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Best Civil War Computer Game Ever

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 56 / 59
Date: January 26, 2005
Author: Amazon User

I strongly encourage any strategy gamer or wargamer to pick this game up. I enjoyed Sid Meier's Gettysburg and think Sid is an absolute genius. But I honestly like this game more. (And besides SMG won't run on my XP system) Some reasons:

1. It is not a clickfest. Unlike SMG and most RTS games, the pace here is closer to reality. It exists in a space between real time and turn based strategy games. You have the time to create a strategy and make plans (rather than just click things madly) but you don't have unlimited time, and you can find yourself surprised and forced to make quick decisions.

2. Is is immersive. The graphics are better than any real wargame I know--better even than Combat Mission. You really feel like you're there as you see the troops marching into place, see the puffs of smoke as they open fire, and off in the distance--whose troops are those? Reinforcements or a flanking movement. In this game you really feel like YOU ARE THERE.

3. It is accessible. The tutorial is excellent and gives you all the info you need to play. Best of all, it is in-game, just like SMG, not like the printed tutorials common in computer wargames. Also, the interface is reminiscent of SMG, so your learning curve will not be that steep.

4. It is historically accurate.

5. It is scalable. You don't have to play at an insane difficulty level just because the designers want you to. Play at the level that provides the right balance of challenge and accomplishment.

6. It is fun. Unlike some historical games, it doesn't feel like a history lesson, or like the deck is stacked to force you to just recreate the actions of history. You have choices and it is exciting and challenging.

7. You won't regret it. I haven't been this fired up about a game since...well I better not say. I play non-wargames and I don't want to hurt my credibility by naming an uncool genre.

Buy this game. I've been gaming since 1970 or so, and this is up at the top of my list of great games

Fantastic Civil War Combat Simulator

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 27 / 29
Date: January 18, 2005
Author: Amazon User

This is not simply a game. It is a simulator for Civil War Combat (the whole 19th century with mods). I have never seen command and contol issues implemented so well. When you play, you can place yourself anywhere in the chain of command from brigade commander all the way up to army commander. The units in your army not under your command are controled my the computer AI, and each unit commander is has his own personality that affects the way he behaves. These behaviors range from the cautious plodding of McDowell, to the daring boldness of JEB Stuart.

This game is not for those who want to be in complete control of everything that happens. Sometimes things get completely out of control, and that is when the fun really begins. There is nothing like watching, and pulling your hair out, as one of your flanks is getting savaged, and some dolt of a brigade commander will not advance to support you. On the other hand, you will want to cheer when unexpected help arrives, and through brilliant manouvers and troop handling, the enemy is routed.

The graphics, while not exactly Half-Life 2 quality, are quite good. It is really cool to pull back to a wide angle and get a panoramic view of the battlefield. It is then that you understand what Lee felt when he said, "It is good that war is so terrible, else we should grow too fond of it".

All the other details that you would expect from a battle simulator are included, such as unit morale, quality, fitness, weapon types, etc. Terrain and positioning also play a vital role in dertiming the outcome of a battle. Watch your flanks!

Just a little bit of info

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 21 / 23
Date: January 14, 2005
Author: Amazon User

The developer's website for this game is www.madminutegames.com, if you have questions or comments, please try their forums.

Really great game that'll keep you up for hours

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 7 / 8
Date: August 03, 2005
Author: Amazon User

I bought this game because it received especially high user reviews on a gaming review website. They were right, the game is awesome.

Intense, engaging and challenging -- even on the slowest speed setting. The pace and interface may be frustrating for those who prefer turn-based games. Such people might have difficulty selecting and ordering multiple units in a timely fashion.

A fair part of the game involves taking advantage of terrain (height/cover/concealment), flanking, and coordinating the movements of multiple units. If such concepts are lost are you then the game might go over your head.

If you like wargames at all this one takes the cake, so don't hesitate. Make sure to apply the newest patch.

Edit: I'm amending this a year later. At this point, you should instead purchase a newer game written by the same company, called "2nd Manassas", which I have also played and love. It is essentially an update of this game.

AWESOME!

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 6 / 8
Date: December 16, 2005
Author: Amazon User

I really enjoy this game, but am still pretty amateur. Of course, the difficulty "Easy" helps... This game is awesome though, it recieved a 9.4/10 on game spot, and the patches make it better. This game was designed with modders in mind, and a ton can be dloaded from www.madminutegames.com

WINNER

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 6 / 8
Date: June 14, 2005
Author: Amazon User

IT IS WORTH EVREY DOLLAR I GOT IT TODAY I CAN NOT STOP PLAYING IT

I'm There!

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 5 / 7
Date: August 19, 2005
Author: Amazon User

This game is cool! Battle scenes make a clear picture of what Bull Run was.

Good but not polished

4 Rating: 4, Useful: 4 / 5
Date: June 25, 2005
Author: Amazon User

Civil War Bull Run is a game that draws its inspiration from Sid Meier's 1997 game Gettysburg. In that title, players commanded individual regiments (or used their brigade commanders to issue large-scale orders) to flank and engage enemies for control of crucuial battleground sites.

