The mechanics of combat have been completely overhauled since the first game. It also pays to have the right general in charge of your divisions and having them attack from territories where the terrain is advantageous, the weather agreeable and at the time conducive to military operations. A small force of well-researched troops (better drilled with new equipment) is likely to rout a larger foe still revelling in First World War-era tactics or weaponry. Whilst the combat system may appear to ape the simplicity of a board game, the reality is much more complex. Whilst there are no Rome: Total War-style 3D battles to direct, there is just as much drama and tension in watching armies advance and retreat across the map as provinces are overrun by tanks and infantry, bombed and strafed by aircraft or pummelled by off-shore fleets of battleships - all happening in your imagination, of course. You are prepared for it or not, war, like Christmas, does eventually arrive. Additionally, rather than using arbitrary research points, HOI2 requires you to employ specialist companies and individuals (General Motors and Boeing in the US, Krupp and Messerschmitt in Germany) to complete the necessary research into bigger engines and more effective offensive theories.ĭespite your very best diplomatic efforts and whether Convoys are now automated, although you can fiddle with the settings if you wish. Now such aspects are much simpler, yet the game's new ease of use does not come with a dumbed-down price. In the first Hearts Of Iron, researching all the various technologies in order to produce a particular strain of tank was a hideous, confusing and off-putting side to the game - as was the procedure of setting up sea trade routes and convoys. A process easier said than done, although compared to the original game it is a process far simpler to understand than it once was. Research must be undertaken, production started, infrastructure expanded, diplomacy and trade entered into and all of it completed on time and under budget. (For example, a war between Brazil and Argentina and a joint Soviet/US invasion of mainland Japan.) Small in scale these may be compared to the grand 11 -year campaign (set between 1936 to 1947), but the challenge is no less enticing - especially if you want to complete a game in days rather than months.Īs whoever and whenever you begin the game, your country will start woefully unprepared for any kind of conflict, let alone one soon to engulf the globe. From these it is generally a good idea to try out some of the less daunting single-player missions, which apart from including all the big to-dos like D-Day, Battles Bulge, Coral Sea and Barbarossa, also offer up a number of curious what if?' scenarios. The tutorial missions do a fine if unspectacular job of showing off the tools with which you must manage your economic, military and political resources. Only then, when you're confident enough to push out, will it leave you to get on with the messy business of subjugating (or freeing) the swimming pool - or rather, the world. Instead, it lowers you in gently (there is no shallow end), makes sure you're all right and The good news for those who might have dived into the original game too early (see Going For Platinum', right), is that HOI2 doesn't gleefully chuck you in at the deep end only to scarper and leave you spluttering in the water. Underneath what would in any other strategy game be laughable sprites and crude explosions, is a level of strategy that is as broad as it is deep, all of it layered in such a way as to be accessible in order to carry out whatever strategy you wish to follow. Moreover, much of the excitement is played out in your head rather than before your eyes, for although the on-screen graphics do an excellent job of portraying a strategist's-eye view of global conflict, they are designed to be functional rather than attractive. In essence, Hearts Of Iron II is to WWII gaming what Championship Manager is to soccer, in that it's as much about lengthy preparation and intricate resource management as it is to taking to the field and hacking down your opponent. This should give you a good idea of what's in store should you choose to purchase what is probably the best global-level strategy game ever devised.
Hearts of iron iv screenshots manual#
The manual for Hearts Of Iron II is such a size, but even when you've waded through this tome, the author actually stresses that his guide is a mere introduction, rather than an exhaustive point of referral. When a game comes with a instruction booklet, you know you're getting something with some degree of depth.