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Hearts of Iron II Complete now on Steam for $22.49

Artadius

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http://store.steampowered.com/app/22130/

Hooray for hardcore tabletop wargaming on Steam!

Doubt many folks will care (very niche game), but this seems like a good deal if you passed this by (like me).

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This seem like an interesting game but it seems to be extremely complicated, or so i heard. Anyway how is HO1 compared to the sequel?
 
Is there a demo? I thought someone said in another thread there would be a demo shortly for something like this...
 
rhfb said:
Is there a demo? I thought someone said in another thread there would be a demo shortly for something like this...

I have only found a demo for hearts of iron 2, i did play it for 5 minutes until i realized i had no idea about doing anything so i quit. I may give it a chance again since i got hooked on Galactic civilization 2: dread lords recently tough Hearts of iron seems more complicated.
 
Gexecuter said:
This seem like an interesting game but it seems to be extremely complicated, or so i heard. Anyway how is HO1 compared to the sequel?

HoI is much more annoying/complicated then HoI2, mostly due to the research system. HoI2 is a pretty simple game to play once you get the hang of it, though if you really want to master the combat system there's a lot there
 
zombieshavebrains said:
Is this like Panzer General at all?

Not really. If you want something that plays sort of like Panzer General but still has the strategic scope of an entire theater, you should check out either Strategic Command 2: Blitzkrieg or Commander: Europe At War. There are demos around for both games and I can personally recommend at least trying both out. They are good games.

Hearts of Iron 2 is sort of a huge, sweeping grand strategy game where you manage everything-from political decisions, research and production, to managing all of your units produced and worrying about supply, partisans, unrest, etc. Once you get everything set up it's actually pretty easy to manage, so you shouldn't be too turned off my initial show of highly detailed gameplay.
 
HoI2 is a game that allows you to plan the (grand) strategy for your nation, rather than micromanaging individual units. You can still micromanage, and there's a good amount of details (economy, politics, research, espionage, building, etc); however, you can do that at your own pace (pause any time), or you can simply choose to automate a good number of them

Also, if a full world game is overwhelming, the game also allows you to play smaller scenarios, with a more focused scope to let you get used to the game.
 
I'd actually just picked up vanilla HoI 2 on Gamersgate this week. I did this based on a love of EU (I've not PC gamed in a while) and Rick Atkinson's WWII history trilogy that I was reading. And I must admit, I'm currently a little intimidated jumping into it. I've been playing for about an hour and I've yet to unpause the game. I'm just trying to get a handle on all the units available, my current production queue, diplomatic relations and setting up research. I get the feeling this might have pushed a little past the level of detail / control that I want in a grand strategy game, but I'll play it a little more to see how it shakes out.
 
I played the demo of this, had no idea what I was doing, and was getting my ass beat by Germany. I think I'll stick with my less scary turn based games.
 
Fragamemnon said:
Not really. If you want something that plays sort of like Panzer General but still has the strategic scope of an entire theater, you should check out either Strategic Command 2: Blitzkrieg or Commander: Europe At War. There are demos around for both games and I can personally recommend at least trying both out. They are good games.

Hearts of Iron 2 is sort of a huge, sweeping grand strategy game where you manage everything-from political decisions, research and production, to managing all of your units produced and worrying about supply, partisans, unrest, etc. Once you get everything set up it's actually pretty easy to manage, so you shouldn't be too turned off my initial show of highly detailed gameplay.


The potentially more important (to my wallet) question though, is does HoI II get the Frag seal of approval? That seal has an unfortunate habit of lightening my wallet, but a fortunate habit of providing fun.
 
Forkball said:
I played the demo of this, had no idea what I was doing, and was getting my ass beat by Germany. I think I'll stick with my less scary turn based games.

A few years ago, I tried out the full game out of curiosity. Seemed to have an extremely steep learning curve, I tried fumbling around for a few hours. I'd hate to buy this from steam without a hard copy manual. It's got to be 100s of pages. I think Total War is more my speed. But it probably lives up to the hype. It made me curious enough to try it. I'm not even good at chess though, so you can imagine.
 
