What a happy surprise for me then, to load up Paradox Entertainment's upcoming WWII strategy title, Hearts of Iron, and find everything that made Axis and Allies the classic it is: a huge, historical map; deep, varied research; simple, varied units; and best of all, an easy, point-and-click interface. And how much more of a thrill it is to discover that underneath the boardgame feel is a surprisingly detailed war simulation, one that promises to steal countless hours of my day as I try to turn back the Nazi tide, or spread the glory of the Soviet Empire.

In fact, living out different scenarios is part of the charm of Hearts of Iron, which allows players to take on a number of different roles in the World War II period. Not only are players invited to take on the more traditional roles of Great Britain, The United States or the Soviet Union, but also slightly less stable positions like those of France or Italy. Looking at the world through the perspective of Poland in the late 1930s adds an entirely different air of urgency to the proceedings, and can certainly add a new flavor for even experienced wargamers. I can personally attest that staring down the barrel of both the Germans and the Soviets creates a whole new world of tension, and adds all kinds of meaning to the importance of preparation, resource management, and diplomacy.

Thankfully, Hearts of Iron provides players with options across all of those areas and more. Research, military, industrial and diplomatic administration are all controlled across a single menu on the left-hand side of the screen, allowing players to monitor their efforts worldwide. Based on the territories under their control and the convoy routes they establish, players generate key raw resources (such as oil, steel and coal) that are refined down into four fundamental capacities -- specifically, consumer goods, military supply, research and manufacturing. All of the players' activities are governed by the simple interplay between these four major resources, the balance between which is governed by a single slider bar.

Depending on which has their priority, players can then concentrate on the building of their infrastructure, their combat strength, or their research, all of which can increase their international standing and allow them to exert their influence over the rest of the world. With the right combination of prosperity and sabre-rattling, players can accomplish quite a bit without resorting to open conflict.

For those who prefer explosive combat, though, Hearts of Iron is happy to oblige. The statistics associated with individual combat units run a foot wide and a mile deep, offering bonuses and penalties for exhaustion, experience, researched upgrades, unit strength, weather, terrain and more. Armored units -- particularly those associated with the Germans -- have the ability to Blitz, moving quickly through enemy lines and penetrating deep into hostile territory, while various types of air and sea units can be called in to patrol or support ground troops as they engage in battle.

Orchestrating all of this is surprisingly simple. Units can be loaded into transports with a simple right-click, and can move into adjascent regions just as easily. Because the game moves in real time, unit moves can actually be scheduled for a future deadline, allowing players to organize an air raid to soften up defences, a Panzer sweep to scatter and disorganize the enemy, and an infantry advance to mop up, all over the course of a single day. Of course, enemy units can easily turn the tables and do the same, so open warfare can quickly turn very hectic. It's almost a relief that the fighting actually takes place off-screen, since players will need all the time they have to keep themselves in order.

That said, despite the boardgame look and feel of Hearts of Iron, it's not especially dazzling. The units are extremely simple, and often can only be distinguished from each other by the tiny flags flying behind them. Those who are expecting the unit-level battles of Shogun: Total War will be forced to play them out in their imaginations; Hearts of Iron plays out entirely in the macro scale. And while the real-time warfare can get a little hectic when the shells start flying, it can also get awfully gruelling waiting for the hours to pass until your first transport ships to hit the water. An option to fast forward hours or days at a time might allow players to pick up the pace through some of the dry patches, without disrupting too much of the flow of the game.

Despite all of that, though, Hearts of Iron is showing the potential for considerable depth in a market that seems all too happy to milk dry the real-time strategy cash cow. With the opportunity to play numerous scenarios and exhaust an incredibly deep research tree, Paradox Entertainment might finally be giving me a reason to dust off my hotseat once again.