Great game, worthy of 4 out of 5, but not quite up to snuff as compared to the third title. Very time consuming, and easy game to sink many many hours into. Good sim game based firmly in the WW2 era, can also teach you a bit about the period and about different countries pros, cons and issues during the WW2 period. Overall, very high replay value, and additional mods only add to the fun.

The best grand strategy game of all time I highly recommend this game to any and everyone who like's/love's strategy games. This game will provide hundreds of hours of entertainment, along with satisfying your hunger for military,diplomatic,and economical conquest of the world as any nation. So stop wasting time and buy this game.

This may be just about one of the best strategy games of all time. It has a rather steep learning curve, and it took me a while, on and off to appreciate it and learn how to play it successfully. That being said, it's rather hard beating Germany in any case, but that is what makes this game even better than most - it actually challenges the player. Definitely highly recommended for all historic strategy players.

Firstly, please excuse me for the lack of specific examples, but the last time I played this game was several years ago, when it was new. I recently re-purchased it as part of a bundle, so in the middle of trying to reinstall it, I decided to quickly review it as well.

I am an old hand at strategy games (since long before computers could handle them), so when I first heard that this game was a comprehensive strategic view of WWII, I leaped into it wholeheartedly.

Broad view of the war it certainly has, with research, economics, politics and diplomacy all taking a part. Events allow a certain amount of "historicity" to be imposed on the game, as well as handle some of the more unlikely events to really happen (specific coups, electoral trends, etc), and choices tied to the events can create a reasonable amount of spread in historical paths, apart from those imposed on the battlefield. Research into a variety of different technologies can result in wild differences in military capabilities for individual units (armor vs speed vs weaponry, for example), and research into military techniques will result in wildly different capabilities for entire armies. Diplomacy might be a bit stilted, but what game doesn't have that.

It isn't for everyone, though. The AI is weak for real gamers, the event-driven paths might seem too "programmed" for some, and it is quite possible to invalidate some events, by having the battlefield pass it by, when battlefield events should spark new events or alter timing on others. fortunately, given the text-based data files, it is easy to create mods, and there are quite a number out there, and I suggest that no later than your second or third game you start to look for some of the truly fantastic ones out there!

So, given the price that this game is these days, give it a spin. It'll eat an impressive amount of your time!

Even if this game has little to offer compard to the Third, its still a very cool game. If you buy it you have to check out al the mods, they are fantastic,

Formidable WW2 strategy game that allows you to control nearly every single nation available during the time period. It allows you to explore the various possible scenarios and other 'what ifs' during WW2. Great game for strategy fans.

I have been playing the series for years and this is definately the top of the crop. For starter, this is a so called "Grand Strategy Game" putting you in command of a country of basically your choice in Word War 2. You have different campaigns, which let you start out from off different dates and preconditions. Beggining in 1936 with the build-up for war. Up to 1944 where you can attempt to turn the rudder around for the axis in the Battle of the Bulge and beyond.

Grand Strategy, because you in command decide upon everything from diplomacy, to research, defence and politics, industry management. Basically everything that matter for a country.

The player mainly controls the game from an overview map, moving his units around and a nonending stream of statistics and windows to control other aspects of the country. This means, graphically this game is not appealing, but the content and its wide range of possibilites and freedom guarantee nights and days of excitement when trying to take over the world.

Overall the game is not necessary friendly to starters and people new to the franchise or Gametype, but it is worth a try if you ever felt the urge to be a digital Leviathan.

Taking out the graphics which not matter really for that kind of game I hand out a 6 of 6 (With 6 being the highest grade) Well done, this is Paradox`s prime game up to date.

I was really skeptical at first about this game, but once I got the hang of the controls for the game it was probably one of my favorite stragity games. I would recommend people to buy this if your looking for a fun stragity game.

Definitely the best WW2 strategy game on the market, and a strong contender for the best grand strategy game. Both expansions add a significant amount of content to an already fantastic game, and you should pick them up in the Hearts of Iron 2 Complete pack.

The first Hearts of Iron was cool, but it was way too roughly-hewn to be thoroughly enjoyed. HOI2 is definitely the first game in the series that totally streamlined and clarified all the major gameplay concepts that are the hallmarks of the HOI series. Still as enjoyable as it was years ago, it is the base upon which excellent derivatives like Arsenal of Democracy and Darkest Hour are built. While not as good as those derivatives, it has a kinda collectible value - if you happen to find the HOI2-DD-ARMA compendium at $4.5 like I did, just go and get this piece of Paradox history !

Best WW2 game I ever played. This one had me hooked where I played it alone for almost 6 months and that never happens to me. If your just starting in this series though get aresenal of democracy which is a variation of HOI2 with all the expansions and a few extra items in one game.

I personally love this game for the scope and replay value of it not only do i recommend this to any and all fans of paradox and a good starting point to get the feel of paradox games

Apart from an extremely vague tutorial, hearts of iron 2 is an engrossing and highly addictive game. Highly recommended.

