Hearts of Iron Critic Reviews

A compelling WWII grand-scale sim. When I say "grand," I'm talking about a King Kong Burrito Supreme with extra sauce and tripple toppings.

Had there not been a load of stability problems and random crashes, this game could have easily been of A quality. This baby is really an incredible war strategy otherwise.

It's highly addictive and once you get over the learning curve (which is steepest in the wacky resource management part of the game), you'll find it deep and interesting.

For those considering entering the world of war games, however, HoI has somewhat of a cruel learning curve that's accentuated by pockets of boredom and frustration - and not all players will enjoy the real time nature of the title.

It's made complex because of the user interface, which is anything but logical and intuitive. There are too many instances where doing something simple can be needlessly complicated.

It’s loaded with replay value, given the enormous number of permutations involved, and for those who can deal with it, it will turn out to be massively rewarding.

The learning curve is a huge hump to get over.

Big, complex, and definitely not for a casual player seeking a little light entertainment.

A.I. nations will usually disintegrate, and you can conquer half the world without much trouble.

The casual gamer should steer well clear. It just isn’t very friendly and not the type of game you can drop into for a quick burn.

All of this detail and complexity may be a dream for micromanagers, but all of the options do not seem to have much of a noticeable effect on the game.

An ambitious mess, a noble mess, certainly a well-intentioned mess, but ultimately a mess nontheless.

A real disappointment.