Currently On The Road to Review:

Darkest Hour: A Hearts of Iron Game

Real-Time Grand-Strategy: a game genre that’s as complicated to say as it is to undertake but in the best possible way!

Paradox Interactive, a former division of Paradox Entertainment, are hitting 2011 hard with a HUGE list of releases. Among others you can expect to see Sword of the Stars II: The Lords of Winter, Pride of Nations, Salem, King Arthur II,  and this newly released title Darkest Hour.

“Darkest Hour is a stand-alone Hearts of Iron game featuring a mixture of short and in-depth campaigns set across the darkest chapters of the 20th century, from the outbreak of the Great War up to the onset of the Cold War.” -Paradox Interactive

And when they say “in-depth” they aren’t kidding. Granted, it has been many moons since I fully immersed myself in any type of real-time strategy game, let alone a GRAND strategy wargame like the one here, however all of the time eating action and addictive concepts are seeping their way back into my gaming limelight. There is a steep learning curve, for me, being satisfied here and therefore the review of this April release may be a while still to come.

Gameplay features in Darkest Hour include:

• Short and grand campaigns allow players to experience the darkest hours of the 20th century, from the Great War to the onset of the Cold War
• New map, redesigned to offer greater detail as well as strategic and tactical opportunities
• Dynamic diplomatic system giving the player greater influence on the course of events
• New artificial intelligence capable of reacting to hundreds of different situations