Hearts of Iron 4 for Windows

Hearts of Iron 4 is a global strategy in which the player will have to take over the rule of one of the existing states and lead it to victory.

The game Hearts of Iron 4 not only covers military operations, but also provides a wide range of opportunities for the development of your country: the production of equipment and equipment for soldiers, scientific research, domestic politics, diplomacy. Each of these areas of activity is thought out to the smallest detail and the mechanics of their work (as well as the mechanics of the game in general) are not always easy to understand. HoI4 stands out among the majority of global strategies for its “ill will towards the player”, in other words, the complexity of this game only attracts.

Hearts of Iron 4 Review

Combat system

One of the main moments of the state, of course, is the fighting. The concept of the battle system is quite simple: select units, draw a trajectory on the world map (for example, along the border or to the rear), and give the order to start the battle. The game features the so-called combat tactics, which gives a deeper immersion in the gameplay process when preparing for a battle.

Also, the developers gave air support much more importance than in HoI3: now aviation enters the battle together with ground troops (with a bonus to some attributes), instead of conducting separate air battles.

Industry

Production at HoI4 is divided into 3 factories:

1. military (where military equipment and weapons are produced);
2. civil (construction of buildings and infrastructures, production of civilian goods);
3. shipyards (shipbuilding).

This division is done primarily in order to balance the industrial strengths of different countries.

For factories to work, you need to collect a certain amount of any resources; in the event of a shortage of this or that resource, the industrial potential will decline. Production lines also bring their efficiency: as more equipment / weapons of one type are produced, the productivity of this line will increase. For example, after a long “stamping” of the T-34, the efficiency will drop sharply if at one moment we switch to the production of the T-43. Unlike HoI3, where industrial buildings were free to repair, HoI4 needed civilian factories to repair, which is much more realistic.

Politics

The political component of the game Hearts of Iron 4 can be roughly divided into several aspects, each of which gives the necessary amount of “goodies” to win.

National goals are a kind of promises to the people. A certain number of policy points must be paid for each goal; after the “promise” is fulfilled, the spent points are returned and additional points are given as a reward.

The state has to hire the government. Depending on the government you hired, you will either have to pay to support his work, or receive policy points from him. The country also needs ministers. Each area has its own ministers with different effects, for example: depending on the minister, aviation can either avoid the penalty from weather conditions, or speed up the gain of experience.

Elections are also an integral part of every country. If the population is dissatisfied, this can lead to a decline in support for any parties and the people’s spirit, which is quite critical in a war situation. For example, democratic parties with a low level of support will be replaced by authoritarian ones, turning the country into a dictatorship.

Summary

Considering how vast Hearts of Iron 4 is, how much freedom it gives the player for action, there will never be a desire to pick up a “tutorial-guide” for this game (although of course, there can be no manual). Several dozen, and maybe hundreds of hours of fascinating “reign” will enslave, if not all, then certainly many strategists-gamers. It remains only to wait for the official release of this global masterpiece.