Crusader Kings Complete Pack (PC)

The product met all my expectations at a good price and worked well. In addition the product was success for the price set

A note of caution! This game does not appear to have a CD key. I purchased it, not realising my new laptop has no DVD/CD drive... and can't download it anywhere without re-buying it. I cannot speak to the game content as I have not played it yet... this is just to warn people who are expecting to be able to download on Steam... you can't unless you buy it. Similarly it does not appear to be available from Paradox directly either.

Being a fan of Paradox's games, I bought this one to give it a try, because if was so inexpensive. Turned out to be one of best games I ever played. Great fun, allowing you to take command of a dinasty, and it's up to you to pick one of the hundred of counties and rising all the way to duke and even king. It does not include a printed manual, and the included manual (.pdf) is not up to date. You can however take a look in the official forums where any possible information you might wish is readily available (and so are the latest patches, which improve the game and fix significant bugs). It costed me roughly 10£, and given the ammount of time I already spent playing it, it was certainly a bargain.

A great game, as stated in other reviews is really not for the casual gamer. I only paid £6 for this item so it was also great vale for money. The game centres more around the control of your nobles rather than imperial expansion. Dynastic succession is also very important, making sure your sons dont rebel and that your people are happy. I have to admit being English I started off as the King of England (William the Conqueror). Which leaves many christian nations to have a fight with and lots of potential rebels. What you get out of the game depends entirely on how you play. After getting a good feel for the game I decided to play each ruler differently. One I played as an imperial expansionist, one as a just but peaceful ruler and one as a cruel ruler. Each one led to different styles of play but actually made the game more fun. Those expecting to control full scale battles as you can in Rome Total War will be disappointed, as I was, but when you actually get in to the nitty gritty of the game you dont have time for battles because you will making sure that your Dynasty has a strong succession and your nobles are happy, then you have time if your reputation is strong enough to actually go to war. As the English I managed to conqueror all the british isles in three generations and now preparing to begin a war on France, which will be great fun. I would recommend this game to anyone with a penchant for history, as well as those who really like a brain taxer not really for the casual gamer. What you put into the game is what you get out of it. I gave the game 4 stars because I would love to control the full scale battles or at least see them. So in summary a great game and well worth the £6 I spent, it has given me hours of fun so go out and make that purchase...

Narrative indicated a fast and interactive game - instead it presented an extremely slow and boring scenario, lost interest within 30 minutes

I bought this game blindly after looking for a medieval strategy game. I had always loved the total war series and wanted something along those lines but with a different approach. Firstly, this game is cheap, which makes it worth a try anyway. Secondly, the game is different to many games in that it gives you another dimension ie..not just fighting to control the world, but also managing family members and marrying people off - which is really novel and fun. Granting titles and making claims is really good fun also. It is a very addictive game and is one of those games where you can lock yourself away for numerous hours and forget about everything else in your life. It is really only a game for patient gamers with plenty of time on their hands as the game is long and drawn out. If you love the medieval period and have some interest in history as well as playing a game, this is the game for you. There are a few niggly things with this game that could make it better, but on the whole it is a great buy. There is a sequel coming out soon too, so that should be even better, but for something to do in the meantime, buy this!

This is by far the best strategy game I've ever played. This is actually my second copy after I lost the previous one. With time the game goes from just keeping your own kingdom into analysing future marriages, benefits, wars.

Paradox have announced a major revamp of Crusader Kings to be released in 2012. If you are reading this you are probably wondering whether it is worth buying Crusader Kings Complete or waiting for Crusader Kings II. The answer depends largely on whether you are already familiar with Paradox Interactive's other map-based games. If you have never played one, then do not start with Crusader Kings Complete. It might be far simpler than some of their other games such as Europa Universalis or Hearts of Iron, but the manual included on the disc is woeful (and is for the original game, not for the Deus Vult expansion we have here) and there are no tutorials. Also, the game shows its age with primitive 2D graphics, unchangeable screen resolution (it will change the screen resolution of your monitor to play the game at a reasonable size) and many of the expected links and menu options we are used to simply do not exist. If you have never played Europa Universalis, why not bite the bullet and buy it now while you are waiting for Crusader Kings II to be released? It is hard to think of anyone who plays one game who would not enjoy the other, although they have very different flavours; Europa Universalis is interactions (and warfare, of course) between nations. Crusader Kings is about people. You, your family, your courtiers and all their relations (both familial and those of friendship and loyalty). Yes there is warfare as well, but you see it at the level of your own character as part of a kingdom - even as the king you do not control the actions of your dukes and counts - you can only ask, demand, plead and, if all else fails, fight with them to get them to do what you want. However, from this it is easy to see that if you already play Europa Universalis but are looking for something more personal, you might be willing to put up with the inadequacies in the manual (you will soon get the hang of it), graphics (well, if you wanted graphics you'd have been playing Total War rather than something from Paradox, wouldn't you?) and rather clunky interface and give Crusader Kings Complete a try. It will certainly allow you to decide whether to buy Crusader Kings II when it comes out. I bet it won't be as cheap as this one!