Hearts Iron 2 and Gary Grigsby's world at war

[PanzerTank]

Hi Guys

I have had these two game sitting on my shelf for a while now ( have had the games a couple years ) and I was wondering if anybody here has or currently plays them? They do look somewhat overwhelming. I dont know if anybody here has done any reviews for the games

Thanks

[Imperious Leader]

They suck. Way too complicated to even bother. I own a few of them thinking at some point they might play even remotely like AA. They don’t and i know the temptation to buy them is great because you tube does have some nice videos for them.  Check out something called “strategic command-Europe” which is close to AA. Well sort of.

Goto a site called Battlefront for this game.

[PanzerTank]

Thanks IL,

I thinki when I bought those it was the “Oh cool, you can do everything” factor but when applied to a video game it proved to be boring and not all that much fun. The manuals for the game were massive. I think I tried but just had more fun playing something like zoo tycoon,lol

I will check out Strategic command Europe.

[Gargantua]

I liked both of these games.

You can “dumb down” all the options to play it out more like A&A, or have alot of “auto” features/managers, instead of manual ones in place, but there’s not really a need.

There’s nothing like planning your conquest of Russia from 1933 to 1943 when you actually declare war, after having amassed worldwide allies, spy networks, and heavy tanks that roll those dirty reds right past the Urals.

The features I like most with HOI is the play speed, you can play WWII at the minute for minute scale, to the second to a day scale, and anywhere in between.

Invest in Nukes early if you like, and see if you can make it happen by 1942, OR Coup the United states and have them join your empire, or if you’re the allies, maybe they slide to the comintern.

[poloplayer15]

Third Reich by avalanche press is kinda like that gar, its fun, takes a lot of rule reading tho

[Clyde85]

@Imperious:

They suck. Way too complicated to even bother.

TO translate: “I suck at them”

I love Hearts of Iron, it is one of the most in depth and challenging strategy games I have ever played. I have gotten hours of enjoyment out of it, my Steam profile says I’ve clocked 355 hours of play time with it. If you really love the period and want a really challenging game I suggest you check it out. There is a very sharp learning curve but once you’ve got the basics down the rest of the game is rather intuitive. I strongly urge you to try the game before you give up on it.

[Imperious Leader]

one of the most in depth…

TO translate: It takes 355 hours just to get past the tutorial.

[Clyde85]

@Imperious:

one of the most in depth…

TO translate: It takes 355 hours just to get past the tutorial.

Not really IL, I’ve been playing Hearts of Iron since the first one came out in 2005 and the series has only improved since then. Now I’ll grant you it’s not for the faint of heart or the easily confused. You need to have the ability to think strategically on several levels, militarily, economically, and politically, while also factoring in things like terrain, resources, availability of units, production time, and even weather modifiers and technological research. It can be overwhelming for some, you need to have the mental capacity to multitask everything listed before at once, and some just lack the critical faculties to be able to do that.

[Imperious Leader]

TO translate: You have to have no life to play it. No job, just spend countless hours just making one move. Got it.

I don’t want to ‘factor’ this and that, i just want action. They have to pay me to play that game.

[Clyde85]

@Imperious:

TO translate: You have to have no life to play it. No job, just spend countless hours just making one move. Got it.

Look I get it, the game is too hard for you, that’s fine. It really doesn’t take that long to play, but I suppose an interactive medium that doesn’t require you roll dice or get to play with little plastic army men might fail to hold the attention span of you AAD lot. I understand that thinking about more than one thing at a time must be hard for you and like I said it really is a more intellectual game that requires higher brain function. Perhaps coloring books would be more your speed, or if that won’t hold your attention (coloring in the line is hard for you I bet) I could just give you two bricks to bang together?

[Imperious Leader]

You must not have a clue.

You confuse the time it takes to play a game with complexity. Secondly, you confuse Axis and Allies with the complexity of HOI.

Axis and Allies is a light wargame, it’s plays quick easy compared to HOI. The OP was asking if Hearts of Iron was essentially similar in play ( this is how i took it).
It’s not even remotely like Axis and Allies. I suspect most people who post here like Axis and Allies and games that play similar. HOI is not it.

At twelve i learned to play Third Reich and a few years latter WIF. They are very complicated, but as a kid i had time to waste on that.

Responsibility took over, women, wealth, and many other hobbies. I don’t have time for games that take all day for a turn. My advise to the OP is spot on, and remember i own HOI and World at War. The latter is easier to play straight away.

Go ahead and advise the OP to waste his money on it thinking it’s like AA.

And go ahead and make failing commentary on my faculties. They entertain me.

[Clyde85]

@Imperious:

And go ahead and make failing commentary on my faculties. They entertain me.

