Hearts of Iron 2: Doomsday
Well, after a short stint with Europa Universalis II back during the last summer I moved it up a notch and got myself entangled in arguably one of the best World War II strategic and tactical simulations ever made, that is Hearts of Iron 2, made by the great team at Paradox Games. So I was overjoyed by the announcement by Paradox that a sequel was in the works, titled Doomsday. And now I am the proud owner of one downloaded copy of Hearts of Iron 2: Doomsday and all the details one needs to write a review.
Fist off, the basic setup. While Hearts of Iron 2 proper was all about the Grand Campaign starting in 1936 and leading up to war (and for me Historical Stony Road to War version 2.06 is a must, get it here: http://www.stonyroad.de/) Doomsday is really all about the 1945 Doomsday scenario, hence the name, although small improvements have been made to the game all around.
Doomsday begins abruptly with the Soviet Union launching a few border strikes against Allied forces while the US launches two nukes at the Soviet Union. Talk about your Cold War getting hot... You can imagine that diplomacy really does not fit into the frame of this scenario (the only semi-major power that is worth influencing is Nationalist China, unless you really want Nepal in) and butt-kicking is the order of the day. The Soviets enjoy a large advantage in armor and infantry assets, while their navy is on a one way path to becoming coral reefs and the air force is kinda outdated. The Allies are really overpowered navy wise and enjoy a nice air advantage that will count, but they will be on the defensive early on as the Soviets launch wave after wave of attacks. In my first game I've lost Turkey and Italy in the first two months of combat (and Nationalist Spain retook Sicily). The Allies also enjoy a huge advantage in technology, although a good Soviet player will make it up rather quickly, courtesy of a few blueprints and a bit of spying. For the tactical player the fighting is balanced and although I managed to win in Korea and invade eastern USSR, the low infrastructure there makes it impossible to make good progress. In Western Europe one wil see a Soviet force plus satellites making good progress against the Allies...
The small improvements area includes: the ability to designate individually upgradable and enforceable regiments and non upgradable and nonenforceable ones, an extended tech tree that tackles improvements like turbojet aircraft in all areas and nuclear subs (haven't myself launched a missile from a sub neither do I have a credible source as to one being launched but it seems that the means are in the game files), the possibility to renounce doctrines (useful for the German layer wishing to make full use of carriers), a few new units (escorts become attachments and we get to play with escort carriers) and the intelligence tab. What is this "intelligence tab" I hear you ask, ohh, veterans of Heart of Iron 1 and 2? Well, if you ever wanted to smear thou adversaries, execute all spies within your own country and pump another full of your intelligence types, fund partisans (although this one seems particularly unwieldy and bugged), sabotage tech teams and disrupt production, you are gonna love the new feature. And, the cherry on top, assassination missions... Ever fancied taking out Hitler as the USA or Stalin as Nazi Germany? Enough money and enough tries sparkled with a bit o'luck will get you there, even if the Head of State and the Head of Government are not supposed to be taken out. But most of the HoS and HoG usually also occupy another cabinet post making them a ripe target for thou paid killers... ahhhhhh, intelligence personnel.
The game is good building up on the better aspects of Hearts of Iron 2 proper and adding a few good new ones. There is a quite distinct improvement in the A.I. all around and a few nicer sprites to go around, not to mention new interesting traits for commander (Urban and Ranger Panzer Leaders, anyone?). One clear bug that seems to exist (and that is after the 1.1 patch that is allready out) is that experience seems to be always awarded to the most senior leader, which will make the Old Guards gain experience while your Guderian's and Hobart's will stay low. Not a big deal and I am sure that Paradox in working on it. Another big drawback is that no new events are implemented (but, hey, there's at least SMEP for that). And rest assured that Paradox is improving the game as we speak.
All in all the game is good going towards great. I have now separate installs of HoI2 with HSR 2.06 and Doomsday to offer the greatest World War II and World War III that is out there. Be sure to head to www.paradoxplaza.com for all your Hearts of Iron 2: Doomsday needs. Buy, install, enjoy...
