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Flattening the learning curve is as much the focus of Hearts of Iron III as the Second World War, which the game depicts. Paradox Entertainment’s third grand strategy go-round with Winston, Franklin, Adolf, and Joseph is a thorough reenvisioning of its predecessors, maintaining all of the game’s complexities while distilling the hardcore micromanagement through a mostly superb interface. Although you still spend a great deal of time sifting through reams of data, it’s now much easier to cut to the chase. So instead of getting bogged down by the minutiae of war economics, such as oil production in the Caucasus, you can head right for the much more satisfying aspects of WWII. Even with some technical glitches, this deeply engaging game is the most approachable and user-friendly that Paradox has ever released out of the box.

From up here, the Eastern Front doesn’t seem nearly as bad as Klink and Schultz made it out to be.

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If you’re reading this, there’s a very good chance that you’ve heard about The Sims. It’s been difficult to escape the popular franchise’s web, what with two full games and a seemingly endless stream of expansions. The first thing you may be asking, then, is whether The Sims 3 is worth playing, or if it’s just more of the same. Well, it most certainly is worth it, and yes, in some ways it is more of the same. But in this case, that’s a very good thing. For anyone who’s played The Sims or its first sequel, this familiarity will let them ease into it, feeling like a welcomed guest rather than an outsider. But this doesn’t make The Sims 3 a simple rehash of what’s come before. Instead, returning elements have been energized and extended by a number of terrific improvements, such as expanded customization tools, additional tools for interaction with other sims (and other players), and more tangible goals and rewards. Most importantly, the free-to-explore town makes you feel like part of an entire virtual society–a feature approximated but never fully realized in the previous games. By blending together the old and the new, developer Maxis has created the best, most charming game yet in the series.

Some Sims find it easier to exercise their jaws than their muscles.

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It’s obvious that each iteration of the long-running Street Fighter series has been carefully tuned and tweaked to the finest degree, and nowhere is this more apparent than in Street Fighter IV. The lessons learned in the franchise’s 20-plus years have been used to prune back the core fighting experience to create something truly special.Street Fighter IV is a resounding success not only because it’s one of the most technically complex 2D fighters ever made, but also because it’s also wrapped inside a layer of absolute accessibility. Never has the old “A minute to learn, a lifetime to master” adage been truer than it is here.

Three new shader effects give the game a fresh new look, though they’re only minor improvements on the already-gorgeous graphics.

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