Bull Run follows this style alarmingly closely. Skirmish, column, and line formations from Sid Meier's game are all here and work in similar fashion (You have only 4 choices of difficulty, as opposed to Gettysburg's more fleshed-out options of "Prudence," etc). Graphics are decent but extremely blurry close up - also the 3D map glitches occassionaly over long distances. As best I can tell there is only one major difference in this game from Gettysburg - whereas in Gettysburg the player could command all brigades in a scenario, effectively making him an army commander, Bull Run divides its 10 scenarios into Brigade, Division, and Army commands.

In Brigade mode, the player has no control over reinforcements or other units around the battlefield. This in theory allows you to focus on your goal without too much micromanagement. The problem is that, very often, other AI-controlled commanders will act like idiots. If your left flank is exposed for 10 minutes, and your allies can simply run up and protect you at any time, it is certainly possible that you'll be left hanging until you are destroyed.

In Division mode this is less of a problem. In Army mode, micromanagement really detracts from the fun and some on the official game forums call it "unplayable."

However, there are only 5 or 6 scenarios for Brigade and Division modes, so you aren't getting many pre-fab scenarios. The game offers two other options:

1. Open Play - which allows you to set the time, map (with the patch you have 3 or 4 options here), difficulty, and command position before heading into battle. This, according to the intimations of the game's developers, is sort of a half-baked feature, and I completely agree with them (they say they'll focus on it more in their next game). In short, you'll spend maybe 10-15 minutes of real time simply marching a goal and then either crush bone-headed AI opposition or, even worse, simply encounter no resistance (this is especially a problem if you play for "1 hour" time limit).

2. Custom scenarios - which, unless you want to spend hours downloading and making your own scenarios, includes only 2 or 3 scenarios. One is the full Battle of Bull Run that you can play at any level of command, which is definitely interesting but very boring if you play only an infantry commander. Again, playing in a more important role is strategically interesting but takes hours of micromanagement. Gettysburg's system of linked campaigns (that, incidentally, Bull Run's designers say they will rip off in their next game) worked better.

In conclusion Bull Run needs some work. Its only truly useful mode is the handful of historical scenarios, but these are interesting. For example, in the Evans scenario, the player must scramble to protect a hill against overwhelming odds until reinforcements arrive. It's a rush being outnumbered 5:1, like Evans was historically, and trying to figure out a strategy to delay the enemy. Usually it will involve deploying skirmishers or even a daring flanking attempt. You'll also get to find out how Jackson was nicknamed "Stonewall" as you hold a hill against the Union at the expense of your AI-controlled allies down the hill.

Multi-player is not provided, LAN or internet. The designers should add that and an option for total player control over other brigades for this game to be more competitive. More scenarios wouldn't hurt either.

The Civil War Genre....

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 3 / 4
Date: September 29, 2005
Author: Amazon User

This game got 5 stars because it is good but also because there are no other current... current .. civil war games out there that are any good... Maybe Gettysburg - American Civil War by Talonsoft .. but Gettysburg has little depth and is arcade style whereas The Battle for Bull Run is so much better.. Supposedly Sierra is coming out with Civil War Generals 3 .. which may be even better but its not out yet this review was submitted on 09/05. Anyway, The Battle for Bull Run (TBFBR) .. is easy to play tutorials get you going right away and there is strategy to it .. units fatigue and act realistic and you can take total control over them to where they will get shot at and wont react but continue to the objective. DEFINITELLY .. get the patch because I could not play it without it kept crashing or locking up... had to put it down until the patch came out.. Also in the patch readme it tells how you can edit the ini file to see 1024 x 768.. The only problem with game is there is no manual . printed but there is one you can access and print out in html format which is helpful.. The only other problem is the tutorial gives you messages about keyboard controls and stuff and these messages are not listed in manual so I had to use my screen shot program to take screen shots to save this vital info then I printed it out ... The lack of easily usable documentation is what is poor. But it is there just a hassle to get. But the price is decent very good comparing to what you get with the depth of strategy and playablility... and because no manual it should not be more than $20.00

American Conquest Divided Nation

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 4 / 8
Date: December 05, 2005
Author: Amazon User

This game is just like its' predecessors. It is a very good game,especially the civil war part of the instant action mode. It is very authentic,has excellent graphics, and is very realistic. CDV has put out another excellent game. This game come with everything that involves the Civil War, including the correct types of ships, the gatling gun, cannons, and the whole works. I have played the History channel Civil War Game, and believe me , it is similar to American Conquest Divided Nation, but American Conquest Divided Nation is much much better. I see that this game isn't out yet, but I ordered my copy from the CDV headquarters off the web site from Germany. This game called American Conquest Divided Nation has got a superb Civil War Game on it, (Union vs. Confederate). When you get this game you will find out what I mean

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