Playing any nation in Hearts of Iron IV [official site] beyond the big players, like Great Britain or Germany, is a lot like sitting at the kid s table. The pace is slow, there are less complex decisions to make, and it never feels like anything that s going on is nearly as important as what s happening at the adult s lavish banquet table. They re dragging the world into a global war while you re wondering if you ve been completely forgotten.

Together for Victory promises to change that, at least for the Commonwealth countries: Canada, Australia, South Africa, India and New Zealand. The expansion gives these five nations a serious makeover, and they now sport unique national focus trees, historical and speculative events, and more freedom even while they remain stuck to Britain.

… [visit site to read more]

Hearts of Iron IV [official site] has today launched its first expansion, Together for Victory, but just as importantly has released a big patch fixing a lot. While the expansion focuses on the British Dominions and Commonwealth and introduces an autonomy system, while the update in theory does a fair bit to improve the AI. Some players are reporting the game has started crashing for them but, for now, a workaround is helping with that. … [visit site to read more]

The first expansion for Hearts of Iron 4 [official site] will hit next Thursday, December 15th, developers Paradox announced today. ‘Together for Victory’ focuses on the British Dominions and Commonwealth states, making them more unique and interesting with new alternate histories, new unique art, new National Focuses and so on. The base game is a bit lacking so it’ll be interesting to see what direction Paradox are taking it in with expansions. … [visit site to read more]

An entirely objective ranking of the 50 best PC strategy games ever made, now brought up to date with the riches of the last two years. From intricate wargames to soothing peacegames, the broad expanse of the genre contains something for everyone, and we’ve gathered the best of the best. The vast majority are available to buy digitally, a few are free to download and play forever. They’re all brilliant.

… [visit site to read more]

As the remains of the British Empire crumble into the sea, here comes the first Hearts of Iron IV [official site] expansion to, er, in Paradox’s words, “[shine] a bright light on the British dominions and colonies that rallied around the flag in England’s darkest hour.” Hash tag topical. Hash tag good luck with that now pal. Mash tag two veggie sausages and beans, thanks. Paradox don’t say when Together for Victory will come out or how much it’ll cost but hey, they have whipped together a wee trailer to set the mood: … [visit site to read more]

Like Fred Durst and the Nazi war machine, Hearts of Iron IV [official site] patches keep rollin’ rollin’ rollin’. Paradox today launched Patch 1.2, codenamed Sunflower, which focuses on improving the WW2 grand strategy game’s AI and user interface but also fiddles with balance and… history? That doesn’t seem safe.

… [visit site to read more]

This is the second and final part of Fraser’s attempts to paint the world red in Hearts of Iron IV [official site]. You can read part one here.>

It s a new dawn for Britain. As WWII gets ever closer, the glorious Union of Britain, now a communist superpower, is enjoying its liberation from the shackles of capitalism and democracy. Ignore the tears in the fabric of space time it s a small price to pay for setting history right.

There s little time to settle into this new communist groove, however. The majority of the world is still crying out for a saviour, from our pals across the Irish Sea and the Atlantic, to our continental buddies. The biggest problem is picking which country to save first.

… [visit site to read more]

What if the UK was communist, I wondered as I munched on a gruesome burger from McDonalds while browsing for a new pair of Converses on my oversized smartphone. Would I finally have the confidence to pull off a bushy, Stalinesque moustache? Would those red trousers which I bought on a day I lost all sense, but never wore, suddenly look good on me?

To give direction to my aimless pondering I fired up Paradox s grand strategy-wargame hybrid, Hearts of Iron IV [official site]. Not just a World War II simulator, it s a What If scenario generator, answering the big questions like: how can Germany win the war? Can Argentina take over South America? And, of course, what if the UK was communist? Let s find out.

… [visit site to read more]

Paradox release some cracking games, but they often need a patch or two to start to shine. If you’ve been waiting for Hearts of Iron IV [official site] fixes, good news: Paradox today launched the first major patch for their new WW2 grand strategy game. Along with the usual bug fixes, crash fixes, and balance tweaks, update 1.1 gets stuck into improving the game’s AI.

This also means we can start enjoying more of the weird fun patch notes Paradox’s complex sims often bring, such as “King George V only dies once, now.”

… [visit site to read more]

Like a man dancing to Belle & Sebastian, last week’s best-selling Steam games saw some shaking at the top but not a lot of movement below. IS YOUR FAVOURITE GAME HERE AND WHAT DOES IT SAY ABOUT YOU AS A PERSON IF IT’S NOT? … [visit site to read more]