7.5

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

• Hearts of Iron 2: Doomsday includes the original game and improvements requested from the previous title’s worldwide audience.

• 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.