Hearts of Iron III

Hearts of Iron III allows the player to take control of any nation in the world and guide that nation through World War II. The player controls virtually every aspect of their country, including production, research, diplomacy, warfare, politics. and espionage. The game centers around three factions: the Axis (led by Germany), the Allies (led by the United Kingdom), and the Comintern (led by the Soviet Union). All other nations can slowly align with one of the factions. Nations are more likely to side with factions that they are ideologically and diplomatically aligned with. The player can use a multitude of different divisions, fleets, and warplanes to engage in combat with enemy forces. == Development ==

The first trailer from the Games Convention in Leipzig showed new features such as 3D graphics, possible due to the new Clausewitz Engine. Paradox also released a series of developer diaries and video showcases. Although happy with the scope of Hearts of Iron II, lead designer Johan Andersson wanted to improve upon every aspect of the game, starting again with a new engine. The game's artificial intelligence (AI) was designed to be able to achieve strategic objectives and control forces delegated to it, including whole theatres of operation. The AI can also remember and compare strategic possibilities as circumstances change. The content of the map was also altered; the number of provinces was increased to more than 15,000 over ''Hearts of Iron II's'' 2,600. == Reception ==

Hearts of Iron III initially received a mixed reception because the game shipped with a large number of bugs in the early release. After several patches eliminated many bugs, reception improved and the game received generally positive reviews. In 2009 December it had a combined average of a 77 on Metacritic and a 79% on Gamerankings. GamePro wrote, "Perhaps the worst problem is the interface itself, or more specifically, the amount of feedback it affords the player. In contrast to the old system, there is no instant way to assess how many divisions you have in each province, nor important values like their units' organization or combat values". On the other hand, the game has been praised as being "tailored for experienced strat heads and wargamers with a lot of patience, but the game is more accessible than either of its predecessors and a great jumping-on point for new players who want to make the leap into a grand strategy epic". == Expansion packs ==

Paradox Interactive released three expansion packs for Hearts of Iron III. On 6 June 2010, the expansion pack called Hearts of Iron III: Semper Fi was released. The Mac OS X version of the expansion was shipped from Virtual Programming on 23 July 2010. A second expansion pack named Hearts of Iron III: For the Motherland was announced on 27 January 2011. and released on 28 June 2011. The Mac OS X version of the expansion was shipped from Virtual Programming on 28 September 2011. On 22 November 2011, Paradox Interactive released the Hearts of Iron III Collection, which includes both expansions for Hearts of Iron III as well as all previously released sprite packs. On 6 June 2012, Paradox Interactive announced the third and last expansion called Hearts of Iron III: Their Finest Hour. It was released on 26 September 2012. The Mac OS X version shipped from Virtual Programming on November 9, 2012. ==See also==