Hearts of Iron II
Encyclopedia
Hearts of Iron II is a grand strategy computer war game
for the PC
based upon its predecessor, Hearts of Iron
. It takes place in the period from 1 January 1936 through 30 December 1947 (1964 with the expansion), and allows the player to assume control of any one of over 175 nations of the time and guide its development through the years before, during and after the Second World War
. It was developed by Paradox Interactive
and released 4 January 2005. The lead game programmer
was Johan Andersson
.
A sequel, Hearts of Iron III
was released in August 2009. Arsenal of Democracy
, a grand strategy wargame based on Hearts of Iron II was released in February 2010. Darkest Hour
, a stand-alone based on Hearts of Iron II, and Iron Cross a Hearts of Iron II expansion, were announced on September 14, 2010.
, aircraft squadrons
, and naval ships/fleets, and combine these into corps
and armies
. The player also has the ability to control the appointment of commanders of forces under their nation's flag or that of controlled nations as well as to control the appointment of individual government ministers and military commanders in key General Staff
positions. The player also has a broader ability to control the heads of state and government; however, this option is only available to democracies and only then through elections, in which the player chooses the winner. Technological research is controlled by the player. All this is on a global scale, with the player simultaneously dealing and interacting with nations across the world. The game can be paused at any point.
, Monaco
, Vatican City
or others (and mods exist that make even these playable). The player can also play as a new nation that gains its independence as the game progresses, but will have to wait until the nation actually declares independence in the game before it can be played. However, many smaller nations do not have strong 'tech teams', nor do they possess a strong industrial base.
and economic policies of their nation using sliders, such as democratic versus authoritarian, free market
versus central planning
and so on. Moving the sliders will result in different bonuses and penalties, allowing for a range of choices and strategies.
On the same page the player can appoint leaders and ministers, with some exceptions. The Head of State
and Head of Government
can only be changed through moving the Political Left
vs Political Right
slider, or through elections and other one-time events.
The six conventional resources can be traded with other countries, subject to potential disruption by enemy forces if the routes to the other country are occupied. Trade offers can be made to any other country, even ones with poor diplomatic relations, although allied nations are more willing to accept more favorable trade offers. Manpower, IC and TC are not tradeable.
Added in Iron Cross:
Playable operations are:
game. The smallest independent land unit is the division
, although brigade
s such as engineers, artillery, or armoured cars can be attached to these. On sea, units are either single capital ship
s or flotillas of small ships such as destroyers. For the air force, the unit is a Wing
or Group, depending on nationality.
Land divisions include infantry
, cavalry
, and tank
s. Land brigades include anti-tank guns, anti-aircraft artillery and military police.
On the map the player can direct divisions or groups of divisions. Fighting starts when an army starts moving into a defended enemy territory. The invading units do not have to be inside enemy territory to attack. A province is immediately occupied when the invaders arrive there with no opposition left. Because of this, a player can blitz through large swaths of enemy lands with minimal micromanagement. In addition, units who move constantly lose organization and risk losing supply, so poorly executed attempts to blitzkrieg can be stopped.
Provinces can be fortified and infrastructure increased to improve combat performance. Structures include radar, and static AA
. Many fortifications are pre-built, such as the Maginot Line
along the French-German border.
Air units include bombers, fighters and transports. These divisions can, depending on type, engage in tactical or strategic missions.
Sea units include transports, aircraft carrier
s, battleship
s, cruisers, destroyers, and submarines. Each unit has a strength, speed, and effective engagement range. Naval combats simulate the range between fleets, allowing only units in range to fire. This can make naval combats tactically complex.
, the game is banned in the People's Republic of China
. The main point of contention seems to be that the game portrays the various Chinese warlord
s as independent entities, while according to the PRC government they were nominally part of the Republic of China
governed by the Chinese Nationalist
government, represented in-game as 'Nationalist China'. Also, the Tibetan flag
used in-game is banned in China. Paradox has stated that it will not reduce the level of historical accuracy in order to appease the PRC censors
.
