Customer Reviews

American Civil War: Gettysburg

5 star:		(2)
4 star:		(3)
3 star:		(3)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(4)

 

 

Abysmal. You have to think that the reason the demo is limited to sixty minutes of play is a weak attempt to prevent potential customers from discovering just how poorly designed this thing (it doesn't deserve to be called a game) truly is. The units bear no relation to historical formations. Instead of the 1st Minnesota, 26th North Carolina or 6th Wisconsin you are presented with "unit of artillery" or "half unit of infantry." It would be difficult to imagine a worse game device for an historical simulation than allocating a budget of a set number of dollars, from which the player purchases the units to be involved in a given battle. Once purchased, the units are scattered, apparently at random, on a map loosely suggestive of the actual terrain. There does not appear to be any means to place units in any configuration suggestive of their actual historical positions. Gee, I dunno, I hate to tell game developers their business, but you think maybe it would be a desirable feature in a Gettysburg simulation to be able to position Colonel Chamberlain and the 20th Maine actually on a landscape suggesting Little Round Top? That's enough of your time and mine wasted on this piece of trash.

First of all, I bought this thinking that it was the Sid Meier game that I was advised to buy. Not enough due diligence on my part. I have to give this thing some stars because I have spent so much time playing it. I am new to the genre, so perhaps my standards are low (my only previous strategy PC game experience is first generation Axis & Allies); but I enjoy the challenge (the AI is good enough to keep you on your toes) and the simplicity. Learning curve on this one is not steep. I anticipate that my young son will enjoy playing 2-player on this with me (history buff). Perhaps when I encounter other games (like the reviewers seems to know about), this one will get dusty. It probably isn't the best at this price-point, but I've enjoyed it.

I was sucked in as this was billed as a Talonsoft game which Take Two bought a couple of years ago. Talonsoft had a very good game in their Battleground series that had all of the things that another reviewer was looking for (some semblance of history!). I was very, very disappointed, thinking that Talonsoft had been resurrected and the Battleground game improved but found this in its stead. I enjoyed the Battleground Civil War games (Gettysburg, Shiloh, Bull Run, and Chickamauga). Outside of the title, this game bears no resemblance to those games. Talonsoft's tactical games (East Front 2, West Front, Rising Sun and Divided Ground) were excellent, but they are not even supported anymore on the Web. Definitely a waste of my money.

This wargame recreates the famous American Civil War Battle of Gettysburg. It's not an realtime strategy clickfest. You give orders to your units, press the end button and watch your units and those of the enemy carry out their orders simultaneously. It's not as complex as some wargames but it does require knowledge of the strengths and weaknesses of the various units and careful planning. The unit graphics are okay, but the animations look choppier the closer you get to the action. The map is nicely rendered. This isn't a game I'd play for hours on end, but for a quick wargame experience, it's not bad.

I can't believe the low ratings given to this game. Sure there are a few bugs and how I wish the designer would fix them and issue a Version 2, but the Version 1 is a killer game in itself that will help the student of Civil War military get an excellent understanding of what factors the CW generals had to consider as they maneuvered their armies into battle. You get to experience the movement of regiments about a battlefield, formation of battle lines, selection of offensive vs defensive position, terrain, effects of artillery, Calvary, regular infantry and volunteer militia, in both firing line and hand-to-hand combat. You have to move your forces regiment-by-regiment across varying terrains toward the enemy who is also making his own moves towards you. As the troops engage you can watch the action from a high altitude and as you move in closer, the sound becomes clearer until you can hear the grunt of the soldiers in combat and their screams as they are shot. Or instead of watching from above, you can tilt the board and zoom in following behind the regiment of your choice as it moves into action. Even human bravery factors are considered, for if the forces are hit too hard, they might turn and run instead of fighting like you need them too. I used to be a student of the war and I tell you this game made me understand CW battles better. I've had this game for 2 years now and I play at least a few minutes every single day.

Drawbacks: the computer opponent needs about 1/3 more forces than you since its ability to think is limited by the programmed algorithms. The computer troop selector sometimes selects multiple generals, which are next to useless and mean fewer troops are available elsewhere. Also, in the Campaign mode you are assigned either the command of North or South, instead of giving you a choice. I for one never enjoyed playing the Confederate troops fighting against the US troops in blue. But all in all--congrats to the designers of American Civil War Gettysburg, and please come out with a better Version 2 soon!

This game has pretty good graphics for a cvil war strategy game. I have played better games than this but this is pretty cool. You get to play the gettysburg battle from the firsht day at seminary ridge to Little round top and Picket'ts charge. Shure it might get boring after a while but this is a good game.

This game is more like chess. You move a company(s) to a grid, the computer takes its turn, and then you go again. If your company is close enough to an enemy company then they will fight. Graphics are not bad, but it is an extremely simple game

This game has pretty good graphics and sound, I love the gameplay, I saw the movie Gettysburg, and I played all the battles I saw in the movie,It can get boring after a while but you can play little round top, or even Pikkets charge, you command artillirey infantry calvary and even generals. I bet there are better games of civil war but this is a good one! I am a civil war buff and reenactor so I suggest you could buy it, its worth it!

I was suckered in too by the TalonSoft name, in fact i was hoping for a battlegroud type game with more animation when i saw the box. But what a piece of garbage! I played for maybe 2 minutes when i decided that i was getting dumber while doing it. If you want good strategy go buy any game from talonsofts battleground series, and if thats too boring for you, sid meiers gettysburg isnt too bad if you get some good art patches.

game is a slow one. I think that it is not worth the cost. shuld be more like 10 dolars. not that much fun. needs more action.