HtG Week of 4/8/19

Having completed Total War: Shogun 2, it’s time to go back to familiar territory once more; specifically, the American Civil War in Ultimate General: Civil War. Civil War is a very detailed RTS game – a genre I am admittedly bad at. However, even a novice such as me can recognize the merit this game holds. It is incredibly detailed in its approach to unit management as well as overall map layouts and objectives, which perhaps psyched me out a little as I marched into my first battle; as the adage goes, though, “all’s fair in love and war.”

Civil War starts off by giving you several choices for your “backstory,” being just different focuses you can choose from to start off. I immediately chose as many options for training as possible, because a well-disciplined army can overcome any obstacle, right? (No, according to my experiences). I loaded the first mission and was immediately thrust into battle. My regiments needed to capture Philippi, but were ambushed by enemies in superior positions; I therefore needed to reposition my soldiers to engage and overcome the enemy. After defeating the ambush, I moved toward the city… and was rebuffed and routed, requiring me to start over. After another attempt, I was able to capture the city and complete the mission.

The point of such a tangent? To demonstrate some of the things I learned while playing. Soldiers are well organized into different regiments and divisions, and while in combat, you have the option to order your troops to “charge!” towards the enemy, allowing them to gain bonus damage in melee. I found this useful to clean up a weakened enemy position while they were reloading, seeing as the reloads for the rifles of the time period could be lengthy. This gives a look into the military tactics of the time, which were somewhat similar to those used in the American Revolution; rigid formations and intense melee combat.

One final thing the game emphasizes that is important to note is the infrastructure of the Union forces. Railroads are utilized to move troops and supplies, and were of great import in the Civil War, helping the Union emerge victorious. The game’s emphasis on it accurately reflects its importance to logistics in the war.

Overall, the game has many virtues in the department of historical accuracy. The game’s campaign follows the events of the Civil War; the soldiers are equipped with the proper weapons (along with the new technology of rifled barrels, which are referenced in the game); the Union’s use of railroads and logistics is demonstrated to help in battles, and the in-game forces are commanded by named generals of the era. Ultimate General: Civil War is perhaps the most historically reliable game we’ve played to date.