Best WW2 strategy game?

[Poor mans sniper]

I LOVE World War 2 and am looking for a good strategy game of it. There are so many to choose from, but which one is the best? (RUSE doesn't have a nice Level of detail for troops for me, so don't suggest it)

[Steel Jaw]

Hearts of Iron 3.

[Grimes]

Company of Heroes by Relic is quite good. GREAT single player, pretty good muliplayer, good graphics even to this day. It is in a nice middle ground in terms of realism and game content to make it fun. Some units have special abilities which cost resources to use and can only be used so much, but everything is still fairly realistic.

[Poor mans sniper]

Hearts of Iron 3.

I have seen it before, but it doesn't give you a actual environment with buildings and such like Company of Heroes. Anyways, is Theater of war and/or Men of War comparable to Company of Heroes for singleplayer and gameplay?

[asparagin]

I have seen it before, but it doesn't give you a actual environment with buildings and such like Company of Heroes.

 

No, but you asked for best strategy game.

 

I would add Hearts of Iron 2 Doomsday or Armageddon to the list, similar to HOI3 but I guess it's a matter of taste some like it more.

[SNAFU]

If you like study-sims, Hearts of Iron Series is your best choice for strategy. Nothing compares to them on their level. ;)

 

But if you like nice graphics and effects, you might be wrong there.

[BTTW-DratsaB]

I would suggest Company of Heroes also. Absolutely amazing level of detail still astounds to this day. Also the amount of audio they recorded takes about as much HD space as a regular RTS lol.

[SUBS17]

Kampfgruppe is quite a good strategy game.

[EtherealN]

HOI3 really is the be-all end-all for WW2 strategy for me. I did greatly enjoy HOI2 with it's expansions, but the added detail of HOI3 (especially with Semper Fi expansion) is just perfect for my tastes.

[MrYenko]

Company of Heroes is amazing. That being said, it's not a WWII strategy game, rather, it's a hardcore competitive RTS with a WWII setting.

 

Hearts of Iron 3, NOW, is an amazing strategy game. At release, it was terrible, but a year of patches, an expansion that was mostly features that should have been in 1.0, and then more patches have made it actually rather excellent, if a bit micro-management heavy for my taste.

[Poor mans sniper]

O.K, I found 2 of the suggested games with HUGE bundles of the DLC and sequels on steam.

http://store.steampowered.com/sub/1529/

http://store.steampowered.com/sub/6640/

Also, I agree with the person above, way too much micro-management in Hearts of Iron.

EDIT: I just found a demo for Company of Heroes, Downloading, get back in a bit.

Edited November 19, 2010 by Poor mans sniper

[asparagin]

HOI3 really is the be-all end-all for WW2 strategy for me. I did greatly enjoy HOI2 with it's expansions, but the added detail of HOI3 (especially with Semper Fi expansion) is just perfect for my tastes.

 

Have you by chance played after patch 2.03c? How is the performance and gameplay?

[leafer]

I've never heard of Hearts of Iron 3 before this thread but a little reading revealed it has automate micromanagement tasks. I just wish it's a little easier on the eye.

[mibsk]

I had lot of fun with the "Blitzkrieg" series ...

[LordWolf]

What about men of war?

[epokha]

Close Combat IV! heaps of good mods and the battles are intense. I find the maps in CC5 to be disappointingly small. The graphics are 2d but looks and runs great on any laptop now.

 

The original theater of war was great. I bought the sequels but they tried to do too much. I found the AI to be too lacking and the control scheme wasn't upto it. I hate throwing away units because i can't control them properly or they are just too stupid...

 

OMG a 3d close combat would be great, or even pseudo-3d with bigger maps and a complete campaign (with a CC5 theater map) would be sweet...

 

I think i have hearts of iron 3 but i haven't gotten my head around all the point systems...

[Poor mans sniper]

What about men of war?

There is a demo for that too, I will look into it.

[EtherealN]

Have you by chance played after patch 2.03c? How is the performance and gameplay?

 

Not sure actually, I have it on Steam so it auto-updates. Last played it around a month or two ago and it worked beautifully, though I cannot say much about the automation features since I micro-manage everything in that game. :P

 

Epokha, good point! Close Combat is awesome, and I used to play CC2 and 3 with my brothers way back when they were new (and ruined their days completely with a few expertly placed machineguns that I made sure to not reveal until after I had snuck up a few Panzershrecks to handle their menacing armor :P). I had some vague hopes at first that Company of Heroes would end up as a nice spiritual successor, but when it turned out to be a WW2-port of Dawn of War I was a bit disappointed (even though it was still a good game, just not Close Combat-good :P).

[Poor mans sniper]

Yeah, I just finished the Company of Heroes demo and your units act like Toddlers with rifles due to their uncanny accuracy. I had a rifleman right infront of a Kraut and he missed almost every shot!:(

[asparagin]

Not sure actually, I have it on Steam so it auto-updates. Last played it around a month or two ago and it worked beautifully, though I cannot say much about the automation features since I micro-manage everything in that game. :P

 

I think it is the last patch. Thx!

 

About COH: I think it's a good game for it's league (mundane RTS: although it is clearly a tactical game, not strategy) because of the amount of options you get. And graphics, still now very good.

[epokha]

Here's the link for CCIV: Cross of Iron (A reworked version of CCIV). http://www.matrixgames.com/products/335/details/Close.Combat.-.Cross.of.Iron

 

Its a macabre work of art :P

[leafer]

Oooh I remember Close Combat.

[Steel Jaw]

Oooh I remember Close Combat.

 

As do I. If your troops get spooked they wont move, or may even rout and run away.

[Rusty_M]

Company of Heroes is very enjoyable. I've also heard a lot of good things about Men of War although I've never played it. It's frequently discounted on Steam and the likes though.

[leafer]

I remember that , Mower. I loved the game.