Created in partnership with renowned economic historian and policy icon Niall Ferguson. Making History II (MHII) lets grand strategy players experience the role of a WWII era national leader embroiled in the toxic mix of waning empires, economic crisis, and ethnic "fault lines" that famously resulted in a global war that transformed the world. Now armchair generals and grand strategy masters can attempt to write their own history, and choose to either defend the world from tyranny or embark on a quest for global conquest.

The idea that true grand strategy is as much about economic strength as well as military power is one of the reasons Professor Ferguson chose to collaborate with Muzzy Lane. "Economic instability is one of the primary reasons a nation can turn to an extreme ideology. That’s exactly what happened in the 1930s,” says Ferguson. "And of course economic resources were decisive in the outcome of the war. By giving equal measure to economic as well as military components, Making History II presents a more complete model of the driving forces behind WWII."

Challenging decisions and interesting choices are the heart of any good strategy game, and MHII delivers by putting the ultimate control in the hands of each player. There are diplomatic decisions about everything from alliances to colonization, such as whether you grant full independence or create a puppet state. Cities are customizable via a series of constructible add-on buildings, allowing you to build a giant shipyard in New York or a munitions factory in Stuttgart. Military forces can be upgraded, repaired and reinforced and veteran units develop experience over time. Every nation in the world is playable, but the choices and strategy can be vastly different. The choice is up to each player to determine how they wish to develop their nation, thereby creating their own winning strategy.

MHII offers a completely redesigned interface, with a brand new 3D world map. "We wanted our players to have a more immersive experience without sacrificing the depth of play that strategy gamers have come to expect,” says Chris Parsons, Muzzy Lane Product Manager. "To do so we've created a dynamic map that conveys important information to the player without large blocks of text. Terrain, icons, units, cities, and other objects are all designed to deliver information in a visual and intuitive way."

The accompanying Making History Gaming Headquarters website adds much more to the player experience by offering free content and updates, access to user-created mods, and a dramatic new multiplayer service that launches from the web browser. It will find games, match players, track scores and player ranking, and connect to email or players' favorite social network site to notify them to take their turn.

From the home front to the battlefront, in Making History II: "The War of the World" history is not inevitable. Once the game starts, history is yours to make.

Making History II: "The War of the World" will be released in the fall of 2009.