Hearts of Iron IV: Colonel Edition (PC DVD)

Big fan of the Hearts of Iron series & this new version has potential to be a very good game that I will no doubt play endlessly as I did with the previous versions. However, there are a couple of issues that need resolving. It was not made clear at all that to run this game you must have STEAM. I prefer to run games that can be installed & run straight off the disc without the need for connection to an external system so I was very surprised & a bit angry that I was forced into using STEAM to be able to play the game. At least this service is free so no real harm done but it would have been nice to have this information made available up front. The tutorial / help system is not very helpful. The way you play this new version of the game is very different to the old versions & many of the game 'mechanics' are not very intuitive so the lack of a good tutorial / help system is frustrating. All in all a very good game but you need to devote time to mastering the 'mechanics' of the game play.

Great game - I am a huge fan of Civilisation and Europa Universalis game series (I own every single one of them!), but for a strange reason never got my hands onto Hearts of Iron series before, although I knew it existed (too busy playing Civ 4&5 and EU4). So I had no pre-knowledge of HoI at all. I have to say the game didn't disappoint. I've spent probably a day just watching youtube videos and reading up on all the strategies and hav been through 3 campaigns none of which I have won - haha! mainly because as all Piaradox games it does take a while to find all the right options and strategies in the game. I absolutely love the MACRO and MICRO management you can in the game - you can control each individual unit or you can make a battle-plan for 100 divisions and you can preview how the battle plan will be executed even before it's launched. It is also re-playable many times, as if you switch off the historical events, you let the AI to decide on what to do next and it was quite funny to see how in one game France declared war on me (as Germany) in 1936 and completely threw all my plans and initial strategies.So overall - a very decent product. The graphics are in line with Europa Universalis series and they use the same game engine, which works absolutely fine. So, yeah - if you love Paradox games, if you love spending time - learning how to play games properly and if you have time to do it - then this is a good game to try out!By the way - I rarely write game reviews, but I just spent the entire weekend playing the game and I couldn't stop.. :) ok I stop here

Like some people i found the game idly whilst watching youtube and found it interesting enough to but and try it out by far one of the worst decisions i have ever made. For a person who doesn't game much about 6 hours a month at most this is a really bad idea.The graphics are okay but for a person who has never played this type of game before whether this one or any other type of game related to it like EU4 then this is hell. The game is ridiculously complicated with having to micro manage so many things added to that for anew players you will feelcompletely overwhelmed unless you have played the games relating to it and have an idea on how to play. The Tutorial is utterly useless just stating what things do rather than have a step by step guide to every single component and for people unused to this type of thing you need it not even tutorials online are any help.This will biased because i do not play games for challenge at all but rather for fun as such i do not like hard things and this game for a person of my attitude and in general to a person who has never experienced this type of game play before is an utter nightmare. I am sure to people who are able to handle this type of game that the game is quite enjoyable and fun but after a few hours of play not enough directions on how to play on even a basic level i have grown to utterly despise it. And as such will use it as a tea coaster since thats all it will be useful for.As a result do not buy this game unless you have played games similar to it and whilst i cant speak of civ6 it is nothing like civ5 far more complicated and civ5 actually has a decent tutorial for new players. So i will repeat unless you are use to this type of game DO NOT BUY IT.As such it has been a utter waste of money

Brilliant simulation of the era, remaining both historically accurate to the events of the era, whilst enabling you to steer your faction through a ahistorical path. The games interface is so intuitive, that it took just a few hours of gameplay for me to understand the mechanics of the game, overall a step up from prior paradox titles and releases, and my personal favourite.

Seen all the wooohoooo about this game and thought i would give it a try....well wish i had spent my money on something else.After much time building my forces for a push forward i had 180 divisions in the middle east all massed for an attack...clicked the button and off they went.....they got about 3 or 4 sections into the mission...got attacked by 10-15 divisions got pushed back past where they started and 30 of my divisions just vanished wiped out....gone.18 to 1 and i get hammered and lose 30 divisions...lol.......Utter Utter bulls***...what the point if the games just makes its own rules to stop you any way it likes....i don't mind a hard game but please......

got for my son he says its good.

The game developers have now a reputation for (allegedly) spewing out so many DLC (downloadable content) that for all their titles -the combined DLC list will not now fit on one single standard browser web page -which reflects this unhappy reliance on changing base games for change's sake (some would argue). The cost of all Paradox's DLCs is astronomical, now well into the 4-figure range. Astounding.Here we have Hoi4; a dumbed down experience from its excellent predecessor which will rely on current and future DLC to make it "whole".We live in sad times.

Complex but very realistic best ww2 strategy to date