Weekly Update #234! Paradox Uses Alternate History in New Hearts of Iron IV Trailer (and more)

Weekly Update

Every time I think of turning in my gun and badge (ever alternate historian has those, right?) something happens that keeps me in the game. The next few months should be fun. I got a lot of interesting things coming up including new videos for the channel and some recognizable names doing guest posts on the blog. I got some awesome interviews line up with SFFWorld and I got plenty of books to review for Amazing Stories. It is going to be a great summer and I hope you guys join me for the ride.

And now the news...

Paradox Embraces Alternate History in New Hearts of Iron IV Trailer

Hang around alternate historians long enough and you will probably here about the grand strategy games produced by Paradox. Last week they announced the start of the pre-order for Hearts of Iron IV, the latest grand strategy game about World War II. The great thing about these games is that you get to decide the fate of the nation you control and thus can alter history as you play.

To Paradox's credit, they know this and work this into how they market their games. For example, check out their new trailer which posits a Japanese attack on a heretofore triumphant Soviet Union:



I got to admit that video had some amazing visuals, but that is not the only way they are promoting how you can change history. Apparently, every pre-order comes with additional rewards such as the Hearts of Iron: War Stories Gamebook. According to the press release, this is a "branching interactive narrative where the player’s choices matter. War Stories is written by Aaron Rosenburg and features a young British RAF pilot during the Battle of Britain."

I'm just glad to see Paradox going all in on promoting the alternate history nature of their game. If you want to learn more, don't forget to check out the Hearts of Iron website.

Video of the Week

Since we talked about World War II, lets keep it going by looking at what would happen if Hitler was killed during Operation Valkyrie:

Doing a scenario was fun. I may do more of those in the future in between videos discussing the genre in general.

You should also check out...

• All the news about Battlefield 1, which may not be an alternate history, but it could still be the best WWI game according to Robert Whitaker of History Respawned. Considering that prediction, its surprising to learn that EA initially rejected the setting according to PC Gamer.
• The top 10 steampunk films according to Seen On, which may be covered by the steampunk documentary Vintage Tomorrows. It was announced last week on Variety that Samuel Goldwyn Films acquired worldwide rights to the documentary, so expect me to watch and comment on it in the future.
• The fact that most of the Assassin's Creed film will be mostly set in the modern day according to Birth Movies Death...because that is what people are most interested in when they play those games. Seriously, why is it so hard to make a decent video game movie?
• Timeless, NBC's new time travel drama (via io9).

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Matt Mitrovich is the founder and editor of Alternate History Weekly Update, a blogger for Amazing Stories, a volunteer interviewer for SFFWorld and a Sidewise Awards for Alternate History judge. When not exploring alternate timelines he enjoys life with his beautiful wife Alana and prepares for the day when travel between parallel universes becomes a reality. You can follow him on Facebook, Twitter, Tumblr and YouTube. Learn how you can support his alternate history projects on Patreon.