14 DAY TRIAL // At their annual convention in New York, the publishers at Paradox Interactive have announced that they are working on a new expansion, called For the Motherland, for their grand strategy title Hearts of Iron III, which allows gamers to take control of any country during the years of World War II.
One of the main focuses of the expansion will be the political system of the game, which will be more dynamic and will allow for more cloak and dagger moves, like plotting and executing a coup against an enemy power.
Improvements will likely focus on democratic systems, making their internal workings more important to the way they fight their wars.
The developers are also promising an enhanced diplomatic system, talking about more interactions between the three main alliances in the game, the Axis, the Allies and the Comintern.
The expansion also offers battle scenarios focused on smaller pieces of the war, more decisions and adds more options to the theater of war concept.
A lot of the new features are based on what long time players have been asking for on the official forums of the company.
Hearts of Iron III is a complex game with a tough learning process, but it manages to replicate the World War II experience from many points of view, allowing players to either stick close to history and try to better the experience of their favorite races or to alter the course of events and aim for their own objective
The game has already released one expansion, Semper Fi, which expanded the naval aspect of the game and extended the scope of the theater system.
For the Motherland will probably be only released via digital distribution, with Gamersgate the first outlet to get it, and it does not yet have an official launch date, although before the end of 2011 is a good bet.