Fans of grand strategy, prepare to lose another hundred or so hours of your life - Hearts of Iron 4 is on its way, and developer Paradox has released the very first in-game footage.
Okay, so there’s not that much actual gameplay to see, just a brief glimpse of the German invasion of Poland and a little history lesson. If you want to get a closer look, you might want to sign up for Paradox’s ‘Rush to the Front’ pre-launch reward campaign.
You can sign up to one of three factions - Axis, Allies and Comintern - on the main HOI4 website. Once a certain number of fans register, Paradox will unlock a bunch of bonus content, from closed beta invitations to secret DLC packs. Those beta invitations aren’t easy to get, though; you’ll need to get as many people as you can to sign up for the programme, ”10 beta invites will be distributed randomly within the crowd of the most dedicated generals who successfully referred 20 or more people,” explains Paradox. On second thought, it might be best to wait. I don’t even know 20 people.
“Hearts of Iron IV challenges players to face the brutal conflict of World War II in a multifaceted grand strategy game,” says Paradox, ”where history can be fully relived or rewritten from the perspective of a global superpower attempting to change the world – or a small nation simply trying to survive. Strategy fans will discover the most authentic real-time simulation of World War II to date, with authentic historical figures battling on land, sea, and air with period-accurate armies, vehicles, and newly discovered weapons of mass destruction – along with plenty of diplomatic and trade tactics.”
Hearts of Iron 4 is scheduled for release in early 2015.
