GGWAW or HOI2?

[bigmed1204]

These two look similar at least on the surface. I wam wanting to buy one or the other. What is the difference exactly? The more complex one will probably win my money.

bigmed

[Oleg Mastruko]

ORIGINAL: bigmed1204
The more complex one will probably win my money.

GG WAW is the most complex game known to mankind.

[:D][:D][:D]

Seriously what do you want us to say? This is WAW board so people frequenting it are obviously biased, to say the least. Some of us are beta testers so we are double biased. Some of us tried and tried, but never managed to understand design behind HOI (and some other Paradox games). So some of us are double-plus biased. Double-plus biased as I am, I'd say WAW all the way. [8D]

Read the WAW FAQ.

O.

[AAGamer]

Well I think you might want to save your money for the moment.

I have HOI2 and I have been playing it constantly for a week and I a hard core gamer and I think it is too complex. You cannot finish a game in a week playing 8 hours a day. WAY too much micromanagement about tech's and many other quirks that it has at them moment. IE the ai sucks at times.. Where for the battle of britain the british dont build units at all.. Kinda stupid if you ask me..

I frankly am impatiently waiting on GGWAW even though I just bought HOI2 since I didnt want to wait. Kind of wish I had held on to my money. It has some fun (HOI2) to it but WAY to overcomplex for a game at the time being. I look forward to a game that I can finish in a night and have an ai that can beat me. PLUS no PBEM or such in HOI2.. YOu will live with the pause button..

PS>I not a play tester for GGWAW but I was for A&AEurope and Pacific.. LOL

[ravinhood]

It should come down to which is the "better" game and not which is more complex, complex does not necessarily mean a better game as in this case HOI 2 vs GGWAW.

GGWAW is the better game. It will have a better AI, it will have PBEM and multiplayer and it will make you laugh and cry, HOI 2 will just make you pull your hair out.

[Cheesehead]

Buy both...it's not like we're talking about a large investment. If 40 bucks strains your budget you need to get a (better) job.[:)]

[Serian]

Hearts of Iron 2 is very complicated and expansive. HoI2 is also fairly modable and very open ended (for instance you can indeed attack Japan if you play as Germany, but you might have a hard time with it). I tried the HoI 2 demo and found it to be daunting, however it is on my "to buy" list for when it comes down in price. I believe WaW will be much easier to get into, but it will be tough to master. I don't think either game is necessarily better than the other, they are both different enough to stand on their own.

[gunnergoz]

I enjoy HOI2 but I'll buy GGWAW because it looks to be a beautifully done and very playable game. HOI2 is a bit of a monster but it is very interesting once you get into it and the AI woes will be fixed with mods in the months to come. As it is, it plays quite well in my experience.

But these games are apples and oranges...you don't buy one instead of the other, you buy them both and savor each individually! [:D]

[bigmed1204]

Wow thank you guys for all the responses. I guess I'll be nabbing both. Too many games on the plate now. BiN, KP, WitP and now those two. Do i smell divorce? My wife probably will. haha.

bigmed

[Serian]

ORIGINAL: bigmed1204

Wow thank you guys for all the responses. I guess I'll be nabbing both. Too many games on the plate now. BiN, KP, WitP and now those two. Do i smell divorce? My wife probably will. haha.

bigmed

Divorce? Nah! You might sleep on the couch a few nights though. [;)]

I would definitely buy her lots of flowers and chocolates for Valentine's Day though.

[Grotius]

I like HOI2 well enough. I actually don't find it all that complex; I just find the real-time engine ultimately unsatisfying. It always seems like things are either happening too slowly or too fast for my taste. E.g., naval/air engagements happen too fast; land movement between provinces too slow. I do want to try it multiplayer, but again I fear that either the game speed will be too fast to think or too slow to be fun.

GGWaW looks like much more my cup of tea. The game mechanics may not be as complex as HOI2, but *playing* the game may require more thought. And I really prefer a game that lends itself to multiplayer. GGWaW seems tailor-made for PBEM.

[Sonny]

ORIGINAL: bigmed1204

Wow thank you guys for all the responses. I guess I'll be nabbing both. Too many games on the plate now. BiN, KP, WitP and now those two. Do i smell divorce? My wife probably will. haha.

bigmed

If you like WitP then HOI2 will not be too complex for you. HOI2 does have multi-player - of course it is not turn based so multi-player means playing online. The research system is far more streamlined than the original HOI and land,sea and air combat has improved since HOI. From what I have read here HOI2 has much more in the way of political/diplomatic detail. This is to be expected because the game is more complex.

