Old Gamers Never Die: A Case for Creating 'Crusade in Europe II'

As an occasional computer gamer, I often find it difficult to find a World War II strategy game along the lines of the late and much lamented Microprose Software's 1986 game Crusade in Europe.  Created by the now-legendary game designer Sid Meier with Ed Bever, Crusade in Europe was a map-and-icons simulation of the Allied campaigns to liberate Northwest Europe; as the product's promotional blurb put it, it put players in command of either the Allied or German forces  "from D-Day to the Battle of the Bulge!"

Cover of the user's manual for Crusade in Europe. (C) 1986 MicroProse Software

I've already written several posts, including a reminiscence, about Crusade in Europe so I will try to not repeat myself much here. I will, however, try to make a case for asking Firaxis Games (where Sid Meier holds court now) or any other game developer to follow up that classic with a modern-day sequel.

Now, there are plenty of computer strategy games with World War II themes out there. A quick search on Amazon using the keywords World War II strategy computer games will give you a GI haversack's worth of results, including titles of games that are "out of print" or otherwise unavailable.

Right now (in 2018), the go-to World War II strategy game appears to be Hearts of Iron IV from Sweden's Paradox Interactive. Released in 2016, Hearts of Iron IV is a "grand strategy game" in which players can recreate the World War II era on a global scale by taking any of the world's then-existing countries (including countries in South America) and guide them militarily, industrially, politically, and economically through the maelstrom of military and ideological conflict between three factions: the Allies, the Axis, and the Comintern.

I recently purchased three of the Hearts of Iron games in the series through Steam at the recommendation of a dedicated gamer I know "in real life." I have installed and tried Hearts of Iron II, III, and IV over the past month, and even though I like the visual and audio aspects of the games a lot, I also find myself thinking that I need a Ph.D. in computer science just to play the game.

(C) 2016 Paradox Interactive

On the surface, Hearts of Iron IV is a game that World War II buffs should go gaga over. I mean, from my perspective HoI4 looks like the love child of Sid Meier's Civilization and his earlier Command Series strategy games for MicroProse. Concepts from both of Meier's game series - especially Civilization (technology research, diplomacy, manufacturing of new units, and acquisition of raw materials) - are present in the Hearts of Iron franchise.

In my experience, though, I find myself overwhelmed by Hearts of Iron's sheer complexity; even with tutorial sessions and trips to YouTube for how-to-play tips, I have yet to figure out a way to play the game without feeling like a total ignoramus.

For me, Crusade in Europe has several advantages over Paradox Interactive's grand strategy game:

1. It is focused on one theater of operations (Northwest Europe)
2. It has a simpler user interface based on easy-to-remember keyboard commands

Hearts of Iron (especially Hearts of Iron IV) is insanely complicated, especially since I have never played Paradox's Europa Universalis series or any of its other grand strategy games. I love the graphics and sound; it has a wonderful soundtrack that often reminds me of Band of Brothers and other recent war movie themes. But most gameplay functions are based on mouse clicks, with very few keyboard command prompts.

My ideal solution? Create a more user-friendly strategy title, the sort of simulation referred to as a "beer and pretzels" game. It could have all the snazzy bells and whistles of Hearts of Iron but the intuitive and easy-to-use keyboard commands of the older Command Series games from the 1980s. 

How about it, game developers?