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Mediocre, but an interesting spin

3 Rating: 3, Useful: 15 / 17
Date: December 09, 2006
Author: Amazon User

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.

A little bit of a let-down, but still a decent game

3 Rating: 3, Useful: 13 / 16
Date: December 05, 2006
Author: Amazon User

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

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.

Okay. Could have been better. Rent it first.

2 Rating: 2, Useful: 11 / 13
Date: December 29, 2006
Author: Amazon User

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.

Doom meets the civil war

3 Rating: 3, Useful: 8 / 10
Date: November 28, 2006
Author: Amazon User

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".

VERY, VERY..... fun game

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 5 / 9
Date: December 26, 2006
Author: Amazon User

This is an extremely fun game, has a good story line, graphics are not too bad, and I would recommend it to anyone (expecially history buffs) If you are tired of the WWII games like me, you should definately get this game. The only thing that they should have incluided in the game is a multiplayer, but the single player is real fun! A++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

SIMPLY A BAD SHOOTER

2 Rating: 2, Useful: 5 / 10
Date: December 02, 2006
Author: Amazon User

This is one of the worst shooters I have played in a long time. It is not up to 360 graphics, more like PS2. I was looking foward to this game and it was a flop. Reload time is annoying. Lack of help from your AI team. Everyone in an enemy uniform is shooting at you and only you! Rent this one do not buy it.

Very fun and realistic, but...

4 Rating: 4, Useful: 2 / 3
Date: January 29, 2007
Author: Amazon User

My one main gripe about this game is it is too short, and there is no multiplayer. So far I have only completed the first two Union battles, but I enjoyed every minute of it. It truley has the Next Gen graphics, and I don't know why people say it has the graphics of a PS2, it's graphics are atleast 5x better. I love how you reload, I heard you just pop clips into your rifle and boom, you're ready to go. You acutally have to spend a few seconds reloading. I would definently recommend playing this game. Whether to buy it, or rent it, is up to you.

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.

No Cover

3 Rating: 3, Useful: 2 / 5
Date: December 15, 2006
Author: Amazon User

What I found most frustrating about this game is that it seemed that enemy soldiers could hit you from any distance even if they could not see you. Trees and foilage don't serve for cover at all. You have to be completely out of someone's line of sight to avoid getting hit. You also cannot lay down, only crouch...

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