This is an epic WW2 strategy game. The economics in this are tight. The battles are simple (panzer general style). You won't be wowed by graphics or anything but this is a gem of a game. You have to be looking for the right thing and I'll try my best to explain it.

- Events. This game is loaded with historical events and there are choices you can make (like a choose your own adventure book) and those choices allow you to impact the game one way or another. For example, Germany could be building a carrier and an event will ask you if you would rather convert it to a battleship and that then saves you some economic impact)

- You can control all the sides of an alliance (Germany + Italy for axis; UK, US, USSR, Poland, and France for Allies)

- You can tell the AI to control specific pieces. Russia, for example can be AI controlled while you manage the western faction

- This game has a decent technology tree that impact the game

- The diplomacy in this game is a roll of the dice but you can invest money to influence countries to join your faction

- The economics is tight. You will have to make tough choices.
- The AI is good. It will kick your butt if you aren't on your toes. It will not do something stupid. I don't feel I can manipulate it

Naval Combat is fun, BUT, the designer even admits he beefed up Germany for game balancing purposes.
- I love how the convoy system works and how you can raid it
- I think the naval combat could be a little better, but I find it to be fun. With Italy and Germany, you tend to either dominate or lose it all...it is really tough to keep a naval presence in this game!! (As it should be for them)

- It has a supply system I've never seen before. Be sure to really read the rules on supply or you will get destroyed and feel the game is unfair. It is fair, and it is winnable, but you MUST understand supply.

Now, for my final thing. I complained about how long it took the AI to take their turn. A developer contacted me, wrote me privately and worked with me and he changed the code!! He cut the AI time in half!! You just don't find dedicated support or service like this very often any more!!

Of course, I recommend this game. But it is challenging. And it handles WW2 at an epic grand strategy level. THe tech trees and diplomacy are functional but not flashy. It all goes into what you are looking for. This is a cross between Panzer General and Order of Battle, but covers the whole European theater versus a mini combat map.

I played more than 30 hours and then removed the game from my hard drive. About half the way in I only played on to have something to show for my frustration and to beat the game in spite of its large shortcomings. This game looks like a more in-depth version of the more casual classic "Clash of Steel" (CoS), except CoS was much better in the end...

I'm not a grognard but I played my way through games like "High Command" or "Hearts of Iron" (1 and 2) or Gary Grigsby's original Pacific War/War in the East, etc. I appreciate a good grand strategy game and I know at some point you have to abstract somewhat or even a lot but this game makes all the wrong compromises.

Pros:
* Simple yet fun research system
* Diplomacy system works (pretty much like CoS except no instant results)
* Units are upgradeable as technology advances
* Clean and uncluttered interface
* Resource management makes nice mix between research, buying new units, shifting units between fronts and overseas
* You can switch off a lot of scripted events
* Air cover, interception, and escorts work

Cons:
* Bad performance - AI turns take very long, even saving a game gives you two waits
* It's scripted - free units for the British when Axis reaches Egypt, no need to attack Norway or Denmark, just click a button
* Varying turn lengths - instead of properly implemented weather effects turns in winter take longer... yes, it takes longer to build units during the winter...
* Hot-diggity infantry - entrenchment happens fast and is the biggest obstacle in the game. Dominating factor.
* No stacking - the biggest limit for support units for the attacker is that each unit takes up one huge hex
* No coordinated attacks - instead of issuing a common order for all attacking units you have to attack one by one, have the first units absorb lots of losses. also: I hate the unit swapping rule
* Fog of war off + spotting rule = broken submarines - moving next to a sub results in spotting it
* Crazy Zone of Control - units with ZoC impede movement around them. Infantry can prevent armor from breaking through gap a because it projects ZoC even "behind itself." (It can even make moving next to it so expensive you can't finish your move next to it.) Makes armored warfare pointless, mostly minor encirclements also because in most places on the map there's no space to maneuver either. In this game armor is mostly useful for striking twice and its high attack value, not so much for bold moves behind enemy lines.
* Navy has no impact on amphibic assaults - you can evade entire Royal Navy by only moving port-to-port every turn. Only way for RN to prevent: line up in the channel blocking every hex.
* UK surrender conditions - You control Egypt. You push through Palestine. You have to push from London all the way up to Scotland to make UK even retreat to Canada. What gives?
* Don't invade the UK! Any success in Egypt or the UK just gets both the US and the USSR into the war.
* Game-y AI: Some say the AI is good. I think it's just built to exploit the game's broken entrenchment and ZoC rules.
* Super-huge support units - Artillery, anti-tank, and air-defense units so big they can fill huge hexes - and nowhere to fit them in any front line. Cannot attach artillery or anti-tank directly to infantry to give it more punch, but can add better "infantry weapons" and air defense.
* Silly scale - Just like the casual CoS infantry armies and corps share the same scale - and only occupy one hex. Also: Infantry corps super expensive
* Silly air units - you can have four dedicated fully upgraded naval bomber fleets (Germany's max) and they can barely, without enemy fighter cover, sink one battleship without taking moderate losses. Bombers take losses from attacking entrenched infantry with no anti-air of any sort. Bombers can eradicate land units completely from the air - not organization loss, but complete obliteration.

