Customer Reviews

History Channel Civil War: A Nation Divided

5 star:		(2)
4 star:		(4)
3 star:		(12)
2 star:		(6)
1 star:		(3)

 

 

Civil War - A Nation Divided, by the History Channel, lets you play as the north or the south. This first person shooter tries to immerse you in the gritty brother-on-brother fighting.

For people used to the fast paced guns and assaults of the various World War II games, Civil War can be a lesson in patience. When you take a shot with certain weapons, there's a long reloading sequence before you can take a second shot. For those who complain this is too long, it's actually a shortened version from how reloading worked back then. There are cannons to fire, covered wagons to hide behind, and explosives to set.

Civil War is an odd mix when it comes to graphics. On one hand, the fire graphics are pretty realistic, and the rippling streams beneath the bridges add a nice ambiance. On the other hand, there are clipping errors all over the place, with bodies mixing into each other and into nearby scenery.

The missions are standard wargame fare - kill off certain soldiers, blow up certain obstacles, get to certain destinations. The game, however, makes this challenging in ways which are not historically accurate. Somehow, people are able to shoot you from completely blocked vantage points. On the other hand, if you crouch behind a barricade, half the time they can still shoot you, because you absently seem to leave body parts (like your head) poking up over the top.

AI can be really awful. We've thrown a grenade at an enemy and he has completely ignored it (even though it literally bounced off of him) - he just kept reloading his rifle until the grenade exploded.

Buildings are indestructable - even with cannons - and are not properly proportioned. When you walk over to them, they're sized like hobbit houses. Odd ...

The sound is nice on the menus, but in-game it's just a lot of screaming and repetitive gunshots. It would have been nice to have some period music playing in the background.

Repetitive is really a common theme in this game. The maps are very linear. The comments made by friend and foe are repetitive. The animations are so simple and overused that you get the sense that you're fighting an army of clones.

There's no multiplayer at all, and even many months after the game was released, the downloadable content menu area does not provide access to anything.

If they'd spent a few more months on this game, it might have really been a lot of fun. However, the way it is now, you get the sense that you're playing a beta release.

First off Kudos to the History Channel for making a game that was different and enlightining, I was sick of playing the same old WWII games. Going into the game I wasn't expecting much given all the negative reviews that have been posted, however since this is pretty much the only Civil War game on the market I decided to give it a shot.
Now let be realistic, is the game as fast paced as lets just say Call of Duty 4? No but then again we can't compare this game to ANY other FPS games out there, why? Because this game is the only FPS set in the 1860's where the method of warfare was far different than what we know today or even in WWII.
Each mission is nicely introduced with a brief History lesson which leads you into what you have to do. I would have loved to be behind that Stone Wall in Gettysburg making the last stand and beating back the Confedrates,but the point of the whole game to let you know that there was more to the story than just the major conflicts of every battle. After the mission there is an outro on the outcome of the battle.
As for the fighting itself yes I did notice while I was ducked behind a wagon or building that I was still getting hit, but then I noticed it was because the enemy was trying to flank me and I had guys on my sides shooting at me.
It was nice to finally have different authentic weapons from the era
to see how they worked, I was growing tired of MP40's
The graphics were pretty good and not at all bad for what it was
My only knock on this game was that the mission's were far too short, and the sayings of your comardes were far too repitative.
If you are looking for something different from your tradtional FPS and get a good history lesson while you do it than I strongly recommend this.

History Channel Civil War: A Nation Divided is a Civil War game which takes you through six battles on each side, spanning the entire American Civil War from Bull Run to Gettysburg. You can play as both a Confederate and a Union Soldier, adding up to a total of 12 missions. It's definitely not the best shooter for the 360, but it's still good if you like historical shooters, and breaks up the constant stream of World War II based historical shooters that seems to be coming out recently.

Gameplay:

Honestly, the gameplay is a little lacking. The game itself is quite easy because you have an enormous amount of health, which is good because when you take cover, there are times that you can still be shot at, seemingly from nowhere. Sometimes enemies will spawn right next to you even when you think you're in a safe spot. There is, however, a melee combat aspect. Though it's not perfect, using the back end of your gun still adds to the game. The AI isn't too great, but I wouldn't call it awful. Your teammates are all kind of dumb considering this is a 360 game, but they're not as horrible as some reviews would have you think. The AI does have very good aim, both on your team and on the enemy's. This is somewhat balanced by the fact that you have a LOT of health. The missions are also very short, and there's not much replayability, because theres NO multiplayer whatsoever. In terms of pure fun, however, this game is pretty good. Sure, there are annoying parts, but I found myself having fun despite all of these. There's noticeable problems, but not so many to render the game unplayable. 6/10

Graphics:

As far as the graphics on the 360 are concerned, it's a mixed bag. I found the environments to be very well made, but the characters to be bland and frankly, ugly. The characters don't look as realistic as in most other 360 games, and most look like old men, and by old I mean into their 60's. This isn't particularly bad in that sense, but it's still weird. However, the environments were beautiful. I admit, nowhere near as beautiful as those in games such as Oblivion or Gears of War, but still definitely well above the graphics of consoles such as the original X Box or PS2. 6/10

Sound:

The music is fantastic, but sadly the only time you get a chance to hear it is on the menu screens. In game the sound consists mostly of gunshots, cannonfire, and your teammate's comments. As far as the gunshots and cannons go, the sounds are quite accurate and realistic. Your teammate's comments, however, are pretty bland and repetitious, though not to the point that they are annoying. 8/10

Story/Immersion:

