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Hearts Of Iron 2

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 5 / 6
Date: September 06, 2005
Author: Amazon User

Great, Complex game not for the average game player. Very detailed and time consuming to play. I enjoyed HOI the original but the second version is much better because they cleaned up many of the odd none realistic stratagies that could be used.

Fantastic, Addictive Gameplay!

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 4 / 4
Date: October 13, 2006
Author: Amazon User

Hearts of Iron 2 is a strategy game which lets the player delve deep into World War 2 action through scenarios and directing a number of countries. Players who have checked out games from Paradox Entertainment before will realize the following characteristics in the game:
1. Historically accurate data and scenarios. Although in the end the player determines the outcome, historical developments occur together with their effects on countries. For example, if you play the Soviet Union or Germany, you will see the German quality vs. Soviet numbers. The German resources are not sufficient to produce as many infantry divisions as the Soviets, and the Soviet infantry and motorized divisions do never match the German level regardlessof their level of upgrade. In the beginning of the scenario which starts in 1936 and ends in 1947, US has the highest IC (Industrial Capacity) in the world whereas it has a relatively small army. Then, this IC is channelled for a massive buildup.
2. Addictive gameplay. You have research teams to direct your research effort, armies to control, provinces to improve (infrastructure, industrial capacity), and resources to trade. You should be prepared to spend hours going to and from the different interfaces that let you control your country and gear up for war.

One final word for those who played or remember "Storm Across Europe" from Amiga. Take all the best from that unforgettable game and add everything you might ever have hoped for in a WW2 game, there you have it: "Hearts of Iron 2".

Erratic AI, do not buy

1 Rating: 1, Useful: 11 / 22
Date: January 28, 2006
Author: Amazon User

This game has many great features, particularly interface and historical detail (including individual leaders and weapon types) that easily get you addicted. However the diplomatic aspect is terribly erratic, which totally spoils the game. After playing a grand campaign as Germany and doing extremely well in Europe, I saw Japan ally with me, then make peace with China and surrender all of the territory it had captured, then declare war on the US and China (again) the next day from a much worse military position. When you have spent a week practically glued to the screen to play a historical strategy game, you don't want to see such an ahistorical event any more than you want to see Martians invade Normandy. The designers really have to work on the diplomatic aspect to make this game satisfactory.

c'est la guerre!

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 7 / 12
Date: June 14, 2005
Author: Amazon User

it helps to be familiar and expert on HOI 1. the 2nd version fills in what was supposed to happen in HOW 1 but didnt like trade, supply, diplomacy, technology, materials and money and makes them count for something in war's ultimate outcome. the best war strategy game out there by far. very complex, not for those with IQs below 120 and who dont have an appreciation and love of WW2 history and current foreign policy. it will be tough to win as axis in 1 of the several optional CI levels. my 1 c/o is some of the bells and whistles dont work as they should, like grouping a bunch of individual air squdrons into 1 division? i have yet to contact the game email support about this. and i hope the nuclear bomb is a reality to use if enough time and effort are spent on its development? it will take a good long while of playing and reading a better manual this time to get good. ive spent many a night and rainy day enveloped as Hitler, Churchill, Hirohito, FDR, and FJS must have been in events still felt today.

Ha

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 14 / 35
Date: January 09, 2005
Author: Amazon User

As you all can see, the guy who is two post below me has no life and thus should not be taken seriously.

It is a very good game. Thank You :)

Lots of play for your buck

4 Rating: 4, Useful: 4 / 5
Date: September 08, 2005
Author: Amazon User

HOI2 is a World War simulator. It's extremely deep and very, very complex. This game will require you to read the rulebook, play a few practice games, and it wouldn't hurt to have a general knowledge of WWII history and strategy. If you're looking for a tough strategy game with a lot of depth and great replayability, this is your game.

HOI 1 or HOI 2?

3 Rating: 3, Useful: 8 / 16
Date: January 21, 2005
Author: Amazon User

The sequel of the best WW2 strategy game to date arrived. Anyone that bought HOI 1 in the past might have realised though that the game was not worth much until excited owners that saw great potential in the game system begun to modify the basic programme. The best attribute of Paradox games is that they could be almost fully customisable by owners and these modifications made by independent communities are in fact shared freely in several websites (e.g. make a quick search for CORE and Stony Road). In fact thanks to those modifications HOI 1 became rapidly a huge success being at the moment the best WW2 simulation to date (this is currently including HOI 2 I am afraid).

Unfortunately from several HOI 1 veterans that already own HOI 2 the general critic is that the pure vanilla game (without customers programme modifications -non Paradox related- which because the game is newly released they do not seriously exist just yet) the game is not worth much and it is easy to see how disappointed they are.

My suggestion to the people that own HOI 1 is to continue using it together with the custom mods (it took more than two years to evolve to where we stand now with the game and I can assure the result is awesome) and wait to buy HOI 2 until the veteran community begin to release the game corrections and modifications (Paradox is also famous for their bugs and terrible graphics although as I said almost everything can be improved with time by the customer community and it will be). This will take minimum 2 to 3 months which means that if you are desperate to get the game you should wait until around April 2005 if we are lucky to have the initial serious attempts. If you have never played HOI in the past I would go for the first version of it which should be at least half the price and together with the free downloadable mods it is better than the current HOI 2. Again I would expect that with time and the help of the HOI community this will be reverted and as an added bonus HOI 2 will also be much cheaper without having to pay the release price.

WORLD WAR 2 AT ITS BEST

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 5 / 18
Date: February 28, 2006
Author: Amazon User

This is the best pereoid.Ever scince I got it I've tryed to dominate 3/4 of the world.Ive had America blasted with nukes from ocubied France ,and Irland turn in to a Communist nation.
you can do it all.

the best ww2 strategy game...

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 1 / 1
Date: January 24, 2006
Author: Amazon User

i liked the original hearts of iron, although it crashed a lot. but this one is significantly better in many ways, and is a lot more stable as well. this is the unquestioned king of ww2 strategy games, there is no doubt. it is a brilliant game.

Great Game: Neither Hard or Easy

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 1 / 1
Date: December 27, 2007
Author: Amazon User

This game is by far one of the best war games out there. There are several nations a player can choose, and a wide range of technologies to help improve the capabilities of the nation one picks. Also, creating more troops and the managing of government adds a challenging aspect to the game. Strategy is crucial, and a wrong move can be devastating.

Still, the game is by no means hard. Sure, it is complicated at first, but the game becomes completely easy after taking all of the tutorial scenarios and playing a couple of easy short campaigns within the game (Such as the German invasion of Czechoslovakia and the Spanish Civil War).

Nonetheless, there are some "bad" aspects to the game, such as:

-Aside from the "main areas" of World War II, the rest of the world holds large chunks of land for their provinces (By which I mean, a small nation like Italy has various sections within its national borders, while a larger nation like Peru or Colombia hold over-sized provinces).

-The production time can at times become very long and boring, especially if there is no easy way to make things rush. Sure, don't get me wrong, there is an option to increase the game speed; but even at the maximum speed, which is the speed I always play in, the game is still very slow. There's not even a cheat to make the game go faster.

-Technologies are more favorable for the "main nations" of the time, whereas the other nations are practically forced to have a slower technological output without a chance to increase the amount of teams that can work at a technology--not even if you expand the nation you pick by conquering its neighbors, the technological team simply stays the same.

Lastly, even though this game is great, my recomendation is that you buy "Hearts of Iron II: Doomsday," which is a stand-alone X-pack and holds all the aspects of this game while also expanding the timeline and governmental actions (such as espionage) in the game.

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