Preview - Hearts of Iron 3

Paradox Interactive has completed the third installment of its venerable Hearts of Iron series, set to release on August 7th. The Hearts of Iron games are known for their stunning attention to historical detail. They feature real life technologies, companies, units and personalities, as well as making virtually any nation playable that existed in WW 2. I'm a big fan of replayability, and Hearts of Iron 3 (HoI 3) will have no shortage of it.

HoI 3 adds some welcome and interesting new additions. Perhaps the most welcome one, would be the overhauled graphics. The previous games could be hard to look at, but it's evident that Paradox went to great lengths to make this title easy on the eyes. Everything looks colorful, sharp and well defined. That's a good thing. A game deep as this one will have you staring at it for hours, as you obsess over how best to take over the world!

"Gentlemen, there's no fighting in the war room!"

In addition, there has been much done to cut down on the micromanagement. This is especially good for more casual minded gamers. The Hearts of Iron games have a challenging learning curve to say the least. Newcomers, and possibly even veterans, should be prepared to devote a considerable amount of their time to learning the various complexities that make this the most detailed geopolitical simulator to date. A personal favorite feature for HoI 3, is the government in exile system. Even if the odds are against you, and your nation is defeated, you can still carry on the fight with an underground resistance.

Your objective in HoI 3 is highly open ended, and depends on the nation you play, how powerful it is, and your experience level. Play a nation like the U.S.A., and you'll probably follow along history's footsteps, attempting to shut down the war machines of Germany and Japan. Play a smaller nation such as Cuba for example, and your priorities will be radically different. No matter what you do, it's comforting to know that many of your duties can be delegated to A.I. assistants, allowing you to concentrate on other aspects of running your nation.

This game is like Risk - on steroids, lots of steroids.

HoI 3 is a real-time, pausable, grand strategy game, and it looks like it's going to be extreme. Even though I'm a fairly accomplished strategy gamer, I know that I'm going to be in for a serious challenge. Paradox Interactive has mastered grand strategy genre, this isn't Command & Conquer. If you're not willing to wade through all the gritty details of a nation and do whatever it takes to lead it through one of the most epic events in world history, you may want to stick to something simpler. The Hearts of Iron games don't screw around, learn well and learn early, or be reduced to a simpering gamer wishing they were in a StarCraft match on Battle.net. It's that hardcore, and being a possible masochist, I can't wait for it. Stay tuned for a review, if I'm still somewhat sane after I try to play it.