2012 Theory

1. Charles Curtis
   July 29th, 2010 - 15:38

   Review by Charles Curtis for Hearts of Iron 2: Doomsday Expansion Pack
   Rating:
   I’m a huge fan of Paradox Interactive. These guys make the exact games for history geeks like me. Gloriously complex, very playable, with the smack of verisimilitude. Hours of pleasure..

   I started war-gaming twenty-five years ago, when I was just a kid in grade school- the Ancient Avalon Hill era. Hexagon boards, dice, stout rulebooks and hundreds of cardboard unit chits. And far too few fellow geeks to play with. A.H. place out a strategic level European/Mediterranean theatre game called Third Reich. I loved that game. I played WWII out with my small brother, or by playing all factions myself, hundreds of times. Ah, the excellent ancient days..

   But wait, no. The sepia tones fade to a harsh, merciless grey. I’ve played HoI2, and this new hyper charged “Doomsday” revision of that glorious game. And there is no comparison. This is Third Reich beatified and transfigured. To heck with the ancient days.

   With HoI2 you can commence campaign play in 1936, 1938, 1939, 1941, or 1944. The diplomatic and services situation being as it was historically at each date. You can play any country in the planet – any major power (Germany, U.K., U.S.A., U.S.S.R., France, Italy, Japan) or a lesser power such as Australia, S. Africa, Canada, Brazil, Turkey or Spain, etc. Or you can even play a minor country like Bhutan or Costa Rica – even though they have very small economic, methodical, diplomatic, political, or as a result, services power. Still, if you want to attempt planet conquest with say Nicaragua, Switzerland, Tibet or Siam, you are free to.

   There are also minor scenarios where you can play out Barbarossa, the Invasion of Poland, Japan in Plates, the Spanish Civil War, a hypothetical war between Argentina & Brazil, the Battle of the Coral Sea, the Ardennes offensive (Battle of the Bulge).. you get the thought. I’m solely a 1936 campaign game man, myself, though, so I can’t speak to the quality of the scenarios.

   In the original HoI2 campaigns all end in 1947. Which often cuts the game small while things are still very fascinating (Hitler played a very obtuse HoI2 game- I mean, taking on the U.S.S.R. and U.S.A. simultaneously? While the U.K. is still kicking? Don’t you be so obtuse. Things could’ve gone on so much longer.. 988 years longer, vielleicht?) So 1947 is too early an end date.

   This new Doomsday expansion corrects that. The new end date is 1953 (the year of Stalin’s death.) And a new “Doomsday” scenario is added, beginning in 1945 with Germany defeated. Europe is divided between the Comitern and Allies, and they’re at war. Dr. Strangeglove is in the house, ya’ll. Yeeehaw!

   Armageddon aside, the glory of HoI2 Doomsday is that you can start in 1936, and play through 1953, and absolutely anything can happen. Early Cold War, or Axis planet domination, whatever. I mean, you can do all sorts of fascinating things (especially if you use the F12 cheatcode “freedom” to change the political conditions of your country more promptly than would otherwise be allowed – Germany can be made communist, the U.S. fascist or communist, the U.S.S.R. a democracy – and all international alliances and national leaders will change..)

   The economic and technological aspects of this game are very excellent- the tech tree is pretty complex, and every country- even the small ones – has a bevy of historic industrial firms and technicians (e.g., Germany has I.G. Farben, Krupp, Siemens, Junkers, Porsche, Rheinmetal, Mauser and individuals such as Guderian, Udet, Goering, Von Braun, Heisenburg, Von Manstein, Raeder, etc. the U.S. has Ford, Raytheon, Oppenheimer, McDonnell Douglas, Nimitz, etc.) who are assigned different tech/doctrinal projects. You can choose to pursue certain lines of technology, and services doctrine and ignore others, try to research them earlier than they were historically, etc.

   Economically, each country has an factory industrial base which determines how many units you can produce or support, and which must be fed resources. Resources are obtained by controlling their geographic sources, or through trade with countries who have surplus resources.

