Rating: 
Summary: Best Action, Sound and Graphics Yet
Review: I have had this Game now for over two months. I have followed the War of Northern Aggression for over 48 years!! This game can really put you right in the heat of battle. I have some misgivings in the area of Artillery effect. Even with massed batteries, and all the great sounds of 12 pounders and 3" ordinance rifles as well as Parrots being positioned for maximum effect, the results are usually pitiful. When firing in massed formation battery style with round solid shot or canister, or even grape shot into massed attack formations you will reap little effect. The artillery should have been followed more closely. Ranges are correct...Effect is not!!! Never the less, a great game, hours of fun and virtual realism.
Rating:
Summary: Best game ever
Review: I have played war games for almost 35 years. This one is the best one ever, simply stated. Most computer games, you can pretty much figure out within a few reps, how to beat the computer easily. This one, no way. I'm getting better, but after 100 tries or so, i'm still winning some, losing some. Also, with most computer war games, the strategy of just "attacking with everything" usually wins. In this game, no way! You need the same planning that a general needs in real life. If you're caught without reserves, you could be in big trouble. Head on attacks? Don't work most of the time! Flank attacks? Yes, but they take time and you could get caught with divided forces. To sum up, this is the most realistic, fun war game I have ever played. It is an absolute MUST for any wargamer. I hope that more are forthcoming in addition to Gettysburg and Antietem. Hey, how about Chickamauga!
Rating:
Summary: Great game
Review: I have the civil war in gate in school. It is so fun. No matter what people say it is the funest game i have ever played. NO i am a smart kid maybe thats why i like it its about history!!!!!!!!!
Rating: 
Summary: Who took the "strategy" out of my strategy game?
Review: I just got this package, and let me first say that it is a great looking game, with an intuitive interface, and seemingly bug free. Here are my problems with the game:1. The only strategic element in the game is when, where and how you move your units in to engage the enemy. That is pretty much it. 2. There are no recources to manage, nothing to collect, nothing to build, and nothing to research. You have no idea what type of weapons you or your enemy are using, and what the relative combat effectivness of those weapons are. 3. Unlike other civil war games I have played, victory points are somewhat meaningless, as they have no application to future scenarios or battles. For example, I have "Civil War General," a turn based Civil War game, and in that game, how badly you beat up on an opponent, and thereby how much "supply" you obtain from making him give up ground, counts towards your total supply points, which then allows you to purchase better weapons for your troops in future parts of the campaign. Without this consideration, as in this game, there is little point to going the extra mile to really trounce your opponent, you merely have to meet the scenario's objective, and that is it. 4. The game eventually boils down to you sitting there and watching your guys shoot. You do not have to monitor their morale, organization or health. The units even retreat on their own. You also have no idea of your unit's relative combat effectivness from a numerical standpoint v. the opposing unit you want to engage. You also have no control over who your unit directs its fire against, you just move them into relative proximity with the enemy and they start shooting. 5. While the map is beautiful, it is difficult to determine what is high and low ground, and whether your unit is on that area. In other games of this genre, your unit's info card will tell you their elevation and level of cover, however, there is no such feed-back in this game except what kind of terrain you are on, (grass, woods, etc.) You really have no conception of how the terrain affects your unit from a numerical standpoint, only that one type of terrain is better than another. Without this info, it is very difficult to decide how and where to conduct an attack. As this game is only $15 it is well worth buying, and it is very historically accurate. I just would have liked to have seen it in a campaign type mode with the above considerations, it really has potential.
Rating:
Summary: What I always wanted
Review: I wish I'd known about this earlier, but it's my fault for not reading the fanzines. As someone who dabbled in tabletop wargaming years ago I've spent a fair amount of money looking for a tactical simulation that isn't: (a) turn-based with gameplay as exciting as reading the phone book; (b) some weird fantasy scenario which frankly turns me off; (c) trivial to win once you learn a few tricks. This is it : eminently playable, faithful to historical detail, and so addictive you can lose a weekend without noticing or caring. There are several dozen historical scenarios and endless randomized ones, all based around three meticulously researched Civil War encounters. Playing with the AI set to the top level and working hard I find I can win about half the time. On the other hand, it's always possible to lose control and go down to a crushing defeat. This can happen with the greatest ease, so you get an inkling of how some of those old generals felt. I have only two criticisms/suggestions: (1) As a budding Stonewall Jackson I don't want to have to do the job of every C.O. down to colonel; if you look away for a minute you can have regiments routed without knowing what happened. I would like to see the option of more initiative built in at unit level. (2) It is a pity that such a superb battlefield engine has not, so far as I know, been developed into a full campaign game. That would be brilliant. Also, let's have some Napoleonic and seventeenth century settings (I know about the Waterloo spinoff and hope to try it). Finally, a health warning: do not, repeat not, acquire this product unless you have a very, very understanding partner.
Rating: 
Summary: Excellent for Civil War buffs...