Anachronistically, Germany is represented with the flag of the German Empire as used by Germany until 1935, and not the Swastika flag, as was also done in the earlier board game Axis & Allies. Laws in Germany prohibit the use of the swastika. Additionally, in the German version of the game, pictures of leading Nazi leaders, such as Hitler, Göring, and Himmler were removed and their names subsequently altered, though this is not required under German censorship laws, and is not the case in non-German versions of the game. The game can be easily modified by users to include such graphics, but Paradox disallows discussion of this particular type of modification on their message boards.
between the Soviet Union and the Allies. The expansion pack features among other things a reworked intelligence model (which allows the player to use espionage, sabotage and other things in an "intelligence page" accessible through the main screen), improved AI and a scenario editor.
Doomsday also features some other changes and additions such as:
Armageddon also features some other changes and additions such as:
Features
Grand strategy wargame
A grand strategy wargame is a wargame that places focus on grand strategy: military strategy at the level of movement and use of an entire nation state or empire's resources.-Scope of games:...
for the PC
Personal computer
A personal computer is any general-purpose computer whose size, capabilities, and original sales price make it useful for individuals, and which is intended to be operated directly by an end-user with no intervening computer operator...
based upon its predecessor, Hearts of Iron
Hearts of Iron
Hearts of Iron is a grand strategy computer game developed by Paradox Interactive and published by Strategy First, set in the years 1936-1948. In the game you can control any one nation as World War II unfolds. It was released for Windows-compatible PCs in 2002. A Macintosh version was also...
. It takes place in the period from 1 January 1936 through 30 December 1947 (1964 with the expansion), and allows the player to assume control of any one of over 175 nations of the time and guide its development through the years before, during and after the Second World War
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
. It was developed by Paradox Interactive
Paradox Interactive
-External links:*...
and released 4 January 2005. The lead game programmer
Game programmer
A game programmer is a software engineer, programmer, or computer scientist who primarily develops codebase for video games or related software, such as game development tools. Game programming has many specialized disciplines all of which fall under the umbrella term of "game programmer"...
was Johan Andersson
Johan Andersson (game programmer)
Johan Andersson is the lead game programmer for Paradox Interactive, the Swedish-based game company which created Europa Universalis series, Victoria series, Crusader Kings, and the Hearts of Iron series...
.
A sequel, Hearts of Iron III
Hearts of Iron III
Hearts of Iron III is a grand strategy wargame developed and published by Paradox Interactive that is the sequel to the previous Hearts of Iron games. It was announced on August 20, 2008 and was released on August 7, 2009....
was released in August 2009. Arsenal of Democracy
Arsenal of Democracy (video game)
Arsenal of Democracy, or AoD, is a grand strategy wargame that is based on Hearts of Iron II - Armageddon and its Europa engine. It is developed by BL-Logic, a development studio made up by fans of the Hearts of Iron series and active members of the modding community...
, a grand strategy wargame based on Hearts of Iron II was released in February 2010. Darkest Hour
Darkest Hour: A Hearts of Iron Game
Darkest Hour: A Hearts of Iron Game, or DH, is a grand strategy wargame that is based on Paradox Interactive's Europa engine. It is described as a 1914-1964 Grand Strategy Game and it allows the player to take control of and manage nearly any nation-state during the 1914-1964 timeframe including...
, a stand-alone based on Hearts of Iron II, and Iron Cross a Hearts of Iron II expansion, were announced on September 14, 2010.
Gameplay
Hearts of Iron II is a grand strategy game. The player can build land divisionsDivision (military)
A division is a large military unit or formation usually consisting of between 10,000 and 20,000 soldiers. In most armies, a division is composed of several regiments or brigades, and in turn several divisions typically make up a corps...
, aircraft squadrons
Squadron (aviation)
A squadron in air force, army aviation or naval aviation is mainly a unit comprising a number of military aircraft, usually of the same type, typically with 12 to 24 aircraft, sometimes divided into three or four flights, depending on aircraft type and air force...
, and naval ships/fleets, and combine these into corps
Corps
A corps is either a large formation, or an administrative grouping of troops within an armed force with a common function such as Artillery or Signals representing an arm of service...
and armies
Army
An army An army An army (from Latin arma "arms, weapons" via Old French armée, "armed" (feminine), in the broadest sense, is the land-based military of a nation or state. It may also include other branches of the military such as the air force via means of aviation corps...
