8.5

Victoria II: Heart of Darkness

This add on for Victoria II makes the game slightly better than it was. Still a large scary looking amount of information and events to control, but what a ride.

Paradox Interactive line of games has always had mind boggling depth and deep game play that the old school table top grognards would appreciate. Beginners may get turned away by the level of items the game tracks and puts at your very fingertips, but they would be missing out on some well-done table top strategy gaming turned digital.  Now even if you are not new to these types of games, I would strongly suggest you read the manual and or any tutorials available, the game just has so much going at once, to truly have a chance at winning you are going to want to know about all the moving pieces of the game. Even though the game goes off the rails when it comes to history, since the player is able to change things somewhat…one can still learn about industrialization using this game and the bare basics of running a country and all of its aspects. The people, the workers, the factories and commerce, and trade, political standings and dealings with other countries and colonization, it’s all here in an almost mind boggling details.

What I have always loved about the series on top of the insane depth of detail and the amount of things the player can control, is how the game is wrapped in music of the day, and also decorated with art and concept water colors, spectacular.

Victoria II: Heart of Darkness, is actually the second expansion for Victoria II.  This time the game ads a few new things that enhance the game rather well. The enhancements and changes are not front and center, so early in the game for players that have this grand political and expand your lands strategy game…you may not notice them until deeper into the game.

There is a focus on the African continent, as the player takes their country head to head with the rest of the world as the Dark Continent is everyone’s focus.  It always comes down to how the player handles international crises and if they welcome war or does their best to avoid it.

Now that being said, I will go about this review from the stand point of the very nicely thought out changes that enhance this game with the expansion Victoria II: Heart of Darkness.

Factories and the industrial part of the game got some welcome changes. Factories are able to get a bonus when they are built in any state that produces their input goods. This also makes a sort of trickle effect in that area because it plays into other industry.  A state that is producing Iron is a perfect place then for a steel mill, and then that steel mill can influence and make it easier to produce goods and product that require steel…such as weapons. The new game tweaks also give a bonus if a factories input are produced locally.  Factories that are also running into troubles can slow down production rather firing workers.

Colonies now come in two different types. The first is a protectorate, and the other is a full colony.  Protectorates become colonies over time. Thought the player must use Colonial Points to upgrade to a full Colony.  While colonies may yield more Tax, they also cost more points to upkeep. The Colonies are needed though if the player ever hopes to upgrade to a full state in the future.

The Civilizing process also got some changes; if a player goes the military route they gain the ability to get research points through their conquests. A player with enough skill for the game can conquer the more advanced areas and gain a large number of research points in the process.

The tweaks and changes as I noted may not even be noticeable at the very start of a gaming session but they do become more evident as the game progresses. It’s a give and take game, one that aims for that certain niche player base, and for that niche player Victoria II: Heart of Darkness delivers the goods.

For the more casual gamer they may feel over whelmed with the depth of control to be had, the game does a fair enough job automating some of the tasks for you.  So if your bold enough jump into Victoria II and its latest add on Heart of Darkness.

Have fun play games.

Edwin Millheim