On February 15th Paradox Interactive announced that it had teamed up with mobile game developer PPC Studios to develop a portable version of its historical turn-based strategy hit Europa Universalis II. The game, which is a pretty complex even on the PC, seems like it would be tough to implement on a portable platform at first glance, but PPC isn't exactly a stranger to that kind of work. The company has successfully brought Warlords II, another popular strategy title to the PocketPC, and is currently working on two Warlords III titles.

Paradox Interactive is keeping its plans for the portable version of the game pretty hush hush at this time, but we do know that it will be available for a myriad of systems that support ARM/XScale Pocket PCs and a number of Palm OS devices. The game is also being built for the Tapwave Zodiac hand-held gaming and multimedia device and the Nintendo DS. Details are ultra thin on the Nintendo Ds version of the game, but we assume you'll be able to use the top screen and stylus to manipulate various commands within the game.

Much like its PC counterpart Europa Universalis II spans more than 400 years of history between 1419-1820, with players trying to take over the world through a mix of gameplay that includes domestic activities, politics, dealing with religious struggles, exploration, alliances, and a whole lot more. A full list of features for the hand-held version of Europa Universalis II can be found below:

Europa Universalis II Hand-Held Facts

• Take control of any nation in the world - from Feudal Japan, America, Russia, The Ch'ng Dynasty of Manchu to the traditional countries such as Spain, France and England. In Europa Universalis II you can lead any of 200+ nations with historical leaders and national research!





• 400 years of historical gameplay! Play the medieval campaigns of Jeanne D'Arc to the massive wars of Napoleon. 600+ highly detailed events force you to decide the fate of the world. Huge map spans the globe with more than 1600 land and sea provinces! Detailed and historically accurate art of buildings, armies and navies changing over time.





• Intuitive interface, tutorial and manual - a great gaming experience for Novice and Hardcore gamer alike. This real-time game can be paused at any time or given event to give players time for planning, creating a 'semi real-time' environment. Optimized for Multiplayer - Europa Universalis II enables players to easily meet over the internet. Several scenarios are specifically designed for multiplayer games.





• Europa Universalis II is compatible with all ARM/XScale Pocket PCs, Tapwave Zodiac and many other Palm OS devices.

We'll have more details on this game in the weeks and months ahead. It'll be interesting to see how how PPC Studios utlizes the feature set of the Nintendo DS to make this game work to its fullest potential.

Loading Screen

Getting Started

Troop Movement

World Map