Well thats good because they entertain me too  :-D

Yes, you are correct the game is very complex and plays nothing like A&A, but its rich with depth and detail. What other wargame lets you play as one of the Chinese warlord states or British India? What other games let you take over Germany in 1943 after the battle of Stalingrad, or Britain after the fall of France? And what other game lets you have the level of control where you can choose minister and commanders from a massive database of historical leaders. The level of historical detail and accuracy is amazing, and if for no other reason then that, I say it’s a good game and well worth a look.

@Imperious:

Responsibility took over, women, wealth, and many other hobbies.

Yes I deal with all those things too yet still manage to find the time to play this game on occasion. I guess you not being able to just speaks to your inability to mentally multitask  :-D

[Imperious Leader]

Yes, you are correct the game is very complex and plays nothing like A&A, but its rich with depth and detail. What other wargame lets you play as one of the Chinese warlord states or British India? What other games let you take over Germany in 1943 after the battle of Stalingrad, or Britain after the fall of France? And what other game lets you have the level of control where you can choose minister and commanders from a massive database of historical leaders. The level of historical detail and accuracy is amazing, and if for no other reason then that, I say it’s a good game and well worth a look.

It’s not a good game if you don’t have time to invest playing it. A typical AA player does not usually like games that drag on for a week or more. The OP would then be right in avoiding it.

I guess you not being able to just speaks to your inability to mentally multitask

But i guess time for you is worthless. My time is not. And you still confuse ‘time’ with ‘complexity’.

lol

[Clyde85]

@Imperious:

It’s not a good game if you don’t have time to invest playing it. A typical AA player does not usually like games that drag on for a week or more. The OP would then be right in avoiding it.

Have you ever actually played this game? The way you keep describing it taking so much time, or how you keep referring to “making moves” makes me think you haven’t actually played it. The game flows in real time and you have the ability to play in at any speed you want, where months pass in seconds, and it has adjustable objectives so you can play to whatever end you want. I usually play as Nationalist China and play until either I beat Japan of the Russians invade Manchuria, but stop once that’s be achieved.

@Imperious:

But i guess time for you is worthless. My time is not. And you still confuse ‘time’ with ‘complexity’.

This also worries me as the obvious double standard here, cause last time I checked Axis&Allies is a game that takes several hours to play.

[Imperious Leader]

Have you ever actually played this game?

Bought both when they came out on preorder. I spent about 20+ hours and it looked like a chore to play. That would be HOI part 1, now they go up to 3.

I checked Axis&Allies is a game that takes several hours to play.

It is, HOI takes at least a weekend to play the campaign. No comparison.

Face it. Some people don’t have multiple days to deal with a GAME. And don’t start telling me it takes 3-4 hours to finish a complete game. It doesn’t.

And why keep arguing with me? I can only give you my opinion. Just give your own of the game and leave it. The OP will be best served by my opinion anyway as that game is nothing like AA.

[Gargantua]

I don’t know what kind of time altering drugs you’re on…

But i can bust through a campaign of HOI in an afternoon…

[Imperious Leader]

I don’t know what kind of time altering drugs you’re on…

But i can bust through a campaign of HOI in an afternoon…

Bahahahahah :-D good one.

[Clyde85]

You can, if you know what you’re doing, wait, I think I understand why it takes you so long to play now  :-D

[Gargantua]

Exactly.

I like the faster pace, with the ODD pause, which you can setup in your events controls (IE for historical events your choice/splash-screen comes up and pauses until you decide).

I start the first month at the lowest speed, and spend about a half our setting everything I want up, like supplies etc. Other than that I like to move at a month every 3 to 5 minutes, depending on the campaign I’m playing.  That way you’re not waiting around for NOTHING to happen, and you get that action/desperate reaction you need to feel like you’re fighting an actual opponent.

UNLESS I really want to get into the political side, coup the united states, and have the Confederate U.S. as my axis ally.

This gets alot easier too, if you step away from a major power, and just play as a small one, like Finland, and do everything you can to stay alive/in-power/win.

There’s nothing like beating the Germans to Moscow, after annexing Norway, and Sweden.  Or liberating the tertiary lithuanian states…

[Tall Paul]

Guys,

––I think you are ALL CORRECT in as much as what you’re saying.
––IL, yes, Gary Grigsby’s World at War is a game that takes a long time to play. But it says right on the box that it is a game for “GROGNARDS”, people who literally love all of the details and command capabilities. I’ve played the “PACIFIC WAR” and “War in the South Pacific” versions and loved them. They definately take more than a single evenings play, though. But it says that right on the box,…so if it’s not your cup of tea, that’s great,…but don’t call them cr*p just because they’re longer games than YOU like. Just say the games are too LONG for your interest. But IL,…you really should play and learn the game thoroughly before completely condemning it.
----And you other guys shouldn’t throw mud around so easily. I respect all of you involved in this verbal disagreement and I’m a little disapointed in the “name-calling” going on.

“Tall Paul”