My list goes on and on, and I might add to it, but the point is: If you don't take it for historic, it might be a game of limited fun. As a "what if?" game it lacks appeal because it's so heavily scripted and even turning events off can only do so much. Even more casual games than this have the ability to stack units or do coordinated attacks, or to have some kind of flanking attack. A game that does not support stacking units or has a good flanking rule is pretty much a lost cause to me.

I bought this in spite of the high asking price because my PC can't handle HoI 3 or EU 4 for that matter. Even at half price I would have felt some buyer's remorse. I played a lot of actual strategy titles before and felt kind of misled by other reviews heaping praise on this one.

I used to play grand strategy board games back in the day, one of my favorites was Third Reich by Avalon Hill. Ever since I have been searching for a computer game version that captures the same interesting decision making. Most of what is out there right now is pretty bad, and I have tried many. Hearts of Iron was probably the best, but suffered from poor AI, as nearly all of them do. After purchasing one of these games I would immediately test the AI by playing the Allies, because playing Axis at the start of the war requires a very aggressive strategy, which is always the weak point for the AI in these games.

I have to say that the AI in this game performed extremely well. Poland was conquered by October 1939, and France by June 1940, despite my best efforts. After the invasion of the Soviet Union, it went on to capture Leningrad and I finally stopped it just outside the gates of Moscow and Stalingrad. After that I was able to turn the tide and conquer Germany by December 1944. Contrast this with the same experiment I did with Hearts of Iron IV, which took four months to conquer Poland and failed completely to conquer France.

I would definitely say this is the best WWII grand strategy game on Steam right now. I heartily recommend it.

I ve been playing turn based strategic games since the early 90s and I must say thisone is a true masterpiece. Since game is part 3 of the series, and after spending 100+ hours playing it, I must say its easy to learn basics and quite hard to master. Multiplayer is very challenging because game contains loads of possible strategies for axis/allied player (instead of first part of the series - SC1) .
From a grand strategy scale point of view - this game implemets MPP - military production points which Your side earns each turn from cities, mines&ports, used for purchasing various types of units (armies, panzer groups, corps, garnisons, AA, fighters, various bomber units...), research and diplomacy. Adaptability of usage of MPPs may differ from each game, since You must carefully watch research/diplomacy of the opponent to be able to counter it. Also, there are force limits, entrenchment, weather (very important) and various other factors which may be different from game to game and all this factors insuring that each new game will feel fresh and challenging.
Land, air & naval combat are also well balanced , although some players feel that axis bombers are a bit too strong, forgetting that they could have had that annuled with investment in AA research and upgrading units. This is what makes this game so unique, there are tonnes of possibillities how and where to go, but it doesnt make a big confusion. Decisions are relatively quick and easy to be done.
Great + comes from the historical events that occur from turn to turn. For example, Axis player may choose to occupy Norway by event, with no need to position and transport units. But if You choose yes for that event - U loose some MPPs. Allied player may choose for example weather to attack Vichy fleet with some percentage for success, loose some Mpps but also alligning Vichy government towards the axis.
Experienced players may find single player games a bit dull, but AI is very capable in dealing damage to unexperienced players.
Cheers for Hubert Cater and Bill Runacre, amazing game, game feels so good that I can hardly see possiblity of making SC4 ever (only graphics may improve)

One of those games that is (relatively) easy to learn but difficult to master (5K hours and still trying!). One that has that one-more-turn-before-bed effect and is great fun to play. And that's before you get into PBEM++ games where all you knew about the game is thrown out the window as you learn new levels of complexity. Well worth a try.

After 4 hours, I'd have to say this is an excellent game. A lot of things, politics, research, moving/combat have all been made easy to use ! It is a far cry from World In Flames (unplayable). You can easily use the game system and there is enough complexity to stay interesting. Again, its only been 4 hours, but excellent first impression !! Mike Ward, Aurora Colorado

This is a great game system, hindered only by the absurdity and historical inaccuracy of its scenarios and campaigns. Naval units are individual vessels and submarines, rather than flotillas & squadrons that would better match the scale of the game. The order of battle for nearly every belligerent is truncated, ahistoric, and poorly researched. Scenarios should be designed at corps level and below, with very few army level units. I built a 1939 campaign based on a historic order of battle and pared down offensive statistics for nearly every unit. It played quite well - much more realistically than the canned offerings that came with the game. I just can't understand why a software company would build such an incredible game engine and then populate it with such terrible scenarios. I am recommending it for the game engine only.

A DECENT FAIRLY EASY TO PLAY GAME WITH A SURPRISINGLY DIFFICULT AI

Play Hearts of Iron if you like planning wars. Play Strategic Command if you like fighting wars. This game is fun as f*ck.

i hate the people that created this bloody game, IM ADDICTED, lol
Its not quite playing w what was an astounding collection of toy soldiers growing up, but next to living thru the blitz or freezing in Stalingrad, this game is amazing

1227 hrs and counting --AMAZING- thank the gods of war IM retired or Id have been fired and or committed for addiction