Old World

Developers have put a lot of work in to this game. Well balanced game, with a lot of interesting choices. Limit on actions you can take in a turn, which makes end game less busywork a focus on the important decisions. Extensive event system brings a bit of randomness to a game where prediction and determinism is the foundation of the game. This makes it a little unpredictable but not game breaking. The multiplayer seems well balanced and the difficulty vs the AI has a lot of customization options, these are examples of how extensive it can be customized: - "AI Aggression" (5 lvl from not "AI will not declare war" to "AI will declare war before turn 10") - "AI Development" (number of cities and tech) - "AI Advantages" (from 0 to 50% discount)

Playing this on a win 7 & win 10 gaming laptops, I have not been disappointed. Even have had a few multiplayer games using the GOG version vs a Steam user...with no issues!!! This is an amazing blend of a traditional 4x set in the ancient times, combined with a little Crusader Kings flavor. The game mechanics are so well designed that playing one's turns is a breeze. The plethora of game options to include multiplayer lobby options (it offers hotseat like the old days) solidifies this as a must have for anyone that likes/loves this genre. The 'devs' have seen to it that modding is allowed & that can only mean this game has a bright future in the same way that 4x classics like Civ IV have withstood the test of time. I will end with how impressed I have been with how stable & bug free it is since the release on GOG & Steam. I own the Steam version, as well. Simply put...4x Game of the Year, imho.

Old World takes the first few turns of a Civilization game and builds a whole game around it. It is very well balanced immersive. The game feels like a casual story at times and deep strategy at others. If you are a fan of ancient history or simply looking for a 4X game that tries new things, you will probably like this game. In one game I chose to pass over my daughter to appoint my son as heir. When my king died, she started a coup, killed the boy and made herself queen. I then played as her, had her marry into a barbarian tribe, making the noble houses mad and forming an alliance with the tribe. She went on to have a long an prosperous reign, fulfilling all her father's promises, expanded the empire, converting to Judaism, and built the pyramids.

This is a great game. I would recommend playing on Noble or higher difficulty. I would also recommend checking out the youtube channel Kings and Generals and watch a few of their historically accurate battles of anicent wars and how powers back then did things. You also need to think a bit more like the ancients did where things got resolved over decades rather then what we have today with an instant gratification society and try to resolve things instantly (because our tech is more advanced obviouly). It's very interesting and I love it. I sure hope they come out with more sequels and DLC's, but I think this game will keep me occupied for 200+ hours at least.

I started playing it hoping to have a turn based strategy civ like game, however for me the "social" aspect is overwhelming and distracts me too much from building up my nation. Your court gets pretty big and crowded - a lot of people to take care of. I just couldn't focus on everything and I ended up neglecting this part alltogether. Maybe another time, in another playthough, when I am more into social engineering.