   Militarily, this is a division level game. The units are assigned historical names and designations (1st Panzer Division, 101st Airborne, K.M.S. Bismarck, U.S.S. Lexington, etc.) You organize them into corps and armies, and fleets. Every unit has a historical commander whom you can reassign and promote, with his own unique skills (Patton, Rommel, Monty, Yamamoto- the whole gang’s here.)

   Politically and diplomatically you can pick your governmental cabinet. If you dislike your head of state, you can gradually over time manipulate the political & economic climate of your society so that he is replaced. (or you can use the cheat code I mentioned to do it instantaneously.) The U.S., for example, has its historic elections, and F.D.R. can be defeated.. how about a Landon or Wilkie administration?

   The axes of your political and economic culture that you can manipulate over time are these: Aptly/Left, Democratic/Authoritarian, Open/Closed Society, Free Market/Centrally Plotted Economy, Standing/Drafted Army, Hawk/Dove, Interventionist/Isolationist. All choices here effect your game play.

   One other major change in Doomsday from the original is that they’ve added an espionage tab to your menu.. you send spies to check out your enemies and neighbors, and get partial and less than fully accurate information instead of HoI2′s omniscient all army/navy/air force comparison charts. More realistic, methinks. You also get an thought of what they are researching, which is a nice improvement. Your spies can attempt other missions (assassinate leaders, sabotage projects, foment partisan revolt, etc.) Overall, an improvement, I reckon.

   The A1 is solid, and will usually toss up a challenge. The program is pretty stable, and Paradox is very excellent about patches and support. Check out Paradox’s web forum [..]

   In sum: the game is a brilliant one. If you play a major power, and stick to the historical script, the war will quite often fall out more or less as things really did. But what’s the fun of that? You could, instead, say, skip Treasure Harbor and take and send the Japanese Imperial Army into Russia instead of Plates. Or, you could play the U.S. and realize her manifest destiny by conquering all the Americas.. Or you could really challenge physically and attempt wide conquest with a middling power such as Turkey, Spain, Nationalist Plates, Brazil, or Canada.. or try to prosper with even a much smaller power such as Ireland, or a Latin American country like Guatemala. Be creative.

   Five plus stars. Buy this game if it sounds at all fascinating to you.
2. Jonathan Walters
   July 29th, 2010 - 16:16

   Review by Jonathan Walters for Hearts of Iron 2: Doomsday Expansion Pack
   Rating:
   To call Hearts of Iron 2: Doomsday anything but the best strategic-level WW2 era wargame on the market today would be a crime.

   The game allows players to command nearly any country of their choosing and guide them through the period of 1936 to 1953. `Doomsday’ is really a stand-alone product, and so while it only adds a few new elements and changes a few others from HOI2, it isn’t a traditional `expansion pack’ in the sense that Frozen Throne is to Warcraft III. The huge change from HOI2 is that a new espionage element is added, allowing players more control over spying aspects of the game. This helps the game slide more easily into the cold war era, which is the focus of Doomsday.

   For those unfamiliar with the Hearts of Iron series, control in Doomsday is granted over more than simply services forces, and the player has complete control over the nation of their balance industrial, political, and ideological direction. The level of detail is astounding, with each country having politicians, services leaders and research specialists available to use that were really active during the period. Players can even name individual ships and divisions to their liking, and promote or fail to recognize commanders and replace key cabinet members as they see fit, all with differing consequences. And while the game is very event-driven, it has the flexibility to allow variations from what happened historically while still keeping within the general capabilities of the player’s country. For occasion, if a German player wanted to build a strong carrier fleet, it can be done. The game is also highly customizable, and nearly any element (literally) of the game can be molded to the players liking.

