I have played around 400 hours of this game, and I loved everysingle moment of it, the base game, is quite enjoyable, although several minor nations get ignored, the russia vs germany, and then the D-day landings, are quite realistic events. Although if one would wish, they could go into the realm of mods, and get such mods as BlackIce Mod, which overhaul the gameplay, to more historical, settings, with all nations having their adequate, units, and technology. This game, holds the best combat, in all of the Paradox Strategy games.

HoI 3 is probably the best strategy sim i've played. Paradox are known for such games, and though they're all incredibly fun, HoI 3 is definitely my favourite, due in-part to its authenticity, variety and depth (which makes up for its small scope). It's probably the most difficult Paradox game to get into, but it's incredibly rewarding to play. With all the DLC, it's truly fantastic seeing units change in appearance on the map as they're upgraded through the deep tech tree -- tanks evolve, infantry weapons and uniforms change, planes alter their designs... So why only 60/100? Because the game is still in an awfully broken state. Paradox created one of the best strategy games ever, and yet from release to the present day, it's been a broken mess. The last patch for the game was almost 2 years ago, and the game still has incredibly prevalent crashes and a severe memory leak -- issues that don't exist in other Paradox games, which utilise the same game engine. It's a horrible shame, because it's truly a fantastic game.

This is one of the greatest games of all time.. There is a great deal of work when you want to play it so if you are not serious about playing it then it may be a bit to much for casual gamers. Saying that, the game can be overwhelming but if you give it 100% of your attention it can be really great. They added the ability for the computer to control certain micromanaging which is a welcome change from the previous edition

The game is a great step forward from HoI2. The command chain is impressive and the modular divisions give the player a lot of room to customize their armies. What many people don't really grasp is that the research system is very realistic. You are neither looked in historical options, nor can you disregard the traits your nation have. You start out with both theoretical and practical capacities in a wide range of areas, and the more you focus on thiose areas the better you become. But the reverse is also true, for example. Germany is good at submarines at the start of the game, but if you as Germany don't build a single submarine or even research submarine technology, then your capacity in both submarine research and building subs will dwindle. The game is very playable with the current patch 1.3, and it will be supported further.

Hearts of Iron 3 is an extremely in-depth wargame that simulates World War 2 and the time around it. You can play any country in the world and control its diplomacy, economy, military, and espionage system, although the major powers of the war are usually more fun to play. There's a LOT to do in this game, and it can be overwhelming for the new player. The learning curve is very high, but if you put in the time to learn the game (mostly through trial-and-error and watching YouTube "Let's Plays," as the tutorial only explains the interface without telling you how to actually play), you'll find that it's a very good representation of the war. I would suggest picking up the various expansion packs for the game, as well, as they add new systems, including battle scenarios (which can serve as a limited introduction for newbies), as well as make the AI stronger.