Europa Universalis III is a strategy game that spans from the events after the Fall of Constantinople (1453) up to the French Revolution (1789). This video game from Paradox Interactive, while covering 300 years of history, also allows players to pretty much make up their own.

No, we haven't gone back in time here at QJ Central. This is for those who are still undecided whether to get Europa Universalis III or not. They've got a new mod for additional world domination enjoyment called Magna Mundi 1.0 by Ubik and SharpAlignment. And we've got some screens featuring the other side of world conquest that takes diplomacy, trade, and espionage. Heck, you can even choose to "sow discontent". Anyway, here are the basics:

• Adding historical plausibility to the game
• Adding depth to the game.
• Increasing the difficulty level of the game through a stronger abstraction of the real world.

Good thing Paradox Interactive made the Europa Universalis III mod friendly. If you're interested to get the mod, just click the Download link below and with just about any game - check out the ReadMe first. Enjoy!

Download: Magna Mundi Europa Universalis III mod

The rest of the screens come right after the jump!

Gamers will be seeing quite a few games hit retail shelves for the week of January 22. There's a bit of strategy here, with Europa Universalis III for the PC, as well as the swashbuckling action of Sid Meier's Pirates! for the Sony PSP. Anime fans also get a little something courtesy of the Nintendo DS title InuYasha: Secret of the Divine Jewel. Those looking for something eerie and noir-ish should get both and more from Hotel Dusk: Room 215, and those who want a little madness in their gaming lives should definitely check out Sam and Max 3: The Mole, the Mob, and the Meatball.

Here's a list of the releases, sorted by date:

January 22

• Alien Shooter: Vengeance (PC)
• Hotel Dusk: Room 215 (DS)
• Sid Meier's Pirates (PSP)

January 23

• Europa Universalis III (PC)
• InuYasha: Secret of the Divine Jewel (DS)
• The Legend of Heroes III: Song of the Ocean (PSP)

January 25

• Sam & Max Episode 3: The Mole, the Mob and the Meatball (PC)

Paradox Interactive announced today that they inked the deal with national chain, Target, to become an exclusive distributor of Europa Universalis III Collectors Edition for the North American market.

The Collectors Edition of the game will be stocked (and stacked, hehe) in Target stores nationwide and will also be available for purchase through the chain's online store, Target.com. The said edition will include the following exclusive assets:

• a giant world map complete with provinces
• a 100 + page Strategy Guide
• the official game soundtrack with a composer diary
• a Producer introduction to the game and special download bonus material.

Fredrik Wester, Director of Sales and Acquisitions for Paradox, says,

We are thrilled that the Collectors Edition will be made available through Target and its chain of retail stores nationwide. Europa Universalis III' is our flagship title and our biggest production yet and by working more closely with Target, the game will reach a wider audience of strategy gamers.

Europa Universalis III will be shipping to stores all over North America on January 23. The Collectors Edition will sell for the SRP of US$ 49.99.

Those itching to try their hand at the latest title in Paradox Interactive's Europa Universalis series of strategy games can finally stop foaming at the mouth and start playing the game soon. Paradox Interactive has just announced today the release of the official single-player demo from their flagship title Europa Universalis III.

The single-player demo will let gamers play select tutorial chapters and all the Western nations from 1492 to 1520. Players can learn the ins and outs of exploration, trade, warfare, and diplomacy, and prepare themselves for the unparalleled depth and historical accuracy of Europa Universalis III.

The Europa Universalis III demo, which weighs in at 129.8MB, is already available at Gamespot and is featured in English, German, French, Polish, Italian, and Spanish. The full game will hit stores on January 23.

Greed has fueled many wars in the past. Greed for power, money, and land has been with human beings since civilization started. Maybe Warmongering 101 has world domination as its first lesson. Or maybe it's just human nature.

Paradox Interactive's Europa Universalis III is all about world domination. Players would build up a nation and conquer the world either by conquest for land, economic power, diplomatic influence or plain and simple warfare. Launch is set for January 23.

