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Hearts of Iron II: Doomsday
As the German war machine falls, two
great nations rise to claim power. In the West, there is the United
States, leader of the allied nations, and in the East lies the Soviet
Union under communist rule. As both nations attempt to claim
superiority, a new war is waiting around the corner; this time, the
conflict will decide who will be the remaining superpower.
Play as the ruler of one of 175 countries through World Wars II and III.
As the Allies and the Soviet Union clash in Europe, the fate of the
world hangs in the balance.
Hearts of Iron:
Doomsdays is a military strategy game that feels more like a board game
than a computer game which takes place during the middle of the last
century. Your main goal in Hearts of Iron is to become a military
strategist with a heavy emphasis on tactical combat, although the title
does spin off into economy and technological achievements. What makes
Hearts of Iron such an entertaining title is that the player can
virtually play any country in the world, whether it's Australia or Spain
as war is the main precursor of this title.
Features
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Hearts of Iron 2:
Doomsday includes the original game and improvements requested from
the previous title’s worldwide audience.
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World War III –
Decide the remaining superpower to claim domination in world
politics and warfare.
-
Expanded tech trees
with considerable detail in a new decade of warfare, allowing you to
develop tactical nukes and other kinds of nuclear warfare as well as
escort carriers and much more.
-
Improved
Diplomatic/Intelligence System reflects the increased political
tension of the 1950s.
-
Significantly
improved AI.
-
Tradeable Weapons –
Equip your allies with the latest technological advances or get
other nations to surrender their secrets to you.
Complete scenario editor.
The gaming interface of
Hearts of Iron 2 is relatively straight forward that offers the gamer a
variety of different levels and unlike many titles on the market at the
moment, the game comes with a real manual. There is also an impressive
tutorial that basically gives gamers of all levels an in-depth view into
the world of Doomsday. It should also be noted that the title is also
historically accurate to a point as the gamer does have the power to
change the tides of history.
In its essence, Hearts
of Iron 2 could be considered the military equivalent of Civilization
with its technological driven war trees that allows the player to create
a plethora of weapons of mass destruction. With that said, the gameplay
heavily relies on a counter based system that interchanges with menus
upon menus that is a strange hybrid of statistics meets board game.
Graphically Hearts of
Iron 2 is not a powerhouse in the graphics department and should run
quite adequately on most modern home computers. With that said, the game
contains no spectacular graphics and is more like a traditional RISK
type board game that has a map screen that allows you deploy, move or
attack enemy units. Other screens allow you to control your countries
production, technology, diplomacy and government.
As with the graphics,
the sound effects in the game are rather sublime but match that with a
military style soundtrack and one can be forgiven in thinking that they
are in a war room of the last century.
In conclusion, Hearts of
Iron 2: Doomsday is a rather adept strategic military game that focuses
on strategy rather than instant action or flash graphics. Games such as
these, even though it lacks in the graphics department are sickeningly
addictive and before you know it, days and even weeks have gone by.
Strictly recommended to the military realists. |
