Hearts of Iron 2 has arrived

F

Flop

Where'd That 6th Toe Come From?
In my mailbox. Finally. I've really been waiting for this one, it seems to be a vast improvement over the first one. I haven't actually played it yet, but I will right after I press submit.
 
That looks so good I wanna cry...

Especially since I won't be able to get around to playing it in months.
 
I've been looking forward to this for a while. Be sure to give us your impressions Flopper, although I'm sure its going to be great.
 
I'm really anticipating this one showing up in the mail. I've played HOI to death, and done all I care to with that title.

Of course, playing it on my new PC won't be bad either! :D
 
well, I haven't been playing that much yet, but it definitely looks good. Originally, I didn't really like that thay changed the tach tree, since I liked the old one and I like to fiddle with that kind of stuff, but I gotta say that the new one actually seems to work very well.

For those of you who can't wait there is a demo:

http://www.fz.se/filarkiv/?file=spel/heartsofiron2/hoi2-demo.exe

It's just a demo, but I think that it demonstrates the new combat system very well.
 
My faith in Paradox is renewed.

The original Hearts of Iron, as I mentioned in my first impressions piece, was the first truly successful, if somewhat flawed, crack of the whip. I view it as being the game that laid down the basic principles and huge swathes of detail necessary to produce what we have now in Hearts of Iron 2, which is a game I will happily announce is, in my own humble estimation, the single greatest strategic level wargame of all time.

...

To put it into historical gaming terms, it is the leap from the great innovation that was Civilization to the pinnacle of perfection that was Civilization II.

...

Anyone even vaguely familiar with Paradox’s games knows full well of their more than abysmal record when it comes to releasing relatively bug-free games. Well this time, like with so many other aspects of the game, Paradox has had the time to refine the game rather than having to rush to get everything in before release. As a result Hearts of Iron 2 is about as bug free as can be expected of such a vast title, to the extent that after countless hours of play (in which I was actively searching for bugs) I couldn’t point out one solitary major bug that could have impeded my progress or interrupted my fun. (RH's note- some people have claimed to have CTDs. odd)

...

Hearts of Iron 2 makes the business of world domination seem like a stroll in the park compared to the originals interface which seems clunky and obsolete by comparison.

...



Similarly it is possible to level a country from the air using the newly refined air combat system.

...



The opposition in the form of the AI has also been polished. The original AI often times acted stupidly as it controlled nations. Now, while it does feel somewhat like the AI takes a defensive mindset when it comes to the conduct of war, players who crank up the difficulty level a bit can kiss their Panzers goodbye. The AI is not opportunist, nor lethargic, but rather it feels as close to a real opponent as one can get.

...

(And the BIG FINISH)
With that kind of atmosphere it is inevitable that, even prior to its release, Hearts of Iron 2 would have its skeptics. To these naysayers, cynics, and long beleaguered Paradox followers sitting heckling at the back, I’d still recommend that for all the bad experiences and let-downs of the past with Hearts of Iron and its stable mates, that anyone with an interest in this genre should overcome their fears and concerns and pick this one up.

Forget about Hearts of Iron for a moment, let go the bitterness concerning bugs, dodgy AI, and rushed games. Instead throw yourselves head first into this game and let it make up for lost playtime, sooth the aches and pains, and make playing a Great Leader fun again.

I myself entered Hearts of Iron 2 with my guard up, constantly testing it, poking the buttons and cajoling the units to see where they would mess up, and every time my deep suspicions and cynicism was washed away, and after a week of playing the game I was instead playing it for its own sake rather than to see if it was any improvement on what had gone before.

All around, Hearts of Iron 2 is a vast improvement upon its predecessor, and there is simply nothing to compare with it. It is unparalleled in scope and unbeaten in implementation. It is quite simply the greatest strategic game of World War II ever produced, and sets the bar so high I have doubts if anyone else apart from Paradox themselves will ever have the guts to try and outdo it, though I certainly do hope somebody does…
Click to expand...

Full text here: http://www.wargamer.com/reviews/heartsofir...on2/default.asp
 
Amazon finally shipped my order. Now it'll just be another 5-7 business days after super saver shipping for it to arrive.

Crap. :?
 
Flop, any further comments on it? And is the game much different than the first? How is it different than simply patching Hearts of Iron? I would think if its still World War 2 with seemingly the same engine, it can't have traveled to far anew.
 
It's very different in my opinion. First off they revised the combat system, so you don't have to wait for your units to arrive in a province before combat starts. Another great improvement in my opinion, is the new system for using airforce/navy. Now you don't have to manually patrol the sea zones, or manually order your planes to bomb a particular province. Instead you select a mission type from a list, and then you select an area of operations (usually about 3-7 provinces). And now you can finally order your bombers to only bomb in the daytime. Finally it's actually worth it to build a good airforce (which I never bothered to do in HOI, as it was just too much hassle).

