Hearts of Iron 2 | 
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| From: Atari
Category: Video Games
List Price: $19.99
Buy New: $9.94
You Save: $10.05 (50%)
New (5) Used (4) from $7.99
Avg. Customer Rating:  36 reviews
Sales Rank: 8264
Format: Cd-rom
Platforms: Windows 98, Windows 2000, Windows Me, Windows Xp
ESRB: Everyone
Media: CD-ROM
Autographed: No
Memorabilia: No
Number Of Items: 1
Age: 5 - 20 years
Operating System: Windows 2000
Shipping Weight (lbs): 1
Dimensions (in): 7.6 x 5.3 x 1.5
MPN: 26341
Model: 26341
UPC: 742725263413
EAN: 0742725263413
ASIN: B0006FZUFY
Release Date: January 4, 2005
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
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| Features:
| • | Play any World War II front of your choice--over 175 playable countries | | • | Four major campaigns letting you play the full course of the war as well as 15 battle scenarios including D-Day, Operation Barbarossa and The Ardennes Offensive | | • | Real Time gameplay with the capability to pause at any time | | • | Intuitive tutorial and manual for easy access to the gameplay features | | • | Co-operative multiplayer gameplay allowing up to 32 simultaneous players to share countries; play against each other through a LAN or over the Internet through the Valkyrienet matchmaking service |
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| Editorial Reviews:
Product Description
Hearts Of Iron II makes you supreme ruler of your own country, at the start of World War II. Guideyour nation through warfare and diplomacy, and take part in the battles that changed history. Play against each other through a LAN or over the Internet through the Valkyrienet matchmaking service
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| Customer Reviews: Read 31 more reviews...
 Deep grand strategy game but flawed. September 22, 2008
This is the best and perhaps the only serious grand strategy game for people interested in the WW2 era. You can play many major nations on all sides and get to experiment with decisions that leads to alternative history. The scale is grand and the gameplay addictive. But overall one cannot escape the feeling that the game could have been much better.
The first problem is the graphics. While strategy games generally have no needs for fancy eye-candy, the resolution in this game is limited to the archaic 1024x768. Thus the players are forced to do a lot of scrolling. This is just a totally unnecessary chore that feels tedious very quickly.
The second issue is game balancing. While the Germans, British and American were reasonably well set, the Soviets statistics do not reflect the horrible consequences of Stalin's purge. The Chinese settings are even farther off, with the communists far better equipped to defeat the nationalists in 1936, the exact opposite of reality, in which the communists escaped total annihilation only through political trickery.
The third problem is the supply model, which allows good supply levels as long as your nation occupies a continuous path to the front. If your allies, on the other hand, control a block of territory in the middle, you are in serious trouble. This is so unrealistic and problematic that one is often forced to resort to contortionist tricks to avoid the situation, which unfortunately occur all too often during joint operations.
There are several other little bugs that the publisher never quite bothered to fix. Overall, due to this game's niche status, it has the feels of a community project instead of a real consumer product, which is too bad because it has so much potential.
 Great Game: Neither Hard or Easy December 27, 2007
1 out of 1 found this review helpful
This game is by far one of the best war games out there. There are several nations a player can choose, and a wide range of technologies to help improve the capabilities of the nation one picks. Also, creating more troops and the managing of government adds a challenging aspect to the game. Strategy is crucial, and a wrong move can be devastating.
Still, the game is by no means hard. Sure, it is complicated at first, but the game becomes completely easy after taking all of the tutorial scenarios and playing a couple of easy short campaigns within the game (Such as the German invasion of Czechoslovakia and the Spanish Civil War).
Nonetheless, there are some "bad" aspects to the game, such as:
-Aside from the "main areas" of World War II, the rest of the world holds large chunks of land for their provinces (By which I mean, a small nation like Italy has various sections within its national borders, while a larger nation like Peru or Colombia hold over-sized provinces).
-The production time can at times become very long and boring, especially if there is no easy way to make things rush. Sure, don't get me wrong, there is an option to increase the game speed; but even at the maximum speed, which is the speed I always play in, the game is still very slow. There's not even a cheat to make the game go faster.
-Technologies are more favorable for the "main nations" of the time, whereas the other nations are practically forced to have a slower technological output without a chance to increase the amount of teams that can work at a technology--not even if you expand the nation you pick by conquering its neighbors, the technological team simply stays the same.
Lastly, even though this game is great, my recomendation is that you buy "Hearts of Iron II: Doomsday," which is a stand-alone X-pack and holds all the aspects of this game while also expanding the timeline and governmental actions (such as espionage) in the game.
Not for me May 25, 2007
1 out of 2 found this review helpful
There is much to like about this game but there are two things I don't like about this game and for me they are killers. The visuals are dull, boring, bland, and cartoonish in my opinion; I just don't like looking at the game. The second is unrealistic outcomes. Take for instance the Ardennes offensive. It is very easy for the Germans to take and hold Antwerp, and to win this scenario. IRL this would have been near impossible. Given the weather, the state of their forces, and their supply situation it would have been hard just to drive to Antwerp. So if I don't like looking at a game and all my research and planning may or may not lead to a realistic outcome... I don't want to play it.
Hearts of Iron 2 review January 4, 2007
0 out of 2 found this review helpful
Wonderfully complex and addictive game with good replay value (other countries do not behave the same under different levels of difficulty).
Fantastic, Addictive Gameplay! October 13, 2006
4 out of 4 found this review helpful
Hearts of Iron 2 is a strategy game which lets the player delve deep into World War 2 action through scenarios and directing a number of countries. Players who have checked out games from Paradox Entertainment before will realize the following characteristics in the game:
1. Historically accurate data and scenarios. Although in the end the player determines the outcome, historical developments occur together with their effects on countries. For example, if you play the Soviet Union or Germany, you will see the German quality vs. Soviet numbers. The German resources are not sufficient to produce as many infantry divisions as the Soviets, and the Soviet infantry and motorized divisions do never match the German level regardlessof their level of upgrade. In the beginning of the scenario which starts in 1936 and ends in 1947, US has the highest IC (Industrial Capacity) in the world whereas it has a relatively small army. Then, this IC is channelled for a massive buildup.
2. Addictive gameplay. You have research teams to direct your research effort, armies to control, provinces to improve (infrastructure, industrial capacity), and resources to trade. You should be prepared to spend hours going to and from the different interfaces that let you control your country and gear up for war.
One final word for those who played or remember "Storm Across Europe" from Amiga. Take all the best from that unforgettable game and add everything you might ever have hoped for in a WW2 game, there you have it: "Hearts of Iron 2".
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