It isn't perfect, but World War 2 geeks will love this game.
The origin of Making History II: the War of the World is somewhat unusual. It was designed as an learning mechanism for teachers of modern history and has since evolved both in ideology and intent into the game presented today. This origin marks the game as something a little different from the majority of hardcore strategy games. However, switching goals through development is fraught with danger in games development and whilst this background does give the game a unique soul, it does not guarantee good gameplay. Indeed, it is with fevered hope for the developers sake, this is simply one of its stage of evolution.
Perhaps it’s the strength of the reputation championed by Making History II: The War of the World’s closet peers was convincing enough however, as while the game mimics much of The Creative Assembly’s Empire: Total War, it adds a much more complex financial system to the formula. The Creative Assembly’s Total War series has always been about aggressive dominance, and while that is the ultimate goal of Making History II: The War of the World, getting there is a much more complicated set of negotiations. In fact, while the combat and forces employment is largely based on that of Empire: Total War, the monetary system is closer to that of Sid Meier’s Civilisation.
In retrospect, the most disappointing thing about Making History II is that it seems like Muzzy Lane put a lot of effort into making all of those unique units and depicting the ethnic makeup of the world as it was 70 years ago. Unfortunately, the game is plagued by performance issues, uninspiring combat, and an insane depiction of international relations.
On the bright side, numerous updates for the game have been released in the past few weeks that have improved performance and crushed numerous bugs, so Making History II might one day be a functional game. As it currently stands, however, it's not worth either your time or your money.
