History has always fascinated mankind. Given the sheer amount of books, movies, TV-documentaries and games, World War 2 is with little doubt one of the single most fascinating events in our past. With the advent of Hearts of Iron 2, Paradox Interactive has released a strategy game which unfolds itself between the years 1937 and 1945, which makes it span the entire war. The game itself is, as its title hints, a sequel to Hearts of Iron (released back in November 2002) - which obviously makes you wonder if it packs enough heat and sports enough new features to make it all a worthwhile, satisfying experience. Granted, the Swedish company isn't really known for making the most easy-to-grasp games. A highly complex gameplay in addition to realtime conflicts has probably scared off quite a crowd during the last years or so. However, the minute FZ had the chance to see what Hearts of Iron 2 was like in action at a recent press conference, we knew that this was all different to what we had seen in the past. There is, however, a huge difference between seeing a game being presented by the same company that has produced it and actually having a go at it yourself - which is why I started playing the game with a sensation of enthusiasm as well as doubt.
Finally something for the rookies?
One of Paradox' explicit goals with Hearts of Iron 2 has obviously been to make the game more easy for beginners, as their past titles have been criticized of being way too complex and hard to grasp - and ultimately, to play. To overcome these problems, the company has made a lot of changes and enhancements - including automated convoys. Although the player can choose to control them him/herself, the game AI handles them perfectly well on its own. The tutorials have gotten a lot better; the production basics, the research process, diplomacy and the acts of war are all explained in a much more easy to understand fashion than before. Admittedly, they won't teach you everything - but they should provide sufficient knowledge to get most rookies going. The user interface, too, has undergone a considerable amount of changes for the better; the past days of having to plough thru several layers of menus to get a task done are, so to speak, history. The interface elements are pretty much put together in an intuitive way.
Campaigns and scenarios
Hearts of Iron 2 can be played in a few different ways, depending on your time and interest. The most extensive option is to play the entire campaign, starting from either 1936, 1939, 1941 or 1944. The year being chosen will affect the outcome of the history as we know it today. Players who, for instance, really want to stir things up should get started as early as possible in a country where your actions will make significant changes to the future chain of events. The start point in time determines what countries are available to select as your own. If you would start the campaign in 1941, you won't be able - for obvious reasons - to be in charge of Poland, and so on. No matter what year you choose to launch the campaign, the final year will still be set to 1947 - which I personally find somewhat cheap and limited. During the course of this review being written, I found myself wanting to keep playing for longer than the game would actually allow me to.
Players with little time at their disposal or those with an interest for a specific period of World War 2 haven't been left out in the cold. The game ships with 15 scenarios all taking place on smaller maps with fewer parties present on the battlefield. Choices include the Finnish Winter War, the Battle of the Bulge (known to some as the Ardenner Offensive), the Spanish Civil War and the Invasion of Normandy. All of these scenarios are different in terms of length of time. Common to all, however, is the lack of processes not involving combat (such as diplomacy and research). Unlike the campaigns, the scenarios are meant to highlight battles first and foremost.
