Crusader Kings 2 is a pretty epic grand strategy game. And I mean, epic in the REAL sense. For me, it was a bit too epic. For someone who feels Total War offers just about enough strategic depth, CK2 turned out to be a lot to take in for this aging, now lazy and low-on-time gamer.
With that said, one can certainly appreciate Paradox's relentless expanding of the game through free updates as well as paid DLCs and expansions, even after the slightly similar and also pretty damn good Europa Universalis 4 was launched.
Though most DLCs have been minor additions - often of the cosmetic kind - it now seems like it's time for world-dominator wannabes to get their hands on another bigger expansion. The Sons of Abraham expansion adds a load of new features and mechanics, the most obvious being the Abrahamic religions grounded in the Middle-East. This brings with it the ability to play as Jewish characters, among other things. In fact, the whole expansion aims to make religion a bigger part of the game, and uniting politics and religion in many situations.
According to a new dev diary from Paradox, which I've thrown in for you above, several new systems have been added. The Papacy, for example, will get a lot more deep and intricate with the inclusion of the Papal powers system, and cardinals. Managing to elect a Pope of your choosing will grant you benefits in the form of favors the Pope will need to pay you back with. You can now choose to take on pilgrimage trips to selected destinations, which are explained as being RPG-esque mini adventures.
Many of the older systems have received an overhaul, such as the various holy orders. You'll now be able to borrow from or donate to them, and requesting favors. Borrowing too much from them, however, may see you being the one asked for favors. The Herecy system too, has gotten an overhaul. It'll now feel a lot less shallow, and will evidently be more than minor nuisances to your global domination. Heretics can now gather more followers, and even take over entire provinces if not crushed in time.
There is more worth mentioning too - you can for example send your less ambitious sons and daughters to monasteries to rid them of the right to inherit your realm, Islam has gotten more content to fiddle around with, and a plethora of religiously charged events await you throughout your adventures - but instead of me rambling on forever, why not just watch the damn video for yourself? Lazy git! The expansion is to be released... sometime, and the price will be... something. That's official, folks!
