Hearts of Iron 4

Hearts of Iron IV is a grand strategy wargame. The game is set in the World War II era and allows players to take control of any nation and guide it through the political, economic, and military aspects of the war.

One of the strengths of Hearts of Iron IV is its depth and complexity. The game offers a vast amount of options and variables that can be adjusted to customize the player's experience. This includes options for diplomacy, research, production, and more. Players can make decisions that will have a significant impact on the outcome of the war and the shape of the world after it.

Prepare For War

Another strength of the game is its historical accuracy. The developers have put a great deal of effort into ensuring that the events of the war unfold as they did in real life while also allowing for some degree of alternate history. This creates an engaging and believable world for players to immerse themselves in.

The AI in the game is also noteworthy, as it provides a challenging and unpredictable opponent. The AI will respond to player decisions and adjust its strategy accordingly, making each playthrough unique. One potential drawback of Hearts of Iron IV is its steep learning curve. The game is complex and can be overwhelming for new players. However, once you get past this initial hurdle, the game can be incredibly rewarding and enjoyable.

Hear of Iron IV also gives players the ability to add mods to the game, giving them more additional content, which is amazing as it adds more to the game's replayability. So be sure to make use of this, as you can not only create your own mods if that is something you're familiar with but also download mods that other players have created already. So if you reach a point where you're done with all in-game content, be sure to download some mods.

Conclusion

In conclusion, Hearts of Iron IV is an excellent grand strategy game that offers a high level of depth and complexity. Its historical accuracy and challenging AI make it an engaging and enjoyable experience for fans of the genre. If you're looking for a challenging and rewarding wargame, Hearts of Iron IV is definitely worth considering. However, be prepared that this game is going to take a lot of invested time to be able to grasp its mechanics properly and overall gameplay.

Pros

• Fun gameplay
• Interesting mechanics
• Amazin multiplayer experience

Cons

• Steep learning curve
• Challenging for newcomers

Since the birth of the strategy gaming genre, there has always been a subcategory that has made use of a popular board game. The tabletop game that tasks you with guiding your kingdom to victory and seizing various other kingdoms, all in the search of world domination. If you haven’t guessed already, we are talking about Risk. It’s a task you can achieve through diplomacy or through brute force and everything in between. Well, imagine this concept but blown up about 250x in scale and complexity and given a WW2 make-over and you have the subject of this review. Hearts of Iron 4.

This game obviously plays much like games within the Hearts of Iron series. However, looking outside the series, it also plays very much like the Sid Meier’s Civilisation series, Age of Empires, Tropico and Strongholds: Warlords. This is a game that requires cunning and tactical acumen in abundance and promises to reward the players who can master its strategic offerings. We find out how these offerings compare to other great games in the genre as we review Hearts of Iron 4.

A Complex War Simulation

The game is one that is quintessentially Paradox. This developer has been known for its attention to detail and the ability to create systems, AI and UI that make games of this nature so compelling and they have managed to do the same here. The player has the ability to play as any nation that existed in 1939 and incredibly, every country is fun to play, not just the big boys.

Thanks to a magnificently simple skill tree that is used by all nations, the player can choose to be minnow-like Hungary and still play a vital role in the war. You’ll be able to use a variety of social, economical and physical tactics to pull the strings and bend every other nation to your will. Even in the smallest of nations, a great leader can still play the puppet master and that ability alone makes this game so fun to play.

Alienating at a glance

What we will say though, is that this game is not for the casual player. The game presents itself with an intuitive UI and tutorials to help you through. However, we would wager that you’ll need to invest tens of hours into this game before you truly know what you are doing. Which for many simply isn’t the kind of time they have to waste on a game that might not be for them. In short, this isn’t one that you can play on a whim. You need to commit to this game for the long haul, so be warned.

However, if you do. You’ll be rewarded with a myriad of options and emergent gameplay choices that mean no game is like any other. The replayability of this game is staggering. You can choose hundreds of nations to run, a democratic, fascist or communist approach to your leadership, you can form new alliances, you can make new enemies and you can overthrow new leaders. This only scratches the surface but gives you a taste of what to expect from this versatile and authentic war simulation experience.

The Verdict

Overall, Hearts of Iron 4 does a phenomenal job of upping the ante when compared to its predecessors. The UI, AI and gameplay systems in this game are a triumph in terms of design. The versatility and replayability of this game makes it a value for money purchase. Plus, the role-playing aspect of this game only adds to this. We admit, there is some late-game FPS issues as the game suffers from its own success. The mass of code slows down the game, taking away from the closing moments slightly.

Pros:

• AI, UI and gameplay all handled expertly
• Replayability is near endless
• Historically accurate

Cons:

• FPS issues in late stages of games