The diplomatic system has also been changed completely, and it's now possible to trade resources directly with another nation, not to mention that you can exchange blueprints for technology with your allies.

The production system has also gotten a major overhaul, and you can now decide whether to produce a specific unit in parallel or serial production. Parallel production is the old HOI system, where you produce a number of units at the same time. But if you start a serial production of, say, 10 tanks, you will only produce one at a time, but each consecutive one will take less time (and thus less resources) to build, forcing you to plan ahead.

All in all it's a totally different game, and in my opinion it's far superior to HOI. The only thing is that it seems to be a bit on the easy side. I've only played one major game, but suffice it to say that by the end of ´42 there was no more USSR and no more UK (yeah, I played as Germany). Granted, I played on medium, so there's a good chance that hard or very hard will provide a good challenge.

Anyway, I recommend it to anyone who liked the first one, or who is just looking for a good WWII strategy game. This is the best there is.
 
OK Flop, you convinced me - I'm getting this game right away. It's only 450 MB, so I will have it in about 6 hours. But I won't be able to play it for at least another few weeks.
 
Hoo-ee.
Is this game complex or what :shock:

And playing a small country is a damn huge challenge... where the US has around 200 starting Industrial Capacity, Finland has 15...
I just survived the Winter War... but i'ts going to be tough if i cannot ally with Germany in time... or annex Sweden :lol:
 
Suicide Candidate said:
Hoo-ee.
Is this game complex or what :shock:

And playing a small country is a damn huge challenge... where the US has around 200 starting Industrial Capacity, Finland has 15...
I just survived the Winter War... but i'ts going to be tough if i cannot ally with Germany in time... or annex Sweden :lol:
Click to expand...

I just got my copy and agree wholeheartedly. I consider myself a veteran HOI player and HOI2 takes everything to the next level.

And the manual: Christ! Its a 94 page DVD-case sized tome, printed in tiny assed...5 pt font!!?? Holy balls, I heven't seen so much written in a manual since the original simcity or X-wing.

My game as the US goes well on easy (come on, its my first time), and while I haven't involved myself in combat yet I can safely say that the man-weeks devoted to HOI will be dwarfed by this new title. Holy Balls, what have I done?! This will be the end of me...

/2 cents
 
Well, its 1943, Japan never made war on the various Chinese regimes, so they never made war on me, so I'm sitting here with 200 warships, 80 divisions and no one to test them on. :cry:

And the 1.1 patch has been available on the Paradox forums for about 10 days now Flop, but thanks anyway!

Now that I've got a handle on the economy, I'll probably play as Italy next and try to recreate the Roman empire. I've always wondered what would happen if the axis was able to secure the Med for itself and put its entire force into the war against the Bolsheviks. HOI was never able to recreate this (even with CORE, a mod) to my satisfaction, hopefully HOI2 can.

-back to the trenches
 
Yeah, I know the patch has been out for a while, but since paradoxplaza is down it can be a bit tough to find. I just thought I'd give people who didn't know about it a chance. :)

It sounds like a pretty boring game you got going there. How's Germany doing? Maybe you should consider joining the axis, to make things a bit more interesting.

What excactly do you mean by securing the mediterranean? That you want all provinces bordering it, or just the ones with naval bases? I haven't really looked into this, do you know excactly what effect controlling Gibraltar has?
 
Flop said:
Yeah, I know the patch has been out for a while, but since paradoxplaza is down it can be a bit tough to find. I just thought I'd give people who didn't know about it a chance. :)
Click to expand...
True, and come to think of it I did d/l from the link you gave. Good call.

Flop said:
It sounds like a pretty boring game you got going there. How's Germany doing? Maybe you should consider joining the axis, to make things a bit more interesting.
Click to expand...
Get out of my mind you evildoer! :twisted: I was thinking the exact same thing. Although my sliders do not allow me to join alliances yet. :cry: What a surprise that would be for all the hosers up in Canada!

Flop said:
What excactly do you mean by securing the mediterranean? That you want all provinces bordering it, or just the ones with naval bases? I haven't really looked into this, do you know excactly what effect controlling Gibraltar has?
Click to expand...
Basically I mean securing Suez and Gibraltar, thereby making the Med an Axis lake. Then securing the entire coastline of the Med proper. Then (as Italy) moving down the Nile into Ethiopia and beyond. If I don't have to worry about Allied attacks in the Med from anything but subs I could put my entire Italian army forces not deployed in Africa under German control, adding to their fight against the Bolshevik hordes. Not to mention the possibility of invading the Levant and Iraq, then Iran, then the Caucauses... If for no other reason than Middle East oil too. Not to mention that control of the Suez would expose India, and allow for great potential cooperation between Japanese and European Axis powers...

This is the long answer of why I think Med control would be so crucual to Axis final victory.

thoughts?
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top