. The player also has the ability to control the appointment of commanders of forces under their nation's flag or that of controlled nations as well as to control the appointment of individual government ministers and military commanders in key General Staff
General Staff
A military staff, often referred to as General Staff, Army Staff, Navy Staff or Air Staff within the individual services, is a group of officers and enlisted personnel that provides a bi-directional flow of information between a commanding officer and subordinate military units...
positions. The player also has a broader ability to control the heads of state and government; however, this option is only available to democracies and only then through elections, in which the player chooses the winner. Technological research is controlled by the player. All this is on a global scale, with the player simultaneously dealing and interacting with nations across the world. The game can be paused at any point.
Playable nations
The player can choose to play almost any nation from the time period, apart from some very small states such as AndorraAndorra
Andorra , officially the Principality of Andorra , also called the Principality of the Valleys of Andorra, , is a small landlocked country in southwestern Europe, located in the eastern Pyrenees mountains and bordered by Spain and France. It is the sixth smallest nation in Europe having an area of...
, Monaco
Monaco
Monaco , officially the Principality of Monaco , is a sovereign city state on the French Riviera. It is bordered on three sides by its neighbour, France, and its centre is about from Italy. Its area is with a population of 35,986 as of 2011 and is the most densely populated country in the...
, Vatican City
Vatican City
Vatican City , or Vatican City State, in Italian officially Stato della Città del Vaticano , which translates literally as State of the City of the Vatican, is a landlocked sovereign city-state whose territory consists of a walled enclave within the city of Rome, Italy. It has an area of...
or others (and mods exist that make even these playable). The player can also play as a new nation that gains its independence as the game progresses, but will have to wait until the nation actually declares independence in the game before it can be played. However, many smaller nations do not have strong 'tech teams', nor do they possess a strong industrial base.
Politics
The player is able to manage his nation's foreign and internal policies on the Diplomacy page. The player, declare war, annex territories and make alliances. The player can also alter the socialSocial engineering (political science)
Social engineering is a discipline in political science that refers to efforts to influence popular attitudes and social behaviors on a large scale, whether by governments or private groups. In the political arena, the counterpart of social engineering is political engineering.For various reasons,...
and economic policies of their nation using sliders, such as democratic versus authoritarian, free market
Free market
A free market is a competitive market where prices are determined by supply and demand. However, the term is also commonly used for markets in which economic intervention and regulation by the state is limited to tax collection, and enforcement of private ownership and contracts...
versus central planning
Planned economy
A planned economy is an economic system in which decisions regarding production and investment are embodied in a plan formulated by a central authority, usually by a government agency...
and so on. Moving the sliders will result in different bonuses and penalties, allowing for a range of choices and strategies.
On the same page the player can appoint leaders and ministers, with some exceptions. The Head of State
Head of State
A head of state is the individual that serves as the chief public representative of a monarchy, republic, federation, commonwealth or other kind of state. His or her role generally includes legitimizing the state and exercising the political powers, functions, and duties granted to the head of...
and Head of Government
Head of government
Head of government is the chief officer of the executive branch of a government, often presiding over a cabinet. In a parliamentary system, the head of government is often styled prime minister, chief minister, premier, etc...
can only be changed through moving the Political Left
Left-wing politics
In politics, Left, left-wing and leftist generally refer to support for social change to create a more egalitarian society...
vs Political Right
Right-wing politics
In politics, Right, right-wing and rightist generally refer to support for a hierarchical society justified on the basis of an appeal to natural law or tradition. To varying degrees, the Right rejects the egalitarian objectives of left-wing politics, claiming that the imposition of equality is...
slider, or through elections and other one-time events.
Resource management
Hearts of Iron II features nine resources, of which six are conventional resources, and the other three are manpower, industrial capacity and transport capacity.- EnergyEnergyIn physics, energy is an indirectly observed quantity. It is often understood as the ability a physical system has to do work on other physical systems...
, rare materials (e.g. rubber), and metalMetalA metal , is an element, compound, or alloy that is a good conductor of both electricity and heat. Metals are usually malleable and shiny, that is they reflect most of incident light...
are produced by individual provinces and pooled together to power the nation's industry. - Supplies are consumed by a player's armed forces.