For us to see what's to come, Paradox Interactive has been nice enough to show a trailer released earlier this morning.

Just click on the "Read" link below to see the Official Trailer 3 at GameSpot.

Straight from the history books, Paradox Interactive's flagship title Europa Universalis III has now hit gold status and is ready for shipping on January 23 in North America - right on time, and just as they promised.

It being the new year and all, one can't help looking at the future and expecting a lot of stuff for the next couple of months. So how else can you start all the future forecasting but by taking a look at our past?

Europa Universalis III takes the player on a historically accurate journey through time, as they choose one among 250 nations to control and look after. Whether in exploration, trade, warfare or diplomacy, you must progress your nation to become a global empire. With this, the developers are expecting the game to appeal to both old and new fans alike.

The standard edition of the game costs US$ 39.99, while the Collector's Edition will set you back for US$ 49.99.

We've already posted quite a bit of info regarding Paradox Interactive's latest title, Europa Universalis III - from the game's units to the countries and provinces at your disposal. Today, we're not going to dwell on that kind of stuff. Instead, we've got a bunch of new screenshots available for your viewing pleasure. Check 'em out below.

Europa Universalis III will hit U.S. stores on January 23, with the European and Australian releases following shortly after. The Collector's Edition will sell for a suggested retail price of US$ 49.99 and will include a complete strategy guide and other exclusive assets. The standard version will sell for a suggested retail price of US$ 39.99.

More screenshots at the Full Article.

For you to be more prepared once the Paradox Interactive-published PC game, Europa Universalis III comes out on Q1 2007, we'll now be talking about the game's 1700 provinces. No, the article isn't gonna bore you to death with detailed analyses and descriptions of each territory, instead we'll dish out some important details about them provinces.

There are 250 playable countries with 1,700 provinces at your disposal. And for you to lead your country to success, you have to harness the potentials of its provinces because after all, major triumphs are almost always made up of little victories. Here are some aspects that you should take note of:

Population - It all boils down to income taxes. The bigger the population, the more tax income it will generate for its owner. But then again, following the law of supply and demand, more people means more demands which could mean lesser supplies. This will now bring us to the next factor you should consider.

More about the provinces after the jump!

Let's talk about the units. Yeah, 'cos there's a lot of them, and they're vital to your Europa Universalis III operations. What you have to realize is that the unit types are based upon both regional and technological differences around the world during the eras covered by the game.

Each type falls under one of seven categories: the land-based ones, which are there basically to defend your provinces, all fall under infantry, cavalry, or artillery. Naval units, meanwhile, fall under transport vessels or one of three distinct sizes of combat vessel. Now, let's get to know them categories a little bit more.

Infantry Regiments: They'd contain the basic foot soldier. For the early parts of the game, their weapons are limited to swords or spears, bows or javelins. There's not much extravaganza in their weapons here, nor would they be described as effective in combat. But once you progress in your game, the infantry becomes stronger, and begins to use more powerful forms of gunpowder-based weaponry.

More units explanation after the jump!

A game like Europa Universalis III, with its grand historical scope and intricate political, economic, and military gameplay, makes us feel even more stupid than European History 101. And BTW, you're talking to a guy who actually quoted Sid's Civilization II as part of his answer during a grand lecture in Economics 101 (and got a damn good grade for doing so), so yeah, that kinda brings a game like this to real-world perspective.

So it would make sense that the Collector's Edition-exclusive Strategy Guide Paradox Interactive included with Europa would be a jaw-dropping one hundred pages long, and can and should be able to pass for your Euro-History 101 textbook. Okay, maybe it won't pass as a history textbook, but it sure does add real-world historical depth to help you understand how to play the game and win. The guide is authored by Ed Hanks, who combines a broad experience of writing for both the press and for politicians, with a keen interest in history and military strategy.

Look at it this way. At least playing this game's way more interesting than listening to a stuffy university lecture. The strategy guide already doubles as a textbook in that case. And maybe you might come out actually learning something. Well, maybe.