Heavier learning curve, but much better overall than any other Paradox game including EU3.
I've been playing strategy games for as long as I have been playing RPGs, which is to say 15+ years (I am in my 20s). I've always had a good mind for playing these types of nation-building type of games; such as ROTK. It has been so long since I have had difficulty grasping a strategy game. Like I always do, I just jumped right in and started up a game as Poland, and boy was I clueless! I totally had no clue at all what I was supposed to be doing exactly. So I backed up, and took a look at the tutorial from start to finish, and I am glad I did.
Now that I know what I am doing, I can really appreciate everything this game has to offer on the gameplay scale. There are SO many more events than any other Paradox title, and they are all very accurate, in description at least--sometimes they fire before or after they actually happened depending on the conditions of the event.
I can appreciate the combat system a lot more than EU3; CK, Victoria, etc. It is more or less on a tick system where a group of 1000 soldiers is equivalent to 1 manpower, as opposed to 1000 = 1000 in EU3, so your modifiers are on a decimal system, such as -0.25, or +1.25. You also do not get reinforcements for your troops, so you have to keep them reinforced. I like this better because I really have to take attrition into account more so than before it seems. If I am moving my troops too much, or forget to take my ships off "patrol" to sit around at port, then my forces will start dropping from attrition, and I will end up like Alexander the Great limping through the desert back to Greece.
EU2 has "autosend merchants", which was not implemented in EU3 until the release of the Napoleon's Ambition expansion, which was not sold in stores, and can only be purchased online.
//Graphics//
While the map itself is nice, the graphics for the map; Normal, Political, and Economy, and Trade, are not as good looking as they are on EU3. While the political map gets its job done regardless, because you can't really screw up a political map (lol), I kind of wish the Normal map would have been designed to be easier on the eyes. Speaking of maps, EU2 has seasons just like the rest, although I am not sure how much, if at all, they hinder movement and attrition, but the graphics for the city/colony/whatever show the changing of the seasons well enough.
I was sort of bummed that the medieval units do not have the color of their country, like in EU3, because they are all the same color. But with the flag above, like pretty much every Paradox game, it is still easy to distinguish between who's troops are who's.
//Sound//
The music is good enough, and it's most notable quality is the fact that it is mostly upbeat, but it gets a little repetitive after a while. It would be nice if it changed songs more often than it does currently. That is my only real gripe with this game, -0.5 for repetitive songs! lol
//Conclusion//
As a cult-follower of the strategy & strategy-rpg genres, I can't help but play the heck out of this game every chance I get. It is the most historically accurate Grand Strategy game I have ever played, and I have played just about every other Grand Strategy game on the commercial market. It is perfectly balanced and fine-tuned to a point of excellence & brilliance. I have reviewed quite a few Paradox games, and most of them have gotten bad reviews from me all the way down the line, but this one is absolutely perfect. I highly recommend this game for anyone who thought EU3 was too watered-down, too inaccurate, too imbalanced, or just flat out didn't like it.
Your search ends here. This is the game you've been looking for.