Ironclads 2: American Civil War

Ironclads 2: American Civil War for PC is the second fully-fledged installment in the series of marine strategy games, initiated in 2008 by a Russian studio Totem Games. After a series of spin-offs taking place in late 19th century throughout various seas and oceans around the world, the developers decided to return to the series’ roots, placing the action during American Civil War.

Plot

The story brings forth a little twist to a less-known episode from the war, known as Battle of Mobile Bay. The game expands upon a fictional scenario, where a Confederate agent L. Merton had reached out to Austrian government to receive help in form of naval units. As the relations between Austria and Confederate States of America weren’t friendly, the mission was a failure, and the South stayed isolated from any foreign help.

When the Union fleet led by Admiral David Farragut appears to besiege one of the Confederate fortresses – New Orleans, he is met by a Confederate force much more powerful than originally expected. During the battle, Admiral Farragut uttered the famous statement: “Damn the torpedoes! Full speed ahead!”.

Mechanics

When it comes to gameplay, American Civil War is almost identical to the previous installments. The game uses a Total War-esque model, mixing turn-based gameplay on a strategic map with real time battles, where commanding units is facilitated by the active pause mechanics – we can stop the game to issue orders to any of our ships in any moment of the game.

The game offers a number of difficult challenges to the player, including building a fleet, chasing enemy ships, hiding in ports while awaiting supplies, blocking trade routes or taking part in fiery sea battles. As always, the developers prepared faithful recreations of ships of that era, including their armament and technical parameters. The individual leaders use their trademark tactics, recreated thanks to historical sources.

Technical Aspects

Visually, Ironclads 2 maintains the same level as the previous installments of the series. However, we’ve received certain upgrades, making the game look better than its 2008 predecessor.

Last updated on December 30, 2016