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BEST GAME EVER MADE

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 0 / 0
Date: May 11, 2008
Author: Amazon User

this game is amazing the graphis are the best i have ever seen the wepons are so realestic its like your actually fighting in the war!!!

Well, at least it's a game on the Civil War.

3 Rating: 3, Useful: 0 / 0
Date: April 21, 2008
Author: Amazon User

I got this game because I'm interested in the Civil War, and I was hoping that since it was "The History Channel" that it would provide some great education while having fun.
Pros:
-The Game looks ok, more like a regular Xbox game though.
-It's a game on the Civil War, and there aren't that many out there, so it's good for a fan.
-Fun to see and use the weapons of that era.
-Some of the settings are pretty, and give you an idea of what it might have been like.
Cons:
-Not as much overall history as I wanted. Had some blurbs for each battle, but that's it.
-The game isn't really that good. No huge bugs, but the AI isn't sophisticated and there aren't ever any 'huge' battles with many soldiers, that you associate with the Civil War.

Overall it's mediocre at best, but it's cheap and if you like the Civil War and need an easy 1000 acheivment points, go for it.

Not what I expected

3 Rating: 3, Useful: 0 / 0
Date: March 19, 2008
Author: Amazon User

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!

Shoot the dot...

1 Rating: 1, Useful: 0 / 0
Date: January 05, 2008
Author: Amazon User

This game is pretty much just shooting at a red dot. Most of the time you are shooting at the enemy from a distance, and you cannot get any closer because of a fence you cannot overcome, because like in the real civil war one could not climb fences and leave the road ;)
So for the most part you cannot see your enemy, but you can focus your aim on an area, which turns red when it's on the enemy so you know to fire. You really don't see the enemy you're shooting, just shoot the red dot, red dot disappears, and presto, you've eliminated the enemy.
This could have been a much better game, how sad they only sold the idea of a civil war game instead of delivering a good gaming experience.

Worse game i ever paid for.

2 Rating: 2, Useful: 0 / 1
Date: August 02, 2007
Author: Amazon User

This game is to short. I have only done both the North and South first two battles. I see no where how it progresses any further. I've ask about it and no one answers me. So as far as i know that's all the battles there are. Rent it first. Believe me i don't think you'll be buying it.

Needed Much More Work

2 Rating: 2, Useful: 10 / 11
Date: July 22, 2007
Author: Amazon User

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.

A perfect example of a rushed job.

2 Rating: 2, Useful: 1 / 1
Date: July 08, 2007
Author: Amazon User

This game simply was not finished. Oh everything needed to make it "work" is there, but none of it seems to have been tested and fine-tuned.

All I'll say about the graphics is that they're fair but not up to par for a next-gen system.

Your allies are dumber than dirt. It's not uncommon for them to be completely wiped out seconds after joining you. Fortunately your enemies aren't much smarter; but there are a lot more of them.

The really glaring flaw that should have been caught and fixed in testing is the collision detection. What is the point of a first person shooter where you can fire your rifle point blank into an enemy's chest and MISS!?! When you're dealing with single shot weapons, you have to make your shots count.

This game is a rental at best.

Better Off A Rental

3 Rating: 3, Useful: 1 / 1
Date: May 27, 2007
Author: Amazon User

Given that the pool of Civil War games is pretty shallow , we are willing to give anything a shot right now. This game is one that you can easily beat in less than 3 hours, even if you don't happen to have much skill at FPS games. Yes, there is really no replay value to this game at all. They,The History Channel, try to add some of their flavor to game with some nice forwards before each battle but its too little and who really, besides me, cares about that? The graphics are something of the past. They look a regular Xbox game, no shunning the Xbox but you can tell the difference between the 360 the regular. When you get into the game play, you can quickly see that most of the levels have the same objectives and are very bland. Almost all the levels involve you blowing something up. Let's be a little more inventive. If anyone wanted to buy this game, I could not see why because it's way too short of ride even someone who loved the Civil war. Final Score......... 6/10

For all you that want some easy achievements: RENT THIS ONE! The points will adding before you know it!

The History Channel should be ashamed of itself!

1 Rating: 1, Useful: 2 / 3
Date: April 24, 2007
Author: Amazon User

The History Channel should be ashamed of itself! This game is an xbox 360 game that looks like a Nintendo 64 game. It also skips lots of important and amazing things that happened in the Civil War. The battle of Antietam has no fog and no suicide runs. The battle of Gettysburg was easy. Do not get this game. It's a bad joke.

Needs some MAJOR Improvements...

3 Rating: 3, Useful: 1 / 1
Date: April 23, 2007
Author: Amazon User

I'm surprised History Channel could dish out something this good. Well, about the game: you have a total of 12 battles to fight as either the North or the South (that's 6 battles per side). Each of these battles has a nice little intro and exit video about how the battle went, the generals, etc. etc. Then, you have your stats screen. Get tons of points and get several cool bonuses from the main menu. That's a clean overview of the non-battle system. Time for the actual battles and fights: they are pretty darn pathetic. This health system they use is rigged (your health with regenerate as a Northerner and it will remain the same until you pick up a med-kit as a Southerner). Wait a minute, they had med-kits in the Civil War? I never knew... Continuing, we have this bogus detail on the battles. Oh sure, it dishes out big promises like fighting in line battles and massive environments, but that's just a plain and easy to see lie. You will not be fighting massive battles and you will not be in line battles, ever. You will be killing people in line battles, that's it. Moving on, there is no strategy. You have a set path to follow with a copy-cat Medal of Honor: Allied Assault compass. AI is a "meh". I've seen much better. Moving on, you will be fighting small-time battles that "happened" during the big major battles. You aren't going to get to march into Fredricksburg, for instance, and start fighting in the town. You will be fighting outside in a god-forsaken forest with tons of Robin Hood-style Rebels shooting and cutting at you all the while having about 100 cannon shells landing around you. Sounds cool, but it isn't. That's just an example. The weapons are OK, but most of them aren't exactly accurate. You must note that the Union will only be using the Springfield musket when in fact the Enfield musket was the main Union weapon. Most of the environments, too, are dark and gloomy. Gettysburg isn't exactly as sunny as it should have been. Bull Run is another story. It's so bright you're likely to have your eyes melt out of your head while the image is burned into the back of your brain.

Final thought, this isn't worth the forty bucks it is currently being offered at. Rent it, but do not buy. It's the same for the PC and PS2 versions. You shall not be warned again.

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