   At the heart of any right wargame though is it’s A.I., and for a game of this size and scope, Doomsday does an admirable job. Not to say everything that the computer does always makes sense, but it certainly does make playing the game fun and gives players quite a challenge in the process. The only real complaint I have about the game is that airpower in the game still seems flat and tacked-on. The engine suits land and naval combat well enough, but air combat seems `kaput’ at many points, being either too weak or too strong in many areas. Another problem is that while impose a curfew units can target specific provinces for hit, air units cannot and instead hit in a general region of several provinces. And while some gamers are also quick to correctly top out that Doomsday is not an actual simulation, this is doubtless the closest gamers will get to a solid representation of the conflict on this scale.

   My Summary:

   Pros: Best game in the genre, allows near total control over nearly all aspects of control. Graphics and sound are excellent for a game of this type, highly moddable, active mod community helps extend gameplay, stable.

   Cons: May not appeal to players who dislike micromanagement, some AI issues, airpower needs work.

   Summary: If you’re a right wargamer and you don’t own this, I have to question what’s incorrect with you… But, players that already own HOI2 will have to be the judge as to if the changes are worth it to them. Those looking for something less caught up but on the same scale can look to Planet at War or Strategic Command 2.
3. Peter
   July 29th, 2010 - 16:58

   Review by Peter for Hearts of Iron 2: Doomsday Expansion Pack
   Rating:
   This is the best WWII simulator on the market. Doomsday simply updates it and provides some fantastic user enhancements as well as a new WWIII scenario.

   Be warned that this game is complicated, has a high learning curve, but as a result is extremely rewarding and fun. The AI is better than any of its competitors and can really provide a challange for even expert users.

   Anyone interested in Alternate History and wants a computer simulator to try it out should give this one a go…

   Best game I have ever played – and the one game I constantly go back to after I get bored with the rest.

   The expansion included the original HOI2 – and so for the cost is the best value for any game on the market.
4. Pete Franklin
   July 29th, 2010 - 17:49

   Review by Pete Franklin for Hearts of Iron 2: Doomsday Expansion Pack
   Rating:
   I have been a WWII gamer since the 80′s. I started with Axis & Allies as a kid, went on to High Command (ancient DOS based game – phenominal), but have always searched for the ultimate WWII strategy game. One that compares to the fantastic ‘Rise and Decline of the Third Reich’ board game.

   I found it.

   This game is the pinacle of WWII strategy games. It has everything you could ever want. Have Rommel run rupshot over the Red Army and take Moscow in 1941? Sure. Invade India as the Japanese? Why not. Forget Russia and go for the Mid-East? you get the thought….

   The graphics are fine for a grand strategy game. You can also make it so the units are the traditional squares with NATO terminology. The part I like most about this game is the way you can learn it in steps. It has a link basic tutorials where you learn what everything is. The best part is you can then start a game (in ’36,’38,’39,’41… whenever!) and be Romania or Bulgaria, or even Nepal(!), and learn how to deal with everything in the game environment. Once you get excellent, you can start as a major player, step up the AI, and go idiotic. You control EVERY stage of your nation. But you can also have the comptuer take over parts if you just care about your tanks and surrounding the russian hordes.

   The utmost moment for me came when I allowed Guderian to Roll into Moscow in October of 1941 and bypass the Ukraine. This followed my triumphant paratrooper operation the year before on the white cliffs of Dover, which was followed by Operation Sealion.

   You WWII buffs will appreciate this game fully. Be pleased, buy the game.
5. C. K. Brown
   July 29th, 2010 - 18:19

   Review by C. K. Brown for Hearts of Iron 2: Doomsday Expansion Pack
   Rating:
   This game reminds me of the ancient Avalon Hill board games only it automates the schedule and rolling of the dice. It takes a long time to play, but if you are a fan of right strategy games, and a fan of WWII history I reckon you will like this game. I also own the original version and this is certainly a step up. The title is ambiguous because while it expands on the original version, you DO NOT need the original to play this version. My largest draw to this game are the several “what-if” scenarios, including going to war with the Soviets aptly after WWII.

Leave a comment

You must be logged in to post a comment.