Indepth, almost to much!
Pros:
1.) Allows you to play a significant portion of history leading up to WWII as well as the actual period of WWII.
2.) Allows you to play any country you want.
3.) Huge technology tree.
4.) Intense information on every country.
5.) Allows you to have fairly complex control over your government cabinet.
6. As deep and complex a table top strategy game you can find.
Cons:
1.) HUGE learning curve. Manual has limited use.
2.) Combat can be fairly hard to understand even with tutorials.
3.) Some countries are pointless no matter what you do i.e. Madagascar.
4.) Some countries will be over run no matter what you do i.e. Poland.
5.) Short choice in music and graphics are basic.
6.) Game WILL slow down even on a fast computer towards the middle/end of the war.
HoI 2 allows you to take any country you desire and play it from 1936 til 1947. You can participate in WWII if you want to though its not required. Managing your country once your able to figure out just how to do it can be fairly rewarding. Waging war, though complicated, can still be fun. Trading is basic and you only have a few resources to use. Technology research is essential or you can write your country off as worthless if you plan on fighting. Diplomacy is mediocre and almost useless because some countries no matter what will always hate you.
All in all, plays much like a table top version of Chariots of War. Fun if your into intense strategy games but not for the faint of heart. Plan on spending at least 10 hours or more on a single campaign.