Politics is not much different in Hearts of Iron 3. You can choose advisors which give you specific bonuses in certain areas, or you can chose to let the people elect their own government. This is not really a big issue in countries except the United States of America, and completely irrelevant in fascist countries like Nazi Germany. You can also change policies, and here is where there is another issue. Policies are clear-cut on which ones are good and which ones are bad. You want to go to war so you can change up your policies, because only the best policies are available during wartime. It would be nice if there was a wider selection of things to pass, especially in ways that offer good alternatives from the current status quo of war policies being the best.

Intelligence is useful for those looking to micromanage, but functionally useless in most aspects. You will be too focused on building up your armies to worry about intelligence, assuming that you are playing a European state or one of the major players like Japan or the USA. You can send spies to be a pain for enemy players, but it isn't really effective. Intelligence essentially acts like a sister screen to statistics. Where statistics is more about you, though, intelligence is all about the enemy.

Back on the main screen, you've probably engaged in combat with your divisions of infantrymen. Here's another problem with Hearts of Iron in general that has yet to really be addressed. There has never been a lot of visual feedback on the progress of a battle, and it's even less noticeable in Hearts of Iron 3. The numbers on the attacker's arrow is nice, but that is all you really have. There is also not a lot of stimulus regarding air raids on enemy camps. Finally, combat seems less like true warfare and more just stacking everyone on two tiles, having one province attack with a huge stack, and then having the other province flank with a same size stack. Rather than tactical or strategic thought, it feels more like a game of stacking and throwing at others. It's less prevalent in the latter parts of the game, when combat really diversifies and develops more rock-paper-scissors relationships, but it is an issue throughout the whole game.

The biggest problem with Hearts of Iron 3, without a doubt, is the crippling lag mentioned earlier. You may not experience this at first, but do not let it lull you into a false sense of security. On a system that can comfortably run the newest games on high to highest settings, Hearts of Iron 3 chugged on normal speed and downright skipped on fast speed. The fast speed is also not very fast, which leaves you sitting there watching a sputtering display while you read a book or do something else. This is not how a game should be played Some improvement in this area is drastically needed to make Hearts of Iron 3 more palatable.

The newest game in the Hearts of Iron series is certainly not for everyone. It has a few incredibly major problems, such as the aforementioned lag and the speed issues, as well as the overall lack of dynamism to liven up the gameplay experience and some minor issues with data accessibility (finding figues necessary for the running of your empire, we mean). However, those that can overlook these issues will find a gameplay experience that improved on its predecessor in every possible way. New mechanics for the functioning of several gameplay systems and a much improved interface elevate Hearts of Iron 3 way past its roots and into a game that is actually accessible to a larger audience. This is easily the definitive game in the series, and given Paradox's penchant for supporting titles long after release, it will no doubt only get better with time.