Fuck yes.
Best World War 2 game ever made.
Also not particularly complex compared to Europa Universalis, you'll need to get the hang of it first though, but that shouldn't take more than a few hours. Also, you should probably try starting out as the US, gives you all the time in the world and your territory won't be getting conquered in a rapid pace (outside of Guam).
 
It's a great game, but beware a steep learning curve and a lot of micromanagement. It might seem counter intuitive, but it's best to learn to play the game playing as a major country such as Germany or the USA.

I'm surprised Paradox put it on Steam when they have their own DD site GamersGate.
 
platypotamus said:
The potentially more important (to my wallet) question though, is does HoI II get the Frag seal of approval? That seal has an unfortunate habit of lightening my wallet, but a fortunate habit of providing fun.

Very much so. Yes, the game isn't without some warts-the AI is pretty darn bad, to be honest, though a mod like DAIM really helps-but in terms of what it offers-the ability to literally manage one of the great (or not so great, which can be tons of fun too once you are an advanced player!) powers in WW2 with such detail without managing to bog the player down too much-is one of a kind.

I don't think it is Paradox's best game-EU3 w/ the In Nomine expansion (at some gamestops for $10 now, click here and punch in your zipcode ) took that crown last year, but it certainly is an extremely well made and enjoyable grand strategy game. Note that a full game can take very many hours to play, especially if you decide to go on a Nazi or Soviet world conquest or something. I don't think that's a bad thing.
 
sooperkool said:
so this favorably compare to The Operational Art of War?

Totally different sort of games-TOAW, even with a beefy scenario like FITE, is still an operational level affair-things like production, research, diplomacy, trade, assignable commanders that gain levels and abilities, full blown naval implementation, etc. A lot of the ideas from games like TAOW are in HoI2 at a bit more abstract scale-supply, attacking from multiple direction bonuses, surrounds and encirclements, air interdiction, etc.

If you are looking for a game that sort of adds some of the production and research features of HoI2 in a more traditional wargame environment, RUN don't walk to check out Matrix Games' Advanced Tactics: WW2, which is absolutely brilliant amazing wowowowow awesome (yeah it's that good).
 
Proc said:
Is this the one to try first to get a taste for this sort of thing?

I'd rec the EU series for seeing if you like this stuff. It's less micromanagement heavy.
 
This game is fucking awesome. All people who have the slightest interest in strategy games should buy this, NOW. Don't let the screenshots make you think this shit is complicated, because it isn't. After the first tutorials your communist/allied/axis army will steamroll through Europe. And you will love it.
 
Already bought, although I haven't played it yet. I was hoping for something deep and strategic and it looks like I got what I wanted.
 
Fragamemnon said:
Very much so. Yes, the game isn't without some warts-the AI is pretty darn bad, to be honest, though a mod like DAIM really helps-but in terms of what it offers-the ability to literally manage one of the great (or not so great, which can be tons of fun too once you are an advanced player!) powers in WW2 with such detail without managing to bog the player down too much-is one of a kind.

I don't think it is Paradox's best game-EU3 w/ the In Nomine expansion (at some gamestops for $10 now, click here and punch in your zipcode ) took that crown last year, but it certainly is an extremely well made and enjoyable grand strategy game. Note that a full game can take very many hours to play, especially if you decide to go on a Nazi or Soviet world conquest or something. I don't think that's a bad thing.

Alright. I'll add it to the list of stuff to buy. Not right now though, I'm readdicted to Civ IV AND X-Com at the same time.

I guess I'll need to get that In Nomine expansion for EU3. I've got the vanilla and enjoyed it (though I do really hate the trade system. My damn merchants get out-competed out of the trade centers so easily that they are barely worth building).
 
platypotamus said:
I guess I'll need to get that In Nomine expansion for EU3. I've got the vanilla and enjoyed it (though I do really hate the trade system. My damn merchants get out-competed out of the trade centers so easily that they are barely worth building).


The Napoleon's Ambition xpack (required for In Nomine) does some cool stuff with merchants, allowing you to auto-assign them to COTs. It reduces the micro needed for them over vanilla EU3 by huge amounts.

