Hearts of Iron

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Hearts of Iron
Developer(s)Paradox Development Studio
Publisher(s)Microsoft Windows
Mac OS X
Producer(s)Johan Andersson
Designer(s)Henrik Fåhraeus
Joakim Bergqwist
Johan Andersson
Programmer(s)Johan Andersson
Henrik Fåhraeus
Patric Backlund
Artist(s)Dick Sjöström
Stefan Thulin
Marcus Edström
SeriesHearts of Iron
EngineEuropa Engine
Platform(s)Microsoft Windows, Mac OS X
ReleaseWindows
  • NA: November 27, 2002[1]
  • EU: February 28, 2003
Mac OS X
Hearts of Iron: Platinum
  • NA: September 21, 2004
Genre(s)Grand strategy
Mode(s)Single-player, multi-player

Hearts of Iron is a grand strategy video game developed by Paradox Development Studio and published by Strategy First. Based on the Europa Engine, it was originally released in 2002 for Microsoft Windows. A Mac OS X version was released by Virtual Programming the following year. In 2004, Atari, SA published Hearts of Iron: Platinum, an updated version that sought to improve several aspects of the game.

Hearts of Iron allows the player to take control of a nation in the world and guide it through World War II and the years immediately before and after it. Hearts of Iron is the first game in the eponymous series of grand strategy wargames. Three additional games have been released in the series: Hearts of Iron II, Hearts of Iron III, and Hearts of Iron IV.

Gameplay[edit]

Players play as a nation in the world in the years leading up to, during, and immediately after World War II. There are three main alliances in the game: the Allies, the Axis, and the Comintern. Nations in the game can attempt to join these alliances. Players can also control their nation's economy, government, and military. The game ends when there is only one alliance left or when the end date is reached; the winning alliance is determined through a victory point system, with points being given to alliances that control key regions or cities.[4]

Sequels[edit]

A sequel to Hearts of Iron, Hearts of Iron II, was released in 2005. Two spin-offs were created for Hearts of Iron II: Darkest Hour: A Hearts of Iron Game and Arsenal of Democracy: A Hearts of Iron Game. The third game in the series, Hearts of Iron III was released on August 7, 2009. Hearts of Iron – The Card Game was released as a free-to-play, browser-based collectible card game on October 3, 2011.[5] East vs. West – A Hearts of Iron Game was scheduled to release in 2014, but was canceled. Hearts of Iron IV, the fourth main installment in the series, was released on June 6, 2016.

Reception[edit]

The game received "average" reviews according to the review aggregation website Metacritic.[6] Tom Chick of Computer Games Magazine summarized Hearts of Iron as "an ambitious mess, a noble mess, certainly a well-intentioned mess, but ultimately a mess nonetheless".[14]

Hearts of Iron: Platinum[edit]

Hearts of Iron: Platinum was released in 2004 with the intention of improving several elements of the original game.[18] According to Metacritic, Hearts of Iron: Platinum received slightly more favorable reviews than the original Hearts of Iron.[15]

Ban in China[edit]

The game was banned in the People's Republic of China because of the game's depiction of Taiwan under Japanese control and Tibet, Sinkiang, and Manchuria as independent nations (historically, Manchuria was a Japanese puppet state and Taiwan was under Japanese control for most of the time period depicted in the game).[19][20]

See also[edit]

References[edit]

  1. ^ Dubin, Jayson (May 4, 2012). "Hearts of Iron Ships to Retail Stores Nationwide". GameZone. Retrieved March 26, 2023.
  2. ^ "MacPlay". April 10, 2005. Archived from the original on April 10, 2005. Retrieved March 26, 2023.
  3. ^ "VP Ltd ships MindRover, Hearts of Iron, Player Manager". Macworld. Retrieved April 24, 2023.
  4. ^ a b Bates, Jason (December 10, 2002). "Hearts of Iron Review". IGN. Retrieved December 3, 2017.
  5. ^ "Hearts of Iron – The Card Game". Paradox Interactive. Archived from the original on November 15, 2011. Retrieved December 3, 2017.
  6. ^ a b "Hearts of Iron for PC Reviews". Metacritic. Retrieved December 3, 2017.
  7. ^ Luo, Di (February 2003). "Hearts of Iron" (PDF). Computer Gaming World. No. 223. p. 94. Archived from the original on June 18, 2004. Retrieved December 3, 2017.
  8. ^ Ellis, Keith "DNM" (February 20, 2003). "Hearts of Iron". Eurogamer. Archived from the original on April 13, 2003. Retrieved December 3, 2017.
  9. ^ Osborne, Scott (November 26, 2002). "Hearts of Iron Review". GameSpot. Retrieved December 3, 2017.
  10. ^ Schutz, Jake (December 15, 2002). "Hearts of Iron – PC – Review". GameZone. Archived from the original on February 18, 2008. Retrieved December 3, 2017.
  11. ^ Ricketts, Ed (March 2003). "Hearts of Iron". PC Format. No. 146. Archived from the original on August 16, 2003.
  12. ^ Peckham, Matthew (February 2003). "Hearts of Iron". PC Gamer. p. 74. Archived from the original on October 17, 2006.
  13. ^ Emery, Daniel (February 11, 2003). "PC Review: Hearts of Iron". PC Zone. Archived from the original on April 29, 2007.
  14. ^ Chick, Tom (March 2003). "Hearts of Iron". Computer Games Magazine. No. 148. p. 78.
  15. ^ a b "Hearts of Iron: Platinum for PC Reviews". Metacritic. Retrieved December 3, 2017.
  16. ^ Tsotsos, Alex (November 26, 2004). "GameSpy: Hearts of Iron – Platinum". GameSpy. Retrieved December 3, 2017.
  17. ^ Knutson, Michael (September 13, 2004). "Hearts of Iron Platinum – PC – Review". GameZone. Archived from the original on January 17, 2008. Retrieved December 3, 2017.
  18. ^ Golze, Benjamin (July 23, 2004). "Hearts of Iron gets Platinum edition". GameSpot. Retrieved May 17, 2019.
  19. ^ "Swedish video game banned for harming China's sovereignty". China Daily. May 29, 2004.
  20. ^ "No cults, no politics, no ghouls: how China censors the video game world". the Guardian. July 15, 2021. Retrieved July 24, 2021.

Further reading[edit]

External links[edit]

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