Finally, a innovative Turn Based WWII strategy game that mirrors the Axis & Allies game pay and more!
I've been following the progress of MH since the first demo which I liked tremendously and sold me the first time I played it. MH is all about strategy to the "T". You have to not only worry about building a war machine to conquer the rest of the world from 1936 - 1945 (WWII era) but you need to fuel your nation with supplies such as oil, timber and goods and build alliances and trade with other countires as well.
You can start out in a few scenarios such as 1936 during the Spanish Revolution, 1939 when Nazi Germany broke the trust of the allies by invading the Rhineland and Czechoslovakia, or in 1940 after the fall of France and so on. You can even play toward the end of the war at the start of the D-Day allies invasion of Normandy.
How does it work? You can choose to play as Germany, Soviet Union, Britain, France, U.S. ect. and depending on at what point you start you can try to alter history as the name implies. By choosing as one of the playable countires and you start with that countires strengths and weaknesses for example, Germany had one of the most powerful militaries (except Naval power) in the world in 1939 but lacked resources to fuel a war such as oil. So, if your smart you will try to ally with a country that has lots of oil and so on. This is a Turn Based game like the Civlizations series so you plan your moves on the map such as move a military unit to attack or patrol an area, maximize your factory production, trade and ally with other, ect. and then end your turn to watch the results unfold. When your turn is up again you can see the results and information popup to determine your next move.
The diplomatic features are also improved and great. You can ally with any nation as long as they fit into your own ideology such as a fascist regime or even a communist regime. You can trade freely with even the Allies and Axis or embargo another country in trade. There are many options to create success but how you use them is entirely up to you which is what makes this game so great. However, don't expect to change the course of WWII overnight. This is realistic so you can not expect to ally with nations not serving your cause or trade with a enemy for goods. Keep that in mind. MH has one of the nicest world maps I've seen with different colors representing the world's nations and the units details zoomed in are great as well. When you attack another country a explosion icon appears and if you click on it you can see your armies strengths, casualties and chances to win the battle as well as a gun fire sound effect. Sound could be better but in a Turn Based game it's sufficient enough. MH has superb replay ability and I can say for a history educational tool for school kids that you actually learn from your mistakes from the previous game. One thing I didn't like about other games in this genre is that they are too historic and not letting you do what you want. For example, in the World at War series it was almost impossible to win the war as the Axis nations because of historical events taking place too often. No matter what choices or alterations if you will to history you made it seemed that these events would take place anyway no matter what you did to change them. This is not the case for MH! Your decisions will change the AI's decisions in the game! For example, I started a trade alliance with the Soviet Union for oil as Germany and Britain embargoed them for doing so! Pay close attention though on your decisions concerning other nations because they will determine your alliances you make, trade agreements and the entire outcome of the war!
In conclusion, MH is much needed relief for this genre providing hours and game play, back stabbing other nations, conquest and more! I can say this is truely a innovative game because it improves on much needed diplomatic features that other games in the genre are sorely missing. If you liked the Axis and Allies board game from years ago or just what to try your hand at changing the fate of WWII look no further than Making History: The Calm Before the Storm!