Keeping your trade tech up and choosing trade-oriented national ideas is essential if you just want to even compete, because some of the small trading minors will own your face if you don't. The other option, and one I use if I am playing a country where being a free trader with trade national ideas doesn't suit my goals and instead I am going for mass annexation, is to jack mercantilism and build my own net of COTs in my own territory. In Nomine gives you a 10% compete bonus per level of Mercantilism (up to 50%) for COTs in your own territory. Can be VERY profitable.
 
fifasnipe2224 said:
Is it still popular for multilayer?? How long are the games (even in single player)?

If you are looking for multiplayer, you definitely want to work with a steady group. Over at Paradox's forum ( link ) you can find people looking to fill up games at scheduled playtimes. Note that due to game length it is pretty much NOT possible to finish a game in one sitting.

Single player games for me usually clock in around 30-50 or so hours. If I go for something crazy like Nazi world conquest, it can easily triple that.
 
Suburban Cowboy said:
they are crazy for charging so much for a game that looks like that

console gamers regularly-and quite gleefully-pay three times this price for games with orders of magnitude less gameplay.
 
xbhaskarx said:
Interesting. Is this anything like the board game Axis & Allies?

I didn't get to answer this question before, but I think "Axis and Allies GONE WILD!" is a pretty decent HoI2 description. Gary Grigsby's World at War is probably a bit more Axis and Allies than HoI2 is and is worth checking out (as is the old 1999 release Axis and Allies: Iron Blitz, which is a very faithful recreation of the boardgame).
 
Always meant to try this one out. Then again, I should dust off EU3 and actually put some decent time into it.
 
Suburban Cowboy said:
they are crazy for charging so much for a game that looks like that
Yeah, I came into this threading thinking it was $2.49. I'll give the demo a shot but i doubt i'll get it for this price. I mean... Bioshock is cheaper than this!
 
automagnus said:
Yeah, I came into this threading thinking it was $2.49. I'll give the demo a shot but i doubt i'll get it for this price. I mean... Bioshock is cheaper than this!

and ends in 12 hours with very low replay value, and has no real mod community.

Hardcore wargames on the PC don't even look as good as HoI2 does. You can't spend tons of money on art and engine tech when you're selling to a small audience.
 
Paradox is a small Swedish developer that makes niche strategy games. They can't afford to spend shitloads of money making awesome graphics. The genre doesn't demand it anyway and their audience doesn't really care. Hell, some Paradox fans were upset when EU3 when 3d.
 
Suburban Cowboy said:
they are crazy for charging so much for a game that looks like that

automagnus said:
Yeah, I came into this threading thinking it was $2.49. I'll give the demo a shot but i doubt i'll get it for this price. I mean... Bioshock is cheaper than this!

:lol :lol :lol is this real? Holy shit.
 
Suburban Cowboy said:
they are crazy for charging so much for a game that looks like that

Would you be happier if the world were clouds and the boats were half-naked little girls?

Strategy games of this type don't need to look like Crysis to be good.
 
Love this game. Am in the middle of trying to make a star trek mod for it - having a bit of trouble with the map editor though... damn radish files, light maps and such.

Mmm... radishes.

EDIT: Also, one day I'll get around to posting the write up of my de-constructed America game where I took New England to victory over the Nazis in WW2...
With the UK, France, Russia, Nationalist China, Australia, Canada, Quebec, South Africa, Brazil, Republican Spain, Portugal, Poland, Newfoundland, Argentina, Denmark, Sweden, Norway, Iraq, Saudi and a few others...
 
For those jumping in , the HoI2 Wiki Newbie Guide is a good starting point. Keep that site bookmarked, as it answers a lot of questions in good detail that you'll wind up asking about the game as you learn it.

I'm going to give the game another run-through as Japan once the 1.3 Arma patch goes final.
 
FlyinJ said:
If you really want to get into the game, I'd suggest getting this instead:

http://www.gogamer.com/Hearts-Of-Ir...VproductId22172554VVcatId444710VVviewprod.htm

It's every version of hearts of iron (1, 2, and both expansions) with an excellent hard copy manual (which is very well written) and a WWII medal that you can pin to your shirt while you play! Oh and a huge fold out map of the entire world, showing all the territories.

The only store that carries PC games around these parts has that package for sale, i was considering of getting it since it has all the games in a neat pack. Gonna give the demo another chance to check hoi2 again.
 
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