Paradox Interactive have had a busy week of Gamescom announcements and media blasts with a new trailer for Hearts of Iron IV leading the way. They followed that up by announcing Cities: Skylines, an expansive sequel to the Cities in Motion series with first details on expansion to Europa Universalis IV and Crusader Kings II then being revealed. Read on for the roundup.

Hearts of Iron IV

Paradox’s World War Two title leads the way with this new trailer which reveals the first in-game action. There are plenty of newsreel clips in the trailer which means in-game action is somewhat limited, but it is our first look at what is a very attractive looking game. If you aren’t convinced by the trailer, perhaps some of these screenshots will convince you?

Following the recent success of titles like Europa Universalis IV and Crusader Kings II which let the player run rampant with their country, it will be interesting to see how much freedom lies within Hearts of Iron IV and whether war can be averted…while I will be wondering how much influence on events a tiny South American country can have….not much probably.

Crusader Kings II: Charlemagne

Two years on from the release of Crusader Kings II and Paradox are still working on the game. Impressive to see it must be said. The new expansion will introduce players to Charlemagne, the man who formed the Holy Roman Empire, the dominant force in Europe for much of the middle ages. The expansion brings the starting point of the game forward to 769AD (another century of political intrigue for everyone) and will contain a variety of story events surrounding Charlemagne’s rise to power. Further to this, there will be:

a new in-game “Chronicle” that highlights a dynasty’s conquests, marriages, and labors for the faith. Kingdoms are also more customizable in Charlemagne with the option to create your own with custom names and banners.

Europa Universalis IV: Art of War

The upcoming expansion for Europa Universalis IV, a game which I mightily enjoyed playing last year is entitled Art of War and features large updates and changes to combat, Reformation and diplomatic options. The (limited) details are below with more promised.:

Changes to battle mechanics will allow wily warlords to launch sorties from sieges, sell obsolete ships and transfer occupied lands to allies. A revamped Reformation system will let you relive the Thirty Years’ War in a series of unique in-game events to see how they fare in Europe’s greatest conflict prior to the 20th century. Once the fighting has settled down, rulers will be able to try a new set of diplomatic options inspired by the Napoleonic Era, including the creation of client states to support – or resist – revolutions.

Cities: Skylines

We take a break from the grand strategy and move onto a game which might push SimCity off its perch as the only modern city building game that is relevant. A couple of things struck me immediately when seeing the above trailer…

1. The cities looks massive
2. The zoning system looks a bit awkward. This is Alpha footage though, so things can change
3. The variety in road layouts open to you is mind boggling and demonstrates a freedom for creativity that was all too lacking in SimCity

The following features were highlighted in the press release, though I think the game could be sold purely on city size and road layouts. Have a gander at what Paradox have to say about the game.

• Designed to Impress: Massive map sizes and deep, detailed design controls allow players to construct the cities of their dreams, running everything from road building and zoning to public services and taxation – and, yes, public transportation

• Policy and Progress: Set a series of civic policies to guide the city’s growth; fine-tune the placement and direction of local districts

• Local Beautification: Admire the vastness of your city in a polished visual style and manage a living, breathing city, all the way down to realistic water flow in the irrigation systems

• The Sky is Not the Limit: Strive to build up a city towards jaw-dropping endgame “wonders,” and then go beyond what is possible with built-in game modding tools

Sadly we will have to wait until next year to see this released, while we wait…what title from Paradox has caught your eye?