Customer Reviews

Hearts of Iron Anthology

5 star:		(8)
4 star:		(3)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

Be Encouraged! This is the BEST WW2 detailed strategy game to date. I have played this genre since the 1970's on board games to computer games.

Be Warned! This is Grand Stategy played on a clean world map, not a "point and shoot" first person. Graphics and sound are good but are not designed to target an "action game" buyer. This is a "board game" done on the computer. This is a Thinking game. It is a "Real Time" game but you can pause time, make decisions, and change direction for units and national management. Then let time go "live" again. The time increment is HOURLY starting 12am 01 January 1936 to 1953 with the "Doomsday" edition, or until 1963 with the "Armageddon" pack. And you can vary the speed of the game so that a day goes by in less than a minute.

Your units are divisional size. Battles are abstract. The computer does the losses and retreats, but you get to attach the best commanders. And YOU develop the tecnology of hardware AND types of tactical knowledge used in battle. The computer doesn't miss a step here. Smaller units CAN prevail over larger ones easily if you manage to develop the crucial details. And the Details here are excellent, as is. However tweeking the coding and cheats are available as well. In short, much customization or moding is possible and is manufactuer condoned. That's how this company's games get better. There is a strong fan base on the web, a large intelligent community. Albeit a better tutorial is needed to get your "feet wet" before diving into this deep pool of strategy.

Details needing attention? Espionage could be better handled. Diplomacy needs more "power". Swifter troop movement by rail before any ground movement needs attention. A possible encirclement or capture of whole enemy divisions is not handled, as they simply retreat very weakend, even through your lines on occassion. One assumes the region has not yet been secured. But weak units can cease to exist through attrition over time if out of supply. All Regions won surrender easily, but Nations do not, and regions gained are rarely traded perminantly for peace and a new "status quo". This again needs to be addressed in Diplomacy with negotiation to consider "national morale" versus unit or Regional morale.

On the whole, Nation Management for Money, Resources, Unit Supply, etc. are well handled and easy to adjust. The Reasearch process for Weapons and Tactics is outstanding with photos of actual people and companies of the time to direct. Leaders of the cabinet are also choosable with photos and personalities of people of the time. Combine this with photos of unit types and technology at that time and you begin to see the fantastic research done to make this product. It includes all countries of the world of 1936! Amazing. And if there is an incorrect photo or two, you can correct them behind the scenes or add your own in the database before your next session. Also amazing.

There are lot's of "what if" possibilities. In one game I played, Nazi Germany did not attack Poland, but successfully Allied with it to fight Soviet Russia! There was no British or French belligerant reaction, and the computer alowed Wendle Wilkie to be elected U.S. president on a non-interventioist platfom! In another game, Japan remained on its own and did NOT attack the U.S. but rather concentrated on China and the oil in South East Asia. No Pearl Harbor! Whatever small complaints, this game is VERY playable, and the product is Five-Star.

This game is only for the advanced player who wants to control all aspects of a country. The newer version helps automate some things, but is an intense game that can take a long time to play. What is neat is the ability to play any country. I bought the first and then the second. Then bought Crusader Kings and another copy of HOI came with that, but Crusader Kings wasn't any good, and is more meant for kids and had no instructions (sorry to stay off subject, but just and FYI on that).
I wish their latest upgrade for HOI had a disk available rather than only a download. I really like HOI but most people may think it is too complicated or involved w\ details. However, it is the most realistic divisional level game of WW2 there is. I've played war games for over 30 years.This is the best yet. It is real time, so hard to see it being able to play online with others as it takes too long and most people would not be able to schedule the time outs and saves.

This is a great collection for people that like this kind of strategy game. You get one DVD with the lastest version of: Hearts of Iron, Hearts of Iron 2, Hearts of Iron 2:Doomsday (expansion pack) and Armageddon (booster Pack), plus a map and a medal. All for a great price. It have only played Hearts of Iron 1 or 2 and like the game, you should definetly buy this, because its hard to get all those game separately and you save a lot. The expansio pack "Doomsday" gets you until 1953, and the booster pack "Armageddon" until 1963.
It's the most complex and rewarding World War 2 strategy game to date, and it has a deeply engaging strategy with unprecedented historical fidelity.

This is a great game if you don't need all the latest graphical and sound advancement. There are no battle scenes, no explosions, no sound of gunfire...This is more or less an interactive board game. But there is A LOT of depth here that you could never do with a board game.

