GC 2008: Hearts of Iron III Impressions

Back in 2005, when the PC World War II RTS Hearts of Iron II was released, the game was praised for its deep, involving gameplay and excellent replay value. At the same time, the biggest criticism against the developers at Paradox was the sometimes overwhelming learning curve of Hearts II, which left novice and moderate players scratching their heads in confusion. Fast-forward three years to today, when we had a meeting with Paradox developers to talk about the latest game in the series--Hearts of Iron III. The first thing they mentioned they were working on? Making sure that learning curve is far less steep than before.

Paradox reps told us today they were roughly four months into the development of Hearts III and making sure new players can find success early on in the game is one of the primary concerns for the development team. As a result, expect to see slightly scaled-down missions in the early goings, with fewer forces to command, as the game attempts to acclimate you to the idea of fighting multiple fronts. In fact, to that end, Paradox hopes to let players be as hands-on or hands-off as they like; if you're not ready to fight multiple theaters of war, you can always assign the AI to handle several fronts for you, while you micromanage the theater you are most interested in.

A gentle learning curve doesn't mean that Hearts III will be a simplified game. In fact, it seems like the plans for this game will be ambitious as can be. Just as you might expect, you'll be able to play as the heavy hitters in WWII--Allies, Fascists, and the Communists. But what will certainly get historical RTS fans chomping at the bit is the fact that you can also play as countries who had little or next to zero input in the Second World War. Want to play as Poland and try to stave off the German blitzkrieg for a week or two longer? Go for it. Want to try to play as Costa Rica? Have at it. Want to play as politically neutral Switzerland? Well, we're not so sure about that one. In all, there will be more than 150 countries to choose from in this game, all of which will have a slightly different take on the global conflict.

Another area of focus for Hearts of Iron III will be in making sure that different countries fight differently, requiring different tactics to find success. The idea of mobilization is a prime example. For fascist countries like WWII-era Germany, mobilization of an armed forces was quick; for a democratic country like the USA or Great Britain, mobilizing thousands of troops takes much longer. On the other hand, countries like the US and UK, once mobilized, are able to produce huge armies with advanced technology. Strategically this will mean that players controlling Germany will want to make the most of their advanced mobilization techniques, attacking and weakening their enemies before they have time to mobilize an effective defense.

Hearts of Iron III will also feature a deeper tech tree than in the previous games, with a greater difference in performance between like units that originate from different countries; for example, according to the developers, German tanks were built much differently from American tanks, and you'll be able to see and feel the differences between them when playing the game.

Another idea we liked for Hearts III: governments in exile. Let's say you're playing the aforementioned Polish campaign, and are immediately driven out of your country by the German forces. You'll be able to set up a satellite government in a friendly city, then slowly rebuild your armed forces full of fugitive nationals, and eventually run a rebel campaign to try and take back your homeland. It sounds like great fun, and a real inventive twist on the normal WWII formula.

Unfortunately, we didn't see much in the way of actual gameplay for Hearts of Iron III, beyond a trailer with a few tantalizing glimpses of the world map and a few units. Nonetheless, it's clear that the developers behind the game are paying attention to the criticism of its predecessor; here's hoping their efforts pay off with an RTS game that's even more satisfying than the one that came before it.