Summary
A fantastic strategy game!
The Good
Hearts of Iron has a unique way of simulating WW2 that makes it a vast amount of fun. The way in which it simulates battle and handles AI actions makes it very sophisticated in comparison to many other such games. Another nice aspect of the game is the huge range of countries it shows. This meaning every one in existence form 1936 to 1948 is playable. A defining aspect of this game is the amount of times it can be replayed. Meaning a player can go through the same campaign over and over again and yet never have the same result twice. A last point that must be mentioned is that a variety of exciting and interesting user made scenarios are available in various places that can make the game much more enjoyable.
The Bad
At the massive scale that Hearts of Iron is played it is only natural to have a few bugs that must be contended with. Most such game problems can be solved with the latest patch. In terms of what is bad about game play I would personally say the economic system was lacking in many ways. Only allowing a player to utilize four resources does not tend to give a very accurate view of this period of history. One last point that must be mentioned is that an astute player may very well become bored with the normal scenarios and need to download a modification campaign from the official web site.
The Bottom Line
This game is a real time strategy game with a cut view map. The object of the game is mainly to lead your nation to victory and glory in the second Great War.