- OilPetroleumPetroleum or crude oil is a naturally occurring, flammable liquid consisting of a complex mixture of hydrocarbons of various molecular weights and other liquid organic compounds, that are found in geologic formations beneath the Earth's surface. Petroleum is recovered mostly through oil drilling...
is consumed by mechanized or armored units, air units and naval units. (and some infantry with attached units) - MoneyMoneyMoney is any object or record that is generally accepted as payment for goods and services and repayment of debts in a given country or socio-economic context. The main functions of money are distinguished as: a medium of exchange; a unit of account; a store of value; and, occasionally in the past,...
is raised through the production of consumer goods. The amount gained also varies based on government type and policy settings. Money is needed to carry out diplomatic actions, as well as pay research teams. - Manpower is needed to recruit and reinforce all of a player's armed forces. One unit of Manpower generally represents 1000 men, as a normal infantry division of 10,000 men requires ten Manpower.
- Each factory in a nation contributes one point of industrial capacity (IC). The total number of factories is known as the Base IC. Several factors, such as difficulty, ministerial appointments, technologies, and resources available can modify this number, producing the actual IC. Each actual IC requires two points of energy, one of metal and half a point of rare materials in order to function.
- Transport capacity (TC) is an abstract number that represents the trucks, trains and river barges which are used to supply a player's armed forces with fuel and supply. TC is a direct function of a player's IC; the player has a TC that is 150% his IC. When the TC used exceeds the available amount, movement, supplies and reinforcements are delayed.
The six conventional resources can be traded with other countries, subject to potential disruption by enemy forces if the routes to the other country are occupied. Trade offers can be made to any other country, even ones with poor diplomatic relations, although allied nations are more willing to accept more favorable trade offers. Manpower, IC and TC are not tradeable.
Scenarios
In the game, a player assumes direct control of a nation at the start of a scenario through 1948. The following scenarios are available:- The Road to War, beginning on New Year's DayNew Year's DayNew Year's Day is observed on January 1, the first day of the year on the modern Gregorian calendar as well as the Julian calendar used in ancient Rome...
, 1936; - The Gathering Storm, beginning in September 1938, just before the Munich Agreement; Added in the v1.2 patch.
- BlitzkriegBlitzkriegFor other uses of the word, see: Blitzkrieg Blitzkrieg is an anglicized word describing all-motorised force concentration of tanks, infantry, artillery, combat engineers and air power, concentrating overwhelming force at high speed to break through enemy lines, and, once the lines are broken,...
, beginning with Hitler'sAdolf HitlerAdolf Hitler was an Austrian-born German politician and the leader of the National Socialist German Workers Party , commonly referred to as the Nazi Party). He was Chancellor of Germany from 1933 to 1945, and head of state from 1934 to 1945...
declaration of warDeclaration of warA declaration of war is a formal act by which one nation goes to war against another. The declaration is a performative speech act by an authorized party of a national government in order to create a state of war between two or more states.The legality of who is competent to declare war varies...
upon PolandPolandPoland , officially the Republic of Poland , is a country in Central Europe bordered by Germany to the west; the Czech Republic and Slovakia to the south; Ukraine, Belarus and Lithuania to the east; and the Baltic Sea and Kaliningrad Oblast, a Russian exclave, to the north...
(the Invasion of PolandInvasion of Poland (1939)The Invasion of Poland, also known as the September Campaign or 1939 Defensive War in Poland and the Poland Campaign in Germany, was an invasion of Poland by Germany, the Soviet Union, and a small Slovak contingent that marked the start of World War II in Europe...
) on 1 September 1939; - Awakening the Giant, beginning on 22 June 1941, at the beginning of Operation BarbarossaOperation BarbarossaOperation Barbarossa was the code name for Germany's invasion of the Soviet Union during World War II that began on 22 June 1941. Over 4.5 million troops of the Axis powers invaded the USSR along a front., the largest invasion in the history of warfare...
. - GötterdämmerungGötterdämmerungis the last in Richard Wagner's cycle of four operas titled Der Ring des Nibelungen...