So is it worth the History Channel badge on the front? I wouldn't say so. The battles themselves are not accurate in terms of how the battlefields or troops are set up. I was expecting at least a somewhat accurate setting if the game is going to have the History Channel endorsing it. Also, the whole idea of being able to withstand dozens of rifle shots isn't too appealing, at least in this game. In games such as Halo, it makes sense to be able to absorb a lot of damage. But during the Civil War, a soldier would not be able to withstand more than a couple of rifle shots without collapsing. Speaking of rifles, the guns are also inaccurate in the sense that there are so many, that the guns that you can get are not the ones used or available to each side during specific battles. I know all of these gripes are very minor, but I would have expected a lot more realism from a game linked to the History Channel. 4/10

Overall:

The game was still quite fun, for me at least, but was on the short side. It wasn't very historically accurate, which is something I was expecting. It isn't the most technologically advanced, and has some bugs, but overall, it IS a decent game. Even though its 10 dollars cheaper than most new premium 360 games (50 dollars rather than 60), I'd wait for it to get a bit older, and therefore cheaper, before buying it.

24/40 = 6/10

I agree with a number of points made in Lazer Viking's review below. Really, I would probably give this 2.5 stars for fun and overall, if that were an option here. Being something of a history buff and enjoying FPS games (particularly COD 2, whose engine serves as the foundation of HC Civil War), I was really looking forward to this game. The historical presentation is interesting, but overall, the game is lackluster. It is simple, very easy, and not highly immersive or a great deal of fun. The graphics were decent, better than some reviews would have you think and the sound was well done also. James Horner's ballads from Glory serve as much of the background music. There were some definite issues with the collision detection in this game; occasionally you will have your gun sights directly on an enemy (doesn't matter if you are zooming, or just using the default crosshairs) and numerous shots have no effect. Additionally, the benefits of using cover are somewhat debatable. There were many instances where I was completely concealed from enemies behind a rock, or a building, yet I was being hit by gunfire from these same unseen enemies. The game was not as polished as I would like (another few months of testing would have done wonders) and many of the tasks were very vanilla/simple and repetitive. I would probably recommend renting before buying. I got this on sale at Amazon and I'm not unhappy with the price I paid, but I don't know that it was truly worth the $39.82.

This game is just okay so far (I've only played the Union side, the Confederate side is supposed to be harder). Most of what the other reviewers have said, I also found to be true. In addition, the game play for each battle is very linear and there isn't enough free roaming around the terrain (blocked by invisible walls). I should be able to jump simple fences or go inside buildings. Some of the enemy AI is pretty dumb. There was one battle where I watched the opponents consistently appear and stop in the same place in the open. I could just keep my rifle pointed at that spot and pick them off one-by-one.

It would have been nice to have a campaign mode. As it is, you're just playing through one battle after another. There's no real connectedness between the battles. Each battle also seems to end abruptly too.

As for the reloading review, it's the Civil War. They didn't just slap a new clip in when they were out of ammo. If anything, it's probably too fast. I've reloaded black powder pistols and the game does it in about 1/4 the time it actually takes and it does it while on the run (which is very unlikely). You can also fire canons but it should be limited to one shot unless you have fellow soldiers there to help reload it. Instead you just have to wait a few seconds and it's ready to fire again (like you had a crew reloading for you). Gattling guns were fun.

Bottom line, rent it first, if you can't live without it, then buy it.

The History Channel's Civil War: A Nation Divided was absolutely a blast to play. It is in many respects a standard first-person shooter with a wonderful setting. Many weapons are one-shot and require reloading after firing (time to charge with bayonett). Missions tend to be shorter than average: clear out some enemies, blow up something, but really the mission perameters are similar to other FPS in the genre like Call of Duty.

There are two career paths, one Union and one Confederate. Each battle is prefaced with a historical introduction, which to me is about a million times more interesting than the fictional stories that attempt to segue between missions in standard video games.

Yes, there is room for improvement: no multiplayer, no cavalry, AI infantry sometimes get hung up. But is it a bad game? Not at all. It is a blast to play through on easy in an afternoon, and the challenge goes way up on harder levels.

The game is "Doom" meets the civil war, a first person shooter,that although it has some nice graphics, quite frankly, I expected a lot more from a game linking itself to the history channel. The 12 battle scenarios are all the same, you move down a trail encountering random enemies. Overall, its best if you keep a sense of humor if you buy and play this game, it certainly is not "Gettysburg-Sid Meier".

Overall, the game is a little unrealistic, but it does give a lot of background information and history on the locations, events, and people of the Civil War. It is a good reminder of the battles that were fought to unite this country, but the actual battle simulations can be a bit unrealistic.

It is still worth a play, but it is an easy beat for most any gamer.

the history channel helped throw this one together.its accurate historicly.it gives the story in detail before each battle.each battle is a real battle.the objectives are real things the soldiers did to turn the tide of the battle in thier favor etc.if your kids like shooting stuff up get them this game.its very educational but at the same time quite fun.
the guns are also the same as back in the day also.so be ready to reload A LOT and have to use tools and what not to set your gun up to fire again.some guns have to be partialy taken apart also.you have your standard explosive/shotgun/rifle/sniper/melee set up with most shoot em up games.but these ones are quite slow.but if it helps the others you are battling have slow old weopons as well.
i really enjoyed playing this game.my only real beef is this.i checked on all of americas 11 wars and only 3 of them have a video game for them unless you are on pc.ww2,viet nam and the civil war werent the only wars.there are 8 more.i say in the interest of memorial day,education and money someone should get off thier butt and get started on this already!

First person shooter game with "checkpoints" that are not that interesting. Also, when you reach the checkpoint the scenario just quits. If I had known this was just a "first person shooter" I would have spent my money on another game. Somebody needs to make a STRATEGY based Civil War game!