#Hearts of iron 4 review how to#
#Hearts of iron 4 review upgrade#
#Hearts of iron 4 review series#
#Hearts of iron 4 review windows#

#Hearts of iron 4 review windows#

The lack of battle results or casualty windows means that its nigh impossible for me to understand important factors, like how well my new tanks are doing, or the amount of soldiers that I’ve lost in a particular battle. Aside from an arbitrary number representing air superiority, there is no way for me to see the effects of my strategic bombing campaign. Many important casualty statistics are missing from the game, and it is incredibly frustrating. First of all, there are almost no after action reports.

In its bid to make Hearts of Iron 4 more accessible, Paradox tripped up in a few major areas. Its not a revolutionary change, but its definitely a welcome one. Hearts of Iron 4 adopts a more standard method of research, employing an easy to understand research tree for each of the 11 different research categories. Previous iterations of Hearts of Iron had players scrounging over a massive 12 page research “tree” that focused on researching the same item multiple times. Jumping in and micro-managing important phases of the battle plan is also possible, and sometimes necessary due to poor decisions that the generals sometimes make.Īnother major improvement that Hearts of Iron 4 makes over its predecessors can be found in the research tree. Instead of micro-managing 150 divisions, players can now easily assign strategic objectives, and let their generals do all the micro work.

#Hearts of iron 4 review series#

When selecting an army, players can set a front-line and draw a series of arrows to represent where they want that army to attack. The addition of battle plans is undoubtedly the biggest step towards accessibility. New players are no longer thrust into a confusing wall of text, and are eased into the complexities and nuances of managing a major nation in World War II. The tutorial for example has received a massive overhaul. “Hearts of Iron 4 conveys all relevant information on a single, beautifully refined map.”Īside from visual upgrades, Hearts of Iron 4 has taken many steps towards improving accessibility and reducing clutter. Gone are the days of fumbling through weather/terrain/day/night map modes to decide the best plan of attack, as Hearts of Iron 4 conveys all relevant information on a single, beautifully refined map. This is immensely important when it comes to introducing new players to the franchise. Consequentially, the best armchair general only needs a quick look at his front-line to understand the current state of the war. Retreating units stumble from battle, advancing units charge into battle while the assisting divisions kneel and take aimed shots at the enemy. Every single animation, from dog fighting over your front-line, to the snowstorm on your eastern front, represents important strategic information that Hearts of Iron 4 can convey to you without the use of any menus.

#Hearts of iron 4 review upgrade#

The most important part of the visual upgrade is its ingenious method of relaying useful information to the player. All this serves to capture a gorgeous visual representation of the chaotic scale of World War II. The army sprites are faithful recreations of historic units: BF109 fighters clash in the sky with B-25 bombers, German U-Boats intercept convoys in the ocean, Panzers charge towards entrenched French colonial soldiers. The Hearts of Iron series has never looked so good the massive, beautifully rendered map is complimented by a day/night cycle and weather effects. Hearts of Iron 4 attempts to do away with the needless complexities while retaining the depth and immersion of its predecessors.

#Hearts of iron 4 review how to#

The long winded tutorials, complex hidden menu systems, and 87 page user manual meant that new players had to dedicate dozens of hours just to learn how to play the game. However, I always found it difficult (if not impossible) to convince my friends to play it with me. Few other games can capture the sweeping complexity of the war in its entirety. As a both a World War II history specialist and a grand strategy enthusiast, the Hearts of Iron franchise has always been important to me.