Managing your economy, scientific advancements, leadership, and everything in-between will make the difference between world domination and historical obscurity. This game mostly plays close to historical events, but you can certainly create new paths and "what-if's."

For instance, what would have happened if Germany had beaten the USSR in 1941. Or what if the US and USSR had gone to war following WWII. But also, don't expect to have Tiger tanks rolling through Poland in 1939 or jets in the Battle of Britian...at least not without cheating.

The Anthology is great in that it has all three HoI games in one. But you could have just as much fun buying just HoI: Doomsday or HOI: Armageddon. I personally play Doomsday the most and would have been better JUST getting that game and saving a few bucks.

But the Anthology DOES come with a big `ol map and a cool little metal.

OVERALL a fun and addictive game

While this is not a game for those who want fast-paced action or fancy graphics, it also may be the best political and strategic simulator of all-time. Hearts of Iron is surprisingly addictive, allowing you to replay the game many times over. However, there is a very steep learning-curve and many casual players will feel overwhelmed. On the other hand, you don't have to be a "hard-core" gamer to enjoy this game; you can save at any time as well as pause the game to issue orders (or consult the manual). Put simply, Hearts of Iron II is the Grand-Daddy of all WWII games. Take the time to master it and you'll never get tired of this game.

This is my favorite strategy game. It covers all of W.W. II (expansions take it further, until 1963).
Complexity is "high" and the learning curve is "steep". However, there is no game like it.
You, the player, control all aspects of building military units, managing the economy, intelligence and diplomacy. Land units are divisions which can be upgraded, augmented by specialist brigades and combined into corps and armies. You assign the leaders, who have individual ratings and abilities. They "learn", gaining experience at different rates.
Naval units are individual ships, or flotillas. Air units are of various types.
Managing technology in different industries is a major part of the game.
There is a robust online community with many fan-developed resources.
A sequel, Hearts of Iron 3, is planned for later this year.

Do other strategy seem to simplistic? Did you ever wish you had more freedom? Did you ever want to conquer the world, not just the battlefield? Well Hearts of Iron II is the answer to your desires. But it is not for the meek, this game is seriously complex and a massively steep learning curve. I've been playing for two years and I still don't know half of the magic going on behind the scenes. In order to play this you're going to have to be passionate about history and have enough imagination to look beyond the lack of pretty 3d armies.

Being a long-time addict of Hearts of Iron II and Hearts of Iron II Doomsday (an extension of Hearts of Iron II through 1953), I was excited to see the Hearts of Iron II Armageddon expansion through to 1964. In that respect, it was the Hearts of Iron that all die-hard fanatics have come to know and love. My only disappointment was that the technology tree was not expanded further, with more options available to research. Other than that, it was exactly what I was looking for.

This game was a definite improvement over the first iteration of HOI,which was itself an improvement over Avalon Hill's "Rise and Fall of the 3rd Reich" which I played on a tabletop as a teenager. In HOI2 you get to call the important shots which determine the course of history and the interface ensures that calling those shots doesn't become tedious. Warfare is scaled to the divisional level. I can't imagine wanting to play a WW2 game of grand strategy in which one gets to micro-manage battles on a tactical level as it would take forever, but one does have a great many options to play for influencing the outcome of any given battle; options would include air support(air superiority is key in this game), naval bombardment,providing support from flanking units,choice of commander and quality/type of troops. The answer to all my prayers was the Armageddon expansion which permits play into the 1960's which gives you time,through research, to upgrade your old horse cavalry divisions into air cavalry,air mobile, helicopter mounted units. (these guys are great for quelling local rebellions on the far flung steppes of occupied Russia). This is plenty of time to settle world mastery beyond any shadow of a doubt. I havn't tried HOI3 but from the reviews I've read, I believe I'll stick with this version. For those of you considering buying this game, it does fine with Windows 7.

Hearts of Iron is best World War II Strategy game I've ever played. This game fools you into thinking it's a basic Axis and Allies upgrade. However, in reality this game makes Axis and Allies look like it was a rough blueprint of this in depth game. In this game you do not just control your units and try to barbaricly take over the world. Instead you control every aspect of your country, such as diplomacy, intelligence, and the cabinet of your country's leader. You also control your production, supplies, trade, technology, and control whether your country's lobby is that of the dove of peace or a war hawk. Authoritarian or Democratic. Nazism or Social Liberal it is your choice. In Hearts of Iron you make history in almost any country in the world from the time as early as 1936 to the end of the game in 1963.