Let me begin with saying that Crusader Kings is a decent strategy game. With that said, it is NOT the best on the market, not even for the price. Although it's enjoyable, it is somewhat confusing, and not that good looking. If you want a strategy game on the cheap, I would recommend an older Civilization or Total War game. Again, although the game isn't bad, it's very dated and there are better options. If you own the Civilization, Total War, and Age of Empires games, try this out; you'll probably like it. However, this is not the best in the genre, so if you want a strategy game, this probably isn't the one.

One of Paradox's firsts games. This game offers a different perspective unlike other strategy games. You play a medieval family, rising through the ages. So instead of an overlord, you are playing the perspective of one changing history and yet still part of it. This game requires deep thinking... to be able to carefully strategize as a simple misstep would really affect the gameplay onwards. Being an old game, the graphics are simply, in 2D. But the storyline and gameplay itself really makes up for the poorer graphics (bear in mind, it is an old game).. Really and awesome game, especially if you are an avid player of strategic titles.

Paradox are probably my favourite developer and this is one of their older games.It looks it's age, it's far from modern looking but it's still a nice deep strategy if you can get under the superficial appearance issues. Paradox are the masters of strategy and this is another gem from them. I'd probably suggest Crusader Kings 2 if you haven't played either of Crusader Kings series, but if you have played 2 and liked it, then you should definitely try the first one too.

Crusader Kings is a grand strategy game which is quite unique. Instead of playing as a medieval country, you take over a medieval family and try to improve the position of the dynasty throughout time. You can conquer provinces, as in other strategy games, but you can also usurp titles, marry off children, assassinate enemies, and vassalize rivals, all from the comfort of the main map. It's a really fun, complex game, and if you take the time to learn it, it'll give you hours upon hours of entertainment. CK: Complete gives you both the original Crusader Kings and its expansion, Deus Vult. As this is an older, dated title, the map and graphics are mostly in 2D. They're well done and remind one of an old board game, but after you've spent time with 3D graphics, it's hard to go back. And that's the major issue with this older game; it's hard to go back to it after you've played its sequel. Crusader Kings 2 is superior to this one in almost every way; it has more depth and complexity (more provinces and people, more complex mechanics, more things to do), and it looks better. That said, this is still a very good older title, and if you're willing to look past the dated graphics (or if you aren't spoiled by CK2), you'll enjoy this. Recommended for grand strategy gamers and for those who don't mind a steep learning curve -- the tutorial is practically non-existent, so if you've never played a game like this, I'd suggest watching a Let's Play on YouTube to understand what's going on.