, beginning on 20 June 1944, two weeks after the Western AlliesWestern AlliesThe Western Allies were a political and geographic grouping among the Allied Powers of the Second World War. It generally includes the United Kingdom and British Commonwealth, the United States, France and various other European and Latin American countries, but excludes China, the Soviet Union,...
landed at NormandyOperation OverlordOperation Overlord was the code name for the Battle of Normandy, the operation that launched the invasion of German-occupied western Europe during World War II by Allied forces. The operation commenced on 6 June 1944 with the Normandy landings...
.
Added in Iron Cross:
- 1933, beginning on 30 January 1933, when HitlerAdolf HitlerAdolf Hitler was an Austrian-born German politician and the leader of the National Socialist German Workers Party , commonly referred to as the Nazi Party). He was Chancellor of Germany from 1933 to 1945, and head of state from 1934 to 1945...
takes the power. - 1934, beginning on 1 October 1934, at the start of the October revolutionAsturian miners' strike of 1934The Asturian miners' strike of 1934 was a major strike action which took place in Asturias in northern Spain soon developing into armed insurrection against the Spanish government.-Background:...
.
Playable operations are:
- Fall GelbBattle of FranceIn the Second World War, the Battle of France was the German invasion of France and the Low Countries, beginning on 10 May 1940, which ended the Phoney War. The battle consisted of two main operations. In the first, Fall Gelb , German armoured units pushed through the Ardennes, to cut off and...
, the GermanGermanyGermany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
invasion of FranceFranceThe French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
in 1940 - Operation BarbarossaOperation BarbarossaOperation Barbarossa was the code name for Germany's invasion of the Soviet Union during World War II that began on 22 June 1941. Over 4.5 million troops of the Axis powers invaded the USSR along a front., the largest invasion in the history of warfare...
, the German invasion of the Soviet UnionSoviet UnionThe Soviet Union , officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics , was a constitutionally socialist state that existed in Eurasia between 1922 and 1991....
in spring of 1941 - The Ardennes Offensive, centered around the Battle of the BulgeBattle of the BulgeThe Battle of the Bulge was a major German offensive , launched toward the end of World War II through the densely forested Ardennes mountain region of Wallonia in Belgium, hence its French name , and France and...
, on the Franco-BelgianBelgiumBelgium , officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a federal state in Western Europe. It is a founding member of the European Union and hosts the EU's headquarters, and those of several other major international organisations such as NATO.Belgium is also a member of, or affiliated to, many...
-German frontier in winter of 1944, which was also playable in the game's demoGame demoA game demo is a freely distributed demonstration or preview of an upcoming or recently released video game. Demos are typically released by the game's publisher to help consumers get a feel of the game before deciding whether to buy the full version....
. - Southern Conquests, revolving around the Japanese centrifugal offensive into the southern resource area, following the attack on Pearl Harbor.
- Operation Watchtower, the battle for GuadalcanalGuadalcanalGuadalcanal is a tropical island in the South-Western Pacific. The largest island in the Solomons, it was discovered by the Spanish expedition of Alvaro de Mendaña in 1568...
in the Solomons. - Fall Weiss, the German invasion of Poland
- Fall GrünFall GrünFall Grün was a pre-World War II German plan for an aggressive war against Czechoslovakia. The plan was first drafted late in 1937, then revised as the military situation and requirements changed...
, the planned German attack on Czechoslovakia - Platinean War, a fantasy scenario where German-backed Argentina and American-backed Brazil clash in a conflict that will involve most of South America
- Winter War, the Soviet-Finnish WarWinter WarThe Winter War was a military conflict between the Soviet Union and Finland. It began with a Soviet offensive on 30 November 1939 – three months after the start of World War II and the Soviet invasion of Poland – and ended on 13 March 1940 with the Moscow Peace Treaty...
of 1939-1940 - Desert Fox, the African campaign that culminated in the Battle of El AlameinSecond Battle of El AlameinThe Second Battle of El Alamein marked a major turning point in the Western Desert Campaign of the Second World War. The battle took place over 20 days from 23 October – 11 November 1942. The First Battle of El Alamein had stalled the Axis advance. Thereafter, Lieutenant-General Bernard Montgomery...
