victoria II is not for the faint-hearted, nor the feeble minded and most certainly not for spoiled teenage brats, who expect endorphin injections every five seconds in order to stay interested in anything. Victoria II is a harsh mistress who demands constant attention, demands that you learn by failing and not least that you like to set your own goals with no other rewards than knowing that you did what you set out to do.

However, Victoria II is as deep as games come. If you ever wanted a strategy game that not only simulated warfare and economy but also diplomacy, science, social aspects and politics, this is going to be your game.

Victoria II begins in 1835 and goes all the way up to the start of World War 2. To history-ignorant gamers, the 1800s might seem like a dull period, but in fact the world moved forward in great leaps and the ground work for all the groundwork was laid for the major events of the 20th century. The machine gun was invented. Railroads were constructed. Factories were raised. Socialism and nationalism were among the many movements that blossomed.

Like most other Paradox games you can play as pretty much any nation in the world and try to make the best of it. Ever thought that Cracow deserved to be the dominant European nation? Have a go for it. The world’s eight most powerful nations fight for spheres of influences and can dominate lesser states, while the eight next-best countries count as secondary powers that can challenge the biggest states for their place in the sun and join in the fight for the colonies. You can gain ranks by accumulating national prestige, by industrialization or by building up military power.

While you are the ruler of the country, you can’t ignore the will of your people. There are the political parties, of course, which fight for the majority in elections, which can be quite troublesome for a ruler with ambitions. While some parties support the military, others will limit the military spending for instance. You can try to steer the opinion of the voters, but in the end life is going to be as sweet as a basket of lemons, if an anti-military party gets the votes.

However, in Victoria II (just like the first Victoria game) the population is not limited to parties but is also divided into many subtypes such as clergy or slaves. In every single state. Add to that their nationality and religion and you might be able to grasp the complexity in maintaining order and happiness. Oh, did I tell you that every single group needs certain goods as well as certain jobs to be happy?

There’s also trade and production to look at as well as an interesting research part that lets you research n areas such as military, commerce and culture. Focus on one branch and you might gain the upper hand, try to get some from them all and you will face defeat in one way or the other.

There are many interesting minor random events and major historical events every year plus major decisions that you can take if you fulfill the right requirements. Take Sweden for example. If Sweden counts as a major country, has 45 national prestige and controls all Scandinavian provinces, then you can decide to form Scandinavia joining all the provinces into one huge country. In other words there’s plenty of history to learn about and to influence if you’re willing to take the time needed to understand everything. Of course you can also be dragged into historical events taking place in other countries such as the Franco-Prussian war in 1871.

Luckily Victoria II features tons of automated processes to keep you free from the extreme micromanagement. It will likely take a few games before you really understand the complicated processes that lie behind the many things that can happen to you.

Warfare is simple compared to Paradox’s Hearts of Iron 3, and is more or less a matter of putting the right mix of infantry, cavalry and artillery together and move the army into a province with an enemy army – the game then calculates the rest. Of course there are many sub variables that affect the outcome but combat is somewhat unsatisfying compared to the other parts of the game. However, Victoria II is not a wargame, it is in many ways a full simulation of running a state in one of the most interesting periods of history.

Presentation is how we expect it from Paradox games with a solid user interface, decent world map and good classical music. Personally I still miss the 2D map from the first Victoria game and Hearts of Iron 2, but at least Victoria II runs much smoother on my PC than Hearts of Iron 3 did. While rampant bugs didn’t occur during my playtest, it did however feel like the economic model had problems in the late game making the management and advancement of the populace very difficult.

Victoria II is a gem if you are willing to put the necessary time into learning all the ropes and it is something every gamer with an interest for history should allow himself to explore.

Buy Victoria II from Amazon.