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The sun never sets on the British EmpireProduct InformationFrom the creators of the award winning Hearts of Iron and Europa Universals I& II.  Paradox Entertainment brought empire building to new depths withEuropa Universals covering the years 1419 to 1820 and now history continuesthrough the years 1836 to 1920 in Victoria - An Empire Under the Sun. Guide your nation through nearly one hundred years of history! Span the absolutemonarchies of the early 1800's to the dawn of the 20th Century and theindustrialized great powers!Gather wealth and strength to stay ahead of your enemies gain invaluableprestige and honor - reform your nation into a free democracy or drive yourpeople down the grim road of revolution.Product Features Take sides in the American Civil War crush the Zulus or force open the Dardanelles in the Crimean War. Send explorers to map out the inner parts of Africa and the Americas and bring home prestige to your Empire! Revolutionary simulation of the Industrialization of the World with a full economic system including over 50 different resources. Political system simulating the change from absolute monarchism to the parliamentarian democracy of the modern world. Let ironclads rule the seas while you develop gatling guns and repeater rifles for your land troops. Guide your nation through the grim realities of The Great War complete with Dreadnoughts Machine Guns and World War I era Tanks. Full scenario editor and complete Multiplayer support for up to 32 players. Developed by the team behind the award winning Hearts of Iron and Europa Universalis I and II. Minimum Requirements Windows 98 Me 2000 XP Pentium III 450MHz processor 128MB of RAM 600MB Free Hard Drive Space 4MB Video Card DirectX Compatible DirectX Compatible Sound Card DirectX 9.0 or higher (included on CD) 4X CD-ROM DriveRecommended Requirments Windows 98 Me 2000 XP Pentium III 800MHz processor 256MB of RAM 600MB Free Hard

I really liked this game, the interface is easy to use and you get used to it after a few games. I wasn't expecting so many historicla details so I was very pleased. The only downturn is that unless you're UK, USA or France, there's noy much way of winning a scenario.

As other reviewers have remarked, the emphasis here is on economic development, not military conflict. But neither the economic nor the military aspects of this game have anything like the historically realistic details that one finds in Europa Universalis or Hearts of Iron. As a result, this feels less like an historical simulation game than a game in which history is caricatured. I lost interest in it quickly.

I was intrigued by the fact that one could play virtually any country in existence in the year the game begins - 1830. The play is fairly complex and detailed so it is best described as a simulation. The biggest problem is that the instructions are very poor so the learning curve is very steep. Overall I think this game could be quite interesting once (or if) one learns all the elements required for sucessful play. Not for the casual player, this is a basically a more detailed alternative to Civilizations.

Alright, I'll admit it: I'm a Paradox fan. I have been ever since I took a leap and bought Hearts of Iron II on a lark. The game was so incredibly deep and historical and magnificent that it continues to entertain me. With that great experience, I decided to expand into other Paradox titles, and I began with Victoria: Empire Under the Sun.

So, regarding the game. If you want an easy game, this isn't it. If you want your typical real time strategy game, this isn't it. If you want to find a game you can learn quickly, this isn't it. If you are looking for a wargame, this isn't it.

The game is, at its digital little heart, a economic simulator wrapped in a package of a game. Economics will be your primary concern throughout the game. There are numerous other facets, including politics, diplomacy, imperialism, (a little) warfare, and country making, but all this pales in comparison to the amount of time you'll be spending attempting to manage your country's economy. Certainly, it could be argued that this is exactly what world leaders do, but it limits the entertainment of the game.

I'll confess, I'm a wargame buff. And that's why I loved Hearts of Iron II. This is definitely not a wargame.

And while I love depth, this game has so much depth it's smothering. When you combine this with little help manual-wise and absolutely no tutorial or learning campaign, you'd need rock climbing gear to surmount this learning curve.

In conclusion, if economics and history are your thing, have at it, otherwise, you might be better suited to some other game ... I know I am.

Vicky is one of my favorite strategy games of all time. It isn't just an 'expand and conquer' game - it's a century long (with the Revolutions expansion) gaming challenge of guiding your chosen nation through the Imperial era. Vicky is *hard* - you'll need to read the rulebook, play some test games as either Sweden or Brazil, and probably Google yourself some online help. That should get you skilled enough to run your economy.

Once you get past the steep learning curve, you've got years of potential gameplay here. Take control of Sweden, recover Finland from Russia, bring Denmark into union and form the nation of Scandinavia; a Great Power, but still weaker than the major powers. Try and avoid the Civil War as the United States. See if you can unify a stronger Germany or Italy than what happend historically.

If you get really attached to your Vicky game, you can export it into Doomsday, and take your nation through the thirties and forties ...