Hearts of Iron Review Page 3
Backing up the whole game is a good artificial intelligence. The AI provides a challenge on all skill levels but never makes it so hard that defeat is inevitable. While the AI was at best only acceptable when the game had initially gone gold, several patches have addressed most of the issues, and the AI now plays much better and manages to be a better ally or enemy. Allies now share technologies with fellow member states, which makes minor nations more playable and is also more historically accurate. On the downside the AI still has a few flaws. The computer still lends army corps to your command that are usually months away from the main front. These units are also mostly outdated second-rate divisions used only as cannon fodder. Paradox could have at least allowed you to divide and merge these forces with those of your own, or even let you place a more efficient leader in the mix, but sadly this is not available for the player. And for some reason the Italians and French do this a lot...
Since the game was released, multiplayer has been a mixed bag. On one hand, having 8 players as the main belligerents in the war couldn't be more fun, and with some ground rules (such as historical attacks), can really get some great games going. On the other hand, since release the multiplayer aspect of the game has been buggy and crashes frequent. Thankfully with the latest patch (1.04) the game’s multiplayer stability has dramatically increased. With Paradox Entertainment’s match-up system Internet players can easily get into the game. Otherwise HoI offers LAN gaming and a direct IP connection over the net. What began as a disappointment in the multiplayer department, has now turned into one of the best features of the game.
With over 100 playable nations available, replayability is one of the games stronger points. Mix in alternate historical outcomes and other various factors, and the possibilities are endless. And with the powerful and highly customizable editor that was released with the game, it will be a long time until the player runs out of things to do. Mods like C.O.R.E. spruce up the game with new events and liven up a lot of the minor nations, and with great developer support (as shown but the fact that EU2 is still being patched regularly) it's a sure thing that HoI won't be forgotten soon.
Hearts of Iron promises grand strategic warfare, and for the most part it succeeds. While it has many minor problems, things like the excellent soundtrack and impressive research tree vastly outweigh the bad aspects. Paradox Entertainment managed to create a huge and complex game, and while it got off to a rough start, the game is now vastly better than at launch and players that shied away should take another gander at this impressive game. With great developer support and an ever-increasing amount of player created material, players won't take long to squeeze every penny out of this game. So go out and do yourself a favor and buy this gem.
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