Have you ever thought to yourself, 'I've heard good things about this Crusader Kings 2 strategy game from Paradox Interactive- 87/100 on PC Gamer!-but there are so many expansions to buy and that really adds up.

It's time you gave them a choice: bend the knee, or be replaced by someone who will. There are likely still lords in the kingdom- your kingdom-who do not yet recognize your authority. But of course, heavy lies the crown and you must not celebrate over long. But none of them will sit quite as sweetly atop your head as this one, which elevated you forever from obscurity into royalty. One day, you may even be proclaimed an emperor. You'll wear many more crowns throughout your CK2 career. If you've made it this far, chances are it won’t be the last time. Hoary Dukes kneel before you and even the scions of Charlemagne begrudgingly count you their equal. The journey has been difficult, but you may now count yourself among the most powerful monarchs in all the land. With a simple click, you gain a gold border around your portrait and that auspicious title: King (or Queen). Finally, the day comes you see that once-grey Found Kingdom button light up. Your anticipation grows and leads you to bolder and more terrifying conquests, some of which will pay off while others might land you in a heap of trouble. But your ambitions grow along with the scope of your lands and the size of your armies. At least kings respect your opinion now, and those lowly counts, standing in the same place you were not long ago, have no choice but to follow your commands. You're no king yet, but you've come a long way from where you started. Eventually, you have enough holdings, cash, and piety to proclaim yourself a Duke.

So you start to fabricate claims on your neighbors and maybe maneuver to have your heir inherit some land from your spouse's side. How could your aspirations possibly reach beyond that? How could you imagine yourself a peer to the Capets or the Plantagenets who could crush you under their royal heels at any moment? You don't even feel like you're playing the same game they are, reigning from a modest castle in the middle of some muddy stretch of countryside. If you're lucky maybe you’ll be a duke some day. Starting as a lowly count when you're new to the game, kingship seems like such a distant and unattainable thing. I've got to the point where I challenge myself to see how quickly I can accomplish it, but it never compares to the very first time. The game hasn't really started until you've put that crown on your head and bid all the dukes and counts in your realm kneel in fealty. When you've played over 1,200 hours of Crusader Kings 2 like I have, becoming a king seems like a formality. Great moments in PC gaming are bite-sized celebrations of some of our favorite gaming memories.

Crusader kings 2 ambitions