As stated above, HOI2 campaign game (1936-1948)is not a game you play in one sitting. However there are smaller scenarios (kinda like WitP - one grand campaign and some smaller scenarios).


They are two different games from almost any perspective - except the subject matter is WWII for both. I have HOI2 and am planning to but GGWAW as soon as (whenever) it is released.

[Station]

Between the two games, I decided to wait for GGWaW. I've had Hearts of Iron since it's release and I just can't handle the ammount of things you have to oversee all the time.

Hearts of Iron made Star Wars Rebellion seem much easier. (I know it's weird comparing a ww2 strat to a star wars strat, but that's what the gameplay was most like IMO)Yup, it was easier for me to invade and entire universe and manage that then it was to manage less than a continent in HoI for me.

[solops]

ORIGINAL: Grotius

I like HOI2 well enough. I actually don't find it all that complex; I just find the real-time engine ultimately unsatisfying. It always seems like things are either happening too slowly or too fast for my taste. E.g., naval/air engagements happen too fast; land movement between provinces too slow.

I pretty much agree. The game is not really complex and is fairly easy to play. I don't have that much trouble with the time element. I prefer turn-based, but the continuous-time engine can be made to simulate turn-based with a little effort. Air & sea combat and land combat do move very different paces, making things difficult there. The interface is a bit kludgy in manipulating stacks. Data display is outstanding and it has real military counters (yippee!) available as well as toy troops icons (which do not provide some data that the counter do).

The manual is thick, comprehensive and illegible to anyone over 35 (itsy, bitsy letters on patterned paper).

It suffers from being a strategic/operational level game that attempts to work in tactical elements.

Where it really lacks is the AI. If they ever fix it, the game will be pretty good.

[ioticus]

ORIGINAL: solops


Where it really lacks is the AI. If they ever fix it, the game will be pretty good.

I've found that to be true in every wargame I've tried.

[bigmed1204]

Waiting patiently for GGWAW. although i think i am going to try and get the wife to buy HOI2 for me to tide me over until it rolls out. Any idea what kind of price tag it will have on it? Too many games....ahhh! PBEM can be friggin evil.

bigmed

[Cheesehead]

I got mine for $39.99 at EB.

[Moranga]

I think I will wait for GGWAW then if I do not care for it try HOI2.

What I am really looking forward is Computer AWAW, A World at War. This game is based on Third Reich/Advanced Third Reich/Empire of the Rising Sun/Global War formerly by Avalon Hill, now GMT games produces AWAW.

The PC will be a PBEM and Solitaire game. It is currently being made. I have no idea when alpha or beta testing will happen. Maybe in a year they will have something. Crosses my fingers!

AWAW already has a PBEM program at www.warplanner.com

The home page for AWAW is www.aworldatwar.com

[BoerWar]

HOI2 isn't worth the time at this point. The AI is very weak. I was playing my first game as Germany. The UK AI apparently hasn't built a ship since the game began. About 20 subs and 1 Naval aircraft has reduced the UK fleet to the point where my newfound Italian ally is on par with the UK. Same can be said of land combat. The AI does not press when it clearly has the advantage. In the air it conducts harrassing raids but not coordinated air ground offensives. On the other hand I like the research and production aspects of the game. Maybe after a few mods it will be worth the time, but not now.

[Moranga]

Isnt HOI2 up to mod 1.1

Did you upgrade it?

[mavraam]

ORIGINAL: BoerWar

HOI2 isn't worth the time at this point. The AI is very weak. I was playing my first game as Germany. The UK AI apparently hasn't built a ship since the game began. About 20 subs and 1 Naval aircraft has reduced the UK fleet to the point where my newfound Italian ally is on par with the UK. Same can be said of land combat. The AI does not press when it clearly has the advantage. In the air it conducts harrassing raids but not coordinated air ground offensives. On the other hand I like the research and production aspects of the game. Maybe after a few mods it will be worth the time, but not now.

Yeah, the naval AI is very lacking. I'm on the opposite side playing the Brits. I started in 41 and by mid 42 I have complete control of the Atlantic, Mediteranean and am in the process of crushing the Jap navy. I have 9 cariers, the rest of the world combined (including US) has 4! Plus, I've hardly lost a ship while I've sunk over 100!

I've also taken back all of N. Africa and most of the Balkans.

I love the game but the AI is still a joke. IMHO.

I don't however find it the least bit complex. I think the interface is great and even a country as spread out as the UK is fairly easy to manage.

Compared to say WITP, its tic-tac-toe!