Ultimate General: Gettysburg

This is a great game, even better if you are a fan of Civil War games. One thing I really like about the title is how accessible it is; you can start a new game and begin commanding troops in an intuitive manner right away. As I read in another review somewhere, you can jump in and begin commanding immediately, but there is always something else to learn. There are the inevitable comparisons to Sid Meier's Gettysburg, and at the surface, this game does at first appear to be a highly similar recreation. You drag your units around in a manner very similar to that game. There is the dynamic battle of Gettysburg, meaning that unit conditions persist across each phase, while also making it possible to have situations occur that did not occur in the real history (such as already having Confederates heavily fortified on Cemetary Ridge on July 3rd). Occasionally between phases of the battle, you will be given the opportunity to make a decision which will affect the next phase (for example, following the history or attacking the enemy's flank). This adds a nice touch to the battles, keeping it fresh throughout multiple playthroughs. When beginning a new battle, you have the option of selecting from various AI "command styles" as opposed to selecting difficulty on a linear scale. Each battle will unfold differently based on the reactions of the commanders. This was a really neat feature that might have been done before in other games, but I haven't seen it in a Civil War game prior to this title. The graphics are pretty to look at although nothing new (still great). The music is typical epic fare you will encounter in these type of games. The title works flawlessly for me in the latest revisions of Wine. Additionally, there is a "Custom Battles" feature which will allow you to set up "on the fly" battles. I have not explored that yet, or the multiplayer, so I can't speak for those, but the single player mode itself is enough for this game to stand on.

This game does indeed invite comparisons to Sid Meyer's Gettysburg, and is probably the closest game to be released. The game has a lot going for it - it is relatively simple, easy to pick up, and clearly is designed to be easy to play on a touch screen device, while having a lot more depth than one associates with tablet/mobile games. It's pretty fun, and I think the AI can sometimes be pretty decent. There's a nice flow to the campaign, though sometimes the areas you painstakingly took (at great cost) suddenly aren't under your control in the next phase of the battle, so you have to take them AGAIN but with battered units. On the other hand, it feels like a lot was sacrificed in order to maintain that compatibility with touch devices. You don't have any control over formations, which means there's no way to make sure your troops move faster towards the front lines (e.g. with a marching column formation). It's really difficult to do reliable group formations involving multiple units - they just don't move together or even really end up together. It's not clear whether it matters what path you choose your men to take towards a destination (do roads speed things up? Does terrain matter for movement?) There are also some strange aspects to the whole affair. They really stress the accuracy of the map, but its cartoony-ness and the limited zoom means that doesn't actually matter. It's often really hard to have even a basic sense of what line of sight will be for a unit. You're not sure whether your units will even use that rock wall that's on the map, or if its just decoration. They also seem to have detailed unit information, but it's not shared with you, so you just inexplicably have units that can shoot further than others with no clear explanation of why. I'm not a grognard that expects historical accuracy (though they need to expect that audience), but it all leads to a fairly confusing experience. Anyway, buy on sale if you miss SMG.

This is an excellent game on many fronts. The AI does a great job. It varies from game to game and is not easy to predict at any given time. The graphics are excellent and the game controls are easy to learn. Every time I play I enjoy the experience. The lack of a fifth star is due to the inability to change troop formations (for example you can't create skirmishers and if you change destinations for troops they switch from road column to battlefront and back slowing them down) and some inaccuracies (IMHO). A brigade charging an unsupported battery should be able to take it (don't try it!). Flank and rear fire does not seem to have the devastating effect you would expect. I love this game!

I tried this game in 2014...do yourself a favor and find a truly Good Old Game called Sid Meier's Gettysburg. Within 2 hours of buying this title I came to terms with the awful mistake I'd made. It's the only game in the last 10 years I've ever actively *wanted* to return after playing. - 165 cavalrymen chased down... by a 2000-man infantry brigade. - No limber button for artillery? No formation select for infantry? - 2500 men clash in a charge and NO ONE dies for 30 seconds? - Poor production value, with audio that falls behind a 1997 game Why not have a true fog of war? Volumetric clouds of gunpowder smoke on the battlefield. Nothing! I honestly tried to like this game. I installed it. Uninstalled it. Re-installed it. Sorry, but this is one Civil War story better lost to history. I eventually deleted this game for good. Also, every friend of mine who owns it on Steam only played it for 1.1-1.8 hours. Go figure.

Great game so far. I'm playing as the confederates, just because, and have fought 3 battles so far (the battles usually take me 30-50 mins to complete). What I like: "Dynamical" outcome meaning that if I loose a battle I'll end up defending a position further back in the map against an Union attack with less men (minus the ones I lost in previous battles), if I win I can go on the offensive and attack them in other areas with more men but against stronger defensive positions or if the enemy chooses they can counter-attack. The cannons by themselves do little to no damage but put a bunch of them together and get close to use canister and you can route entire armies. Routing system is nice since units run to safer ground but not run all the way out of the map until they're really depleted. Slow moving units make for more time to think. Nice 2D maps and the topography really matters. Flanking matters. What I dislike: A bit wonky to issue move orders, especially trying to change the position the units are facing after moving (middle mouse button a bit wonky). That's about it. Overall it's a fun game and intensive, each battle can be long and the outcome can change a lot during the course of battle, a routed unit can come back to the fight and be a game changer if put into the right spot.