- Operation HuskyItalian Campaign (World War II)The Italian Campaign of World War II was the name of Allied operations in and around Italy, from 1943 to the end of the war in Europe. Joint Allied Forces Headquarters AFHQ was operationally responsible for all Allied land forces in the Mediterranean theatre, and it planned and commanded the...
, the Allied landings in Sicily and the subsequent Italian Campaign - Operation OverlordOperation OverlordOperation Overlord was the code name for the Battle of Normandy, the operation that launched the invasion of German-occupied western Europe during World War II by Allied forces. The operation commenced on 6 June 1944 with the Normandy landings...
, the Allied landings in Europe - Operation DownfallOperation DownfallOperation Downfall was the Allied plan for the invasion of Japan near the end of World War II. The operation was cancelled when Japan surrendered after the atomic bombing of Hiroshima and Nagasaki and the Soviet Union's declaration of war against Japan. The operation had two parts: Operation...
, the planned Allied invasion of the Japanese home isles - Spanish Civil WarSpanish Civil WarThe Spanish Civil WarAlso known as The Crusade among Nationalists, the Fourth Carlist War among Carlists, and The Rebellion or Uprising among Republicans. was a major conflict fought in Spain from 17 July 1936 to 1 April 1939...
, the conflict between the Spanish republicansPopular Front (Spain)The Popular Front in Spain's Second Republic was an electoral coalition and pact signed in January 1936 by various left-wing political organisations, instigated by Manuel Azaña for the purpose of contesting that year's election....
and nationalistsFalangeThe Spanish Phalanx of the Assemblies of the National Syndicalist Offensive , known simply as the Falange, is the name assigned to several political movements and parties dating from the 1930s, most particularly the original fascist movement in Spain. The word means phalanx formation in Spanish....
in 1936-1939 - Battle of the Coral SeaBattle of the Coral SeaThe Battle of the Coral Sea, fought from 4–8 May 1942, was a major naval battle in the Pacific Theater of World War II between the Imperial Japanese Navy and Allied naval and air forces from the United States and Australia. The battle was the first fleet action in which aircraft carriers engaged...
, the Japanese plan to capture Port Moresby on New Guinea by sea and the following carrier battle. - Fall Blau, the German 1942 summer offensiveOperation BlueCase Blue , later renamed Operation Braunschweig, was the German Armed Forces name for its plan for a 1942 strategic summer offensive in southern Russia between 28 June and November 1942....
against the USSR, eventually culminating in the Battle of StalingradBattle of StalingradThe Battle of Stalingrad was a major battle of World War II in which Nazi Germany and its allies fought the Soviet Union for control of the city of Stalingrad in southwestern Russia. The battle took place between 23 August 1942 and 2 February 1943...
; Added in the v1.2 patch.
Warfare
Hearts of Iron II is a grand strategyGrand strategy
Grand strategy comprises the "purposeful employment of all instruments of power available to a security community". Military historian B. H. Liddell Hart says about grand strategy:...
game. The smallest independent land unit is the division
Division (military)
A division is a large military unit or formation usually consisting of between 10,000 and 20,000 soldiers. In most armies, a division is composed of several regiments or brigades, and in turn several divisions typically make up a corps...
, although brigade
Brigade
A brigade is a major tactical military formation that is typically composed of two to five battalions, plus supporting elements depending on the era and nationality of a given army and could be perceived as an enlarged/reinforced regiment...
s such as engineers, artillery, or armoured cars can be attached to these. On sea, units are either single capital ship
Capital ship
The capital ships of a navy are its most important warships; they generally possess the heaviest firepower and armor and are traditionally much larger than other naval vessels...
s or flotillas of small ships such as destroyers. For the air force, the unit is a Wing
Wing (air force unit)
Wing is a term used by different military aviation forces for a unit of command. The terms wing, group or Staffel are used for different-sized units from one country or service to another....
or Group, depending on nationality.
Land divisions include infantry
Infantry
Infantrymen are soldiers who are specifically trained for the role of fighting on foot to engage the enemy face to face and have historically borne the brunt of the casualties of combat in wars. As the oldest branch of combat arms, they are the backbone of armies...
, cavalry
Cavalry
Cavalry or horsemen were soldiers or warriors who fought mounted on horseback. Cavalry were historically the third oldest and the most mobile of the combat arms...
