Fun and extremely deep game.
User Rating: 9 | Hearts of Iron II PC
I just came upon this game one day and decided to buy it. At first I thought it was bad. But that’s just the learning curve. Once you get past it this game is really fun. Because I know a lot about WW2 I can really enjoy this game and the sheer customization you are allowed to have. There a lot of scenarios and you can make anything happen really. The only downsides are the bugs which get very annoying sometimes. But with the patches they’re really not a big problem. The gameplay in this game is really top class. There really isn’t much to say. Are you angry that Nazi Germany didn’t win the war? Well you can make it happen. It wont be easy with the great AI but its possible. You can get right into Operation Barbarossa and help the Third Reich defeat the soviet against large odds and limited industrial output while leading a strong fight against Britain or you can be the Soviets fending off a attack from the Germans with inferior troops and outdated tanks. The bottom line is anything is possible. But depending on which nation you pick and which year you select will determine how easy war can be for you and how much conquest you’ll be doing. Both Germany and Russia can conquer large amounts of land. While as Italy you’ll struggle to keep Libya and can barely even take Switzerland if you wish doing so (which was neutral in WW2 but you can declare war on them). On that same note, playing as Poland will be a struggle because of there limited industry and large super power trying to constantly annex you. Again there thousands of scenarios and if you wish you could even have a demo crated Soviet Union or a Leninist Great Britain. The Multiplayer is solid and there little to complain here.
The graphics aren’t that good but they have a board game like appearance which is good. The units are well represented and the smooth and great presentation of this game is good. As a fan of WW2 I had little to complain as the did well representing the different mode. The sound is below par for the most part. The soundtrack is small selection of mediocre music. That said I couldn’t care less about the sound of this game. The gameplay is what cants and with a genre like this they got the most important part down right. Which at the end of the day is what counts.
The value is endless really. They’re various dates for you to change the outcome for history for. Then there’s a good selection of scenarios which stay true to their real world events. All this and the multiplayer combine to form a game which you will be playing endlessly if you like it. Overall the value is superb. This game is great and if you’re a Risk fan or WW2 fan you owe it to yourself to buy this game. But if your a Risk fan and don’t like war then its a rental. People that will get the most out of this game are the people who know a good amount of history to understand the events and political situation in which they are changing. There’s so much to change and do in this game that its right up there with Civilization as one of the best turn based games to date. The difference being this game is not turn based. So if you’re a history buff get this game if not see and then buy.
