Recent reviews by Captain Jean Luc Picard

Europa Universalis IV brings to the Real Time Strategy market a game like none other. The amount of time, mental energy, and strategy that can be put into Europa Universalis IV is awe inspiring, and each time a new game is started, the player will never know which way the nations will form, how alliances and coalitions are formed, and which Monarchies will thrive, and which families will be left the annals of history. Europa Universalis, with or without the downloadable content, is hand's town one of the greatest Strategy Games to come out in the past 15 years. Europa Unversalis IV allows the player to control many aspects of their respective countries' military, leadership, economic policy, religion, war, peace, and more. As an individual who has played many strategy games, Europa Universalis IV is by far in my top 5, and has been since it was released. 5/5 would recommend it to any of my friends or family.

Verdun, set during the First World War portrays a variety of different aspects of World War I combat. There are several game modes that one can play in Verdun, including "Frontlines" and "Team Deathmatch". Frontlines simulates the actual World War I trench warfare in a realistic, and interesting way. Though some of the mechanics of firing, jumping, reloading, etc. still need some improvement, over all the combat experience is fantastic! Within the squad that you join in Frontlines, you can advanced through several classes, with several different weapons that are able to be used by each class. Some feature weapons most have never heard of (but are still historically accurate), while featuring more popular weapons such as the Springfield 1907, the Trench Gun, the British Webly, and the infamous Lewis Gun. Other squad roles include Squad Leader (Corporal, Sergeant, etc. depending on nationality), Rifleman, Machinegunner, and Grenadier, among others. Each nation has it's own unique weapons set for both the Allied and Central powers. The combat even features mustard gas and artillery strikes, as would be a daily event for any soldier fighting in the Trenches. The historical accuracy of the game is quite good, having family that fought in World War I on the Western front, the gameplay seems to match accounts of real first world war combat. I would recommend this game to anyone who is a fan of First Person Shooters, Historical Games, World War I, or just interested in trying something new. The development team has truly found the spirit of the First World War, and put it into a playable game mode!

Stronghold Crusader was a game I had played hundreds of hours of as a child. I remember playing it on an old windows 2000 machine. Like its predecessor Stronghold it is one of the best medieval strategy games on the market, and was revolutionary for its time. The game mechanics though older are superb and the campaign is worth playing through every scenario. Don't feel like fighting? Simply build a castle peacefully, and keep your people happy. The dynamics
Of the game rival most modern day strategy games. I would absolutely recommend this game to anyone who has played stronghold crusader before, and also to gamers looking for a well paced classic real time strategy game with a community that is still thriving to this day. I would definitely give it at the very least an 8/10 if
Not in my personal opinion a 10 out of 10.

There are probably hundreds of recommendations for Rome Total War, but I decided to write one as well. Rome Total War by far is one of the best strategy games to ever break into the market. Though the graphics are a little outdated, considering it first came out in 2004, the gameplay, unit selection, campaign, and my personal favorite, Multiplayer are outstanding. One of the best, if not the best game in the Total War series. I would recommend this to anyone who is a lover of Ancient Warfare, Ancient history, military history, and real time strategy games. Even if you dont' like any of those topics, play it anyway, because through this game one may sprout an interest in one of many subjects relating to this games history.