, and tank
Tank
A tank is a tracked, armoured fighting vehicle designed for front-line combat which combines operational mobility, tactical offensive, and defensive capabilities...
s. Land brigades include anti-tank guns, anti-aircraft artillery and military police.
On the map the player can direct divisions or groups of divisions. Fighting starts when an army starts moving into a defended enemy territory. The invading units do not have to be inside enemy territory to attack. A province is immediately occupied when the invaders arrive there with no opposition left. Because of this, a player can blitz through large swaths of enemy lands with minimal micromanagement. In addition, units who move constantly lose organization and risk losing supply, so poorly executed attempts to blitzkrieg can be stopped.
Provinces can be fortified and infrastructure increased to improve combat performance. Structures include radar, and static AA
Anti-aircraft warfare
NATO defines air defence as "all measures designed to nullify or reduce the effectiveness of hostile air action." They include ground and air based weapon systems, associated sensor systems, command and control arrangements and passive measures. It may be to protect naval, ground and air forces...
. Many fortifications are pre-built, such as the Maginot Line
Maginot Line
The Maginot Line , named after the French Minister of War André Maginot, was a line of concrete fortifications, tank obstacles, artillery casemates, machine gun posts, and other defences, which France constructed along its borders with Germany and Italy, in light of its experience in World War I,...
along the French-German border.
Air units include bombers, fighters and transports. These divisions can, depending on type, engage in tactical or strategic missions.
Sea units include transports, aircraft carrier
Aircraft carrier
An aircraft carrier is a warship designed with a primary mission of deploying and recovering aircraft, acting as a seagoing airbase. Aircraft carriers thus allow a naval force to project air power worldwide without having to depend on local bases for staging aircraft operations...
s, battleship
Battleship
A battleship is a large armored warship with a main battery consisting of heavy caliber guns. Battleships were larger, better armed and armored than cruisers and destroyers. As the largest armed ships in a fleet, battleships were used to attain command of the sea and represented the apex of a...
s, cruisers, destroyers, and submarines. Each unit has a strength, speed, and effective engagement range. Naval combats simulate the range between fleets, allowing only units in range to fire. This can make naval combats tactically complex.
Controversy and censorship
Like its predecessor Hearts of IronHearts of Iron
Hearts of Iron is a grand strategy computer game developed by Paradox Interactive and published by Strategy First, set in the years 1936-1948. In the game you can control any one nation as World War II unfolds. It was released for Windows-compatible PCs in 2002. A Macintosh version was also...
, the game is banned in the People's Republic of China
People's Republic of China
China , officially the People's Republic of China , is the most populous country in the world, with over 1.3 billion citizens. Located in East Asia, the country covers approximately 9.6 million square kilometres...
. The main point of contention seems to be that the game portrays the various Chinese warlord
Warlord era
The Chinese Warlord Era was the period in the history of the Republic of China, from 1916 to 1928, when the country was divided among military cliques, a division that continued until the fall of the Nationalist government in the mainland China regions of Sichuan, Shanxi, Qinghai, Ningxia,...
s as independent entities, while according to the PRC government they were nominally part of the Republic of China
Republic of China
The Republic of China , commonly known as Taiwan , is a unitary sovereign state located in East Asia. Originally based in mainland China, the Republic of China currently governs the island of Taiwan , which forms over 99% of its current territory, as well as Penghu, Kinmen, Matsu and other minor...
governed by the Chinese Nationalist
Chinese nationalist
Chinese nationalist can refer to:* Chinese nationalism* Kuomintang - Chinese Nationalist Party in Taiwan....
government, represented in-game as 'Nationalist China'. Also, the Tibetan flag
Flag of Tibet
The Tibetan flag, also known as the 'snow lion flag' and the 'Free Tibet flag', was a flag of the military of Tibet, introduced by the 13th Dalai Lama in 1912 and used in the same capacity until 1959. Designed with the help of a Japanese, it reflects the design motif of Japanese military's Rising...
used in-game is banned in China. Paradox has stated that it will not reduce the level of historical accuracy in order to appease the PRC censors
Censorship in the People's Republic of China
Censorship in the People's Republic of China is implemented or mandated by the PRC's ruling party, the Communist Party of China . The special administrative regions of Hong Kong and Macau have their own legal systems and are largely self-governing, so these censorship policies do not apply...