Review: I'm finding sid meier's gettysburg very enjoyable! I've been focusing on 3 particular scenarios which interest me: 1) General Buford's ability to hold the initial Confederate advance for a few hours north of the town of Gettysburg until Reynold's men could reinforce, and allow the later troops to get the good ground at Cemetary ridge. He is outnumbered, and has his mounted cavalry (with repeating rifles) fighting as infantry. One thing I find fascinating about this is that Buford could kind of see the entire battle unfolding as if a chess game, and realized the importance of holding the Confederates and took the initiative on this. The game brings this to skirmish to life. Even after reading Shaara's Killer Angels and seeing the movie Gettysburg, it was not until I played this "game" that I fully understood the dynamics of the troop movements. 2) Lt Colonel Joshua Chamberlain's defense of Little Round Top is fascinating. I just finished reading a biography of him I find him so interesting. Little Round Top was a high point of his life, if you read Shaara's Killer Angels you should pay special attention to Little Round Top. He and his 300 men are sent at the last minute to defend this rocky hill at the extreme left flank of the union line. if he failed, the Union would have been flanked and artillery on that hill would have decimated the whole Union army. So Chamberlain's 300 men hold off several thousand Confederates troops who advance about a half-dozen times. Eventually chamberlain and his men run out of ammunition, and the Confederates are coming again. What does he do? Lock bayonets in place and charge "Bayonet Forward!" in a left-wheel. This suprises the Confederates, who retreat and get pushed into a misplaced regiment behind a stonewall and the rout is on. The whole Union army watches his command and defense of little round top which also included all these other infantry maneuvers -- all performed under fire -- of stretching and refusing the line, etc... and all impeccably executed. As you read Killer Angels, you should enjoy that section of the book, I did. I played this scenario a few times and even out did Chamberlain. Once I held in the peach orchard with some rapid reinforcements in that area so the Confederates didn't even get to Devil's Den. Another time I flanked the confederates down at Big Round Top. Another time I fell back through the peach orchard and Devil's Den trying to do it as history happened. There was a bit of a ravine that the Confederates advanced through, and if you stretched a skirmish line along the top of both sides, with a few cannon at the end, and some double lined troops protecting the cannon then you can really wipe them out. This scenario is also educational as it makes evident that Sickle's men were extended too far in front of the Union line, making them, and Little Round Top, vulnerable in the first place. 3) Pickett's Charge -- after attacking both flanks at Gettysburg, Lee attacks the center. It is a massacre. The game shows the Confederate advance across the big open field, under fire, lines breaking as they cross fences, enfilade fire from Union artillery. A gruesome mistake, and the game shows it well. I actually did even better by advancing one crack regiment on one side and flanking, even getting behind, these troops advancing on entrenched positions. I am a reader of history moreso than a big-timer gamer. If you are too, then I think you will love this game. If you are a gamer, then I think the critiques offered in some of the other reviews will be of interest, as the points are valid, and some newer strategy games do outdo this game, such as Combat Mission for example. So to give credence to the valid critiques of the game afficianados, I give this a 4 instead of a 5. If you are a history lover, then it is a 5. Recommended.
Rating:
Summary: A Wonderful Historical Experience
Review: My great-great-great grandfather recieved his "baptism of fire" at Antietam, and I must say, it has been amazing playing this game. I was playing the Bloody Lane scenario when suddenly the disembodied voice said "Reinforcements are comin' up!". I saw Walker's NC Brigade marching through the woods. I placed the 46th NC, my ancestor's unit in it's historically correct spot, and commanded the brigade as it flanked the Yankees. So you may not have had an ancestor in Antietam or Gettysburg, but you still can get the amazing feeling of being a part of something large and momentous. The gameplay can be a little confusing, but so is war. The uniforms are so realistic, and the South Mountain scenarios are a nice (yet challenging) mini-game. I seriously reccommend this game to any civil war, history, war, or wargame buff!
Rating:
Summary: Reply to Trenton NJ
Review: My husband loves these games...but couldn't get them to work when we upgraded our computer. Go to www.firaxis.com, then choose DOWNLOADS at top of the page. There is a download for the civil war games to make them compatible to Windows XP. The Gettysburg game we still get an error message, but if you choose to run it from the Programs menu, it's fine. Good luck!
Rating:
Summary: Very good stragity game
Review: One of the best Stragity games yet! It has very good graphics and sound. With a great story line. It is very interactive and fun to play. Recomended for anyone who likes the civil war, Stragity games, or anyone who likes great games!
Rating:
Summary: Sid Meier's Peerless Gettysburg
Review: Really excellent: Gettysburg's restrained voice-over dramatizations, truly cinematic reenactment videos, and sensible historical research yield a compellingly instructive understanding of the battle. AND the incomparable game engine -- providing flexible military and physical viewpoint, variable scenario pacing, and sequencing including "developmental" saving and replaying --enables an immersive "strategy" playing experience. Have only played a demo of Antietam, but it seemed to build on Gettysburg's accomplishments. Highly recommended.
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