Europa Universalis IV

   In this game, you have control of a nation from 1444 (late middle ages) to 1821 (early modern period). All elements of this game have pretty good depth so that you really feel that you manage a whole country with all its aspects including colonization, trade, diplomacy, and warfare. The game is pretty huge but the learning curve it's not that steep as it may seem in the beginning, doing the tutorials and alt+tab-ing in the wiki whenever you don't understand something should have you covered as long as you're not in too much of a hurry. This game is like a more in depth Civilization game with more focused mechanics for elements of that era, also the combat system is net superior.

   Regarding the DLC practices, on which there are some heated debates, I'm going to say a couple of things. First is that I love that the game is being made better and developed continuously, and active development would very difficult without more money pouring in. That being said, I do agree with many people that the pricing is less than ideal at this moment. Also, understanding what the main DLCs are, and what they do, is probably not very obvious for the average person (again, check the wiki, it's invaluable). The second thing that I would like to mention is that the DLCs make the game richer, breath wise, but they don't necessarily improve already existing mechanics. People can enjoy the game even without all the DLCs.

   This is a really great game that has a ton to offer; you even have the option to have custom countries as opposed to the rigid, but historically accurate, starting world. But I do have a couple complaints. First one and the most painful is the AI. It's not bad, but for a game that is centered on a single player experience and that has been under constant development for so much time, the AI is just not all that good. And to add to my pain, the difficulty level where the AI plays best, is a difficulty level where the AI also has some bonuses, so there is no difficulty setting where there is a leveled play field and the AI just plays its best. Another problem that I have is that the "estates" idea (implemented in The Cossacks DLC) is a very good one but I find its implementation lazy and uninspired. There are a few other things that I would like improved, but going too much into details will make this article too long. The game has a great modding scene and there are some overhaul mods that are very appreciated, there are even mods for the AI.