.
Anachronistically, Germany is represented with the flag of the German Empire as used by Germany until 1935, and not the Swastika flag, as was also done in the earlier board game Axis & Allies. Laws in Germany prohibit the use of the swastika. Additionally, in the German version of the game, pictures of leading Nazi leaders, such as Hitler, Göring, and Himmler were removed and their names subsequently altered, though this is not required under German censorship laws, and is not the case in non-German versions of the game. The game can be easily modified by users to include such graphics, but Paradox disallows discussion of this particular type of modification on their message boards.
Doomsday
In November 2005 a stand-alone expansion pack to the game, Hearts of Iron II: Doomsday, was announced. It was released April 4, 2006. It contains everything that was in the original game while highlighting and expanding the period after historical World War II, including a hypothetical nuclear warNuclear warfare
Nuclear warfare, or atomic warfare, is a military conflict or political strategy in which nuclear weaponry is detonated on an opponent. Compared to conventional warfare, nuclear warfare can be vastly more destructive in range and extent of damage...
between the Soviet Union and the Allies. The expansion pack features among other things a reworked intelligence model (which allows the player to use espionage, sabotage and other things in an "intelligence page" accessible through the main screen), improved AI and a scenario editor.
Doomsday also features some other changes and additions such as:
- Additional graphics such as bomber sprites
- Escort Carriers
- Hospitals that recover manpower losses
- A "do not upgrade" button for divisions
- The option of automating the production sliders
- Submarines have separate stats for convoy raiding and naval combat
- An extended timeframe — the game end date has been changed to 1953
- New technologies to bring the game into the cold war era
- An included scenario editor
- The ability to trade divisions between nations
- The ability to attach escorts while recruiting divisions
Armageddon
Another expansion was released in April 2007 in an alternate history scenario called Hearts of Iron II: Armageddon. It further allows more time and the player has the ability to choose 1964 as the end point. It allows the adding of modules to ships (such as improved radar, fire-control, anti-submarine or anti-aircraft weaponry) and submits two new scenarios for play, as well as an enhanced AI.Armageddon also features some other changes and additions such as:
- Player can allow or disallow democracies to declare war on the main menu options screen
- Player may choose when the time of play will end, ranging as early as 1947 to as late as 1964.
- Player may choose to get the full industrial capacity of an annexed country, or not.
- Player may choose to use tech teams of an annexed country or not.
- New brigade attachments for ships.
- Diplomatic option to refuse expeditionary forces from your allies
Iron Cross
Iron Cross is an stand alone game, based on Hearts of Iron 2 released as a digital download on October 7, 2010, developed by Irshappa. It expands the number of provinces on the map as well as numerous other additions.Features
- Play as one of 200 countries from 1933 to 1964, and interact with real ministers and leaders
- New map with over 4,000 new provinces
- More than 6,000 new events
- New tech treeTech treeIn strategy computer games, the technology tree or tech tree is a hierarchical visual representation of the possible sequences of upgrades a player can take, by means of research. The diagram is tree-shaped in the sense that it branches at certain intervals, allowing the player to choose one...
featuring 800 technologies, with a realistic research system - New units and brigades, including special units, infantry regiment, heavy artillery, and more
- New AI offering more options and greater depth
- New scenarios set in 1933 and 1934 as well as old scenarios adapted to Iron Cross
- Compatible with HoI II: Armageddon, Arsenal of Democracy and Darkest Hour
External links
- Paradox Interactive
- The official forum for Hearts of Iron II
- Hearts of Iron II at Paradox
- Hearts of Iron II demo
- Hearts of Iron II Wiki
- Mac OS X version
- Hearts of Iron II at GameSpotGameSpotGameSpot is a video gaming website that provides news, reviews, previews, downloads, and other information. The site was launched in May 1, 1996 by Pete Deemer, Vince Broady and Jon Epstein. It was purchased by ZDNet, a brand which was later purchased by CNET Networks. CBS Interactive, which...
- "Iron Cross, Darkest Hour Announcement"
- "Arsenal of Democracy Announcement"