I was turned on pretty late to the Hearts of Iron series, but I have to say that I am a big fan. If you like the Civilization / Total War series, this is definately worth giving a go.

Its simply a classic from Paradox. The tech teams and combat are great as the overall feel of the Second World War from 1936 through the end of the war. The combat and leader system is simply much better then the 1st Hearts of Iron.

Hearts of Iron II is a fantastic war-oriented grand strategy game, set during World War II. Like EUIII you can play as ANY in-game nation and unlike EUIII you can lead any in-game nation to greatness!

HoI II (series, that is including DD and Arma expansions) is probably my favourite Paradox game, and I highly recommend it, especially for such a low price.

a very well done game that has a lot of replayability even though it has a steep learning curve. once learned, it is very enjoyable.

High replay value, exciting, complex yet easy to understand, it's just an almost flawless RTS! Managing production and research in this game seems almost real and it's just so much fun! Ok... the graphics are outdated. I've always defended gameplay before graphics, and this game does just that. The gameplay is amazing !

There are so many different things you can do during the course of one game it is almost baffling! If you love World War II or strategy games, than you should pick up this game.

HOI2 is one of the best WWII games on the market, although at this point it should be purchased as the complete edition with the expansions included since the improve the game in almost every respect. It follows history more closely than HOI3, which may be an advantage or disadvantage depending on how much you like alternate history scenarios. The AI is not as good as it is in the expansion packs and naval combat in particular seems to be a problem for it, which hinders the Allies from executing D-Day if played by the AI. The learning curve is a bit steep, so you may want to buy something with a better interface like Europa Universalis 3 if you have never played any of Paradox's grand strategy games before. That said, HOI2 is a great game well worth buying for a fan of WWII strategy games.

Recommend Doomsday over the "base" version but it is a nice economic buy to get a sampling of Paradox games. I don't recall the learning curve to be that high for this game and actually fount that it was more enjoyable when I was trying to figure things out because the AI was then a better challenge, once you get the hang of things you start to steamroll nations. At the time of its release was one of my favorite strategy games but it's hard to play now because of all the lacking features that Hoi3 has. If you like following history more closely, Hoi2 might be a more enjoyable game for you, but if you are looking for a more open/what if game, H0I3 is probably a better buy.

As a fan of Paradox's previous games (EU2 and 3) I recently bought HOI2 as I wanted to try their other historical games. I was not dissapointed.

The gameplay is more advanced and takes longer to learn before you can play well, however even the steep learning curve didn't stop me from enjoying the game as I like challenges.

On the whole, if you have enjoyed any of Paradox's previous titles like I have, then you should give HOI2 a go. I'm happy with my choice to try this game as my first "new" Paradox game.

Actually, I bought this game for a class, it is worth buying if you are into historically accurate strategy. However, the learning curve is very high and it is hard to get into. Rewarding for history and old school strategy buffs.

This game is good, but I recommend to buy HOI 2 Doomsday and also the Armageddon expansion. It will then surely get you caught in many, many hours!...

Hearts of Iron 2 is the greatest strategy game of all time. It is not without flaws, and the learning curve is notoriously steep, but the reward of taking the time to learn is one of the deepest and grandest games ever made. Get Hearts of Iron II: Complete to get the best experience, with both the expansion Doomsday and the booster Armageddon included.

The virtues of this game include all but eliminating micro management. This is not a speed clicking contest, like other supposed 'strategy games,' this is real strategy, with the management of the economy of an entire nation; the production and deployment of troops at the divisional level, and the leadership of that nation through the deadliest conflict in Human history.

Among the only shortcomings of the game are the naval combat system, and the aforementioned learning curve. Navies, which while less important than land or air forces is still a hurdle for the new player. Watch your navies carefully if you want to keep them. As for the learning curve, play the tutorial for the basics -- it might not be necessary in other games, but this one demands it or you'll never get past the first year of the game. There's always the forums for the other things you don't know. Lastly, make sure you have a year of your life to give to this extremely replayable game!

Make no mistake: this is the best grand strategy game ever. The amount of detail is just enough to keep you entertained and learning for hours and hours. The learning curve is very, very steep- but once you learn the mechanics, you can probably conquer the world with cuba. You can play as any nation in the world during WWII, each with its own leaders and policies. The research mechanic in this game is top notch, being simple and intuitive, while not holding your hand throughout the game.

But the best part about this game is the fact that you can go through WWII historically pretty much without fail; that, or you can start in 1936 and kill everything in your path from the beginning. It's your choice.

This would have to be my most favourite game of all times.Worth every cent, have spent hundreds of hours playing this game and it is still interesting and fresh.

This game is one of my all time favourites. I have spent more time having fun with it then any other game I have ever bought. It is a game you need to learn on your own without to much help from the tutorial.

Don´t buy this game. The tutorial is too vague and poorly written to follow - especially in the Advanced Warfare portion which is essential.