Hearts of Iron III

I picked up HOI3 a few years ago on Steam and frankly I couldn't keep my hands of it. It's the only game on record that has forced me to take unplanned leave from work because I was gaming through the night. The game is very addictive and very fun to play once you learn how. At first, I didn't have a clue what I was doing. I was just researching and building up massive armies using the template divisions provided by the game. Then I had a talk with a friend who was a veteran HOI3er. He explained the importance of army divisions (what brigades belong to each division and how to combine them to get the best combined arms bonus). Creating specialized divisions for the type of enemy and terrain you were encountering became crucial. The army structure: Divisions into Army Corps into Armies into Army Groups into Theatres becomes essential and is best planned ahead. Every time I start a new play, I spend hours only doing the organization of the army. Assigning the right leaders to the right divisions (yes, leaders have traits, and since "Their finest hour" DLC, they are also gaining new traits as their division is fighting) is both fun and tedious. Yes, the learning curve for this game is pretty steep. It was my first experience with the HOI series and I had to watch hours of tutorials on-line to get some real grip on the basics. Micromanagement is at it's finest here, but the game still allows some of the actions to be controlled by AI, and it's doing a good job. The only major power I played with was Germany(Brits, US and Soviets will follow...). As a minor power, I really enjoyed playing as Romania. Once I've stayed completely neutral and invested everything in technology and by 1946 I was the only country to have the atomic bomb. Another time I allied myself with the Germans and conquered half of Europe. Possibilities are endless. Simply put, I love this game. P.S. If you do invest in this game the DLCs are totally worth it.

games should not require dlc to properly function paradox.

Out of the box, the base game is seriously broken. Paradox released this thing well before it was done. Fortunately, they quickly patched it (repeatedly), and by the 1.4 patch, it was fairly decent aside from some seriously wonky AI behavior on occasion (Japan invading Finland for no rational reason, etc.). You really need at least the first expansion (Semper Fi), and the patches for that expansion, to bring this game up to its potential. The subsequent expansions (For the Motherland and Their Finest Hour) add "bells and whistles", and are mostly an improvement, but aren't essential to the core gameplay, in my opinion. The steep learning curve and poor excuse for a tutorial make it difficult to get into, but it's definitely worth the effort if you're at all into the time period. Once expanded, it becomes simply the most detailed and historically plausible WWII game on the market (including its silly sequel: HOI4). Not that it lacks its share of problems, but the depth and detail, and the ability to play practically any country in the world, keep me coming back again and again even after over half a decade of frequent play. Probably my 3rd most played game over almost 40 years of gaming.

So I've played HoI 2, HoI 3 and HoI 4. I got HoI 4 as a gift from a friend last year, but didn't get to play it till Christmas time. Looks nice, the Industrial production changes are good and... that's all. The military aspect has been dumbed down, or simply broken with a bad AI that requires you to micro manage way more than before, that it takes away all the joy from fighting. Also, when you see Poland taking on the URSS and take Moscow within a month you know something's off. Anyway, I was so dissappointed that bought again HoI 3 (I had the CD-Rom in another country) and the expansions. Started with one of the scenarios and then a campaign and although the UI ans graphics are obviously a few steps back, it's simply much more enjoyable than HoI4. Yes, combat requires more attention, but it's not broken ans you are not penalized by not using AI. Also, it's surprising than in HoI3 you can see much clearer how the battles are going and why your units are losing or winning. This is a true WW2 game. I'm spening my 2022 with this and Steel Division 2.

Without doubts, HoI3 is the the most complete grand strategy game available .. And without doubts, you'll suffer no matter how much you will love the game. The biggest problem of hoi3 is paradox interactive and theirs approach of lazy and greedy cunts ... now on GOG (hello guys, you're great) it's not so apparent, but when the hoi3 was the current HoI game, paradox was just behaving exactly as described above .. Patches fixing bugs were bundled in paid DLCs, content was split, paradox were behaving like petty dictators on forums silenting all voices that were not praising them ... game itself is must-have for history fan, but retarded for avid player. AI is criminally stupid, there are tens of reported bugs that were ignored completely. On the other hand, if you want some grand strategy from ww2, there is no other choice so with sale on GOG, it's easy decision ... go for it if you don't have it already .. you will hate paradox, you will hate this game, but addiction works and you'll spend endless time inside ...