Ultimate General: Civil War

Ultimate General: Civil War for PC is a tactical game created by Game-Labs. The team has been popular both for the well-received, 2014's Ultimate General: Gettysburg, and Naval Action.

Plot

The game is set during the American Civil War, which took place in the years 1861-1865. The player is given an opportunity to participate in over 50 historical battles, above all, such as the battles of Shiloh, Malvern Hill, or Antietam. The game encompasses the conflict in full spectrum, thus small skirmishes take place here, but one should expect battles lasting for days as well. The latter type requires hundreds of square kilometers of the virtual space.

Mechanics

Ultimate General: Civil War for PC is played from an isometric view; the player assumes the role of a general that has full control over their military forces. Subsequent victories result in the reputation growing, which allows to obtain new forces, such as divisions or brigades. If the reputation gets decreased however, the morale of one's subordinates is reduced correspondingly – eventually, it can result in the protagonist being forced to resign, which ends the game pre-maturely.

The creators implemented extensive functionalities here, and those allow to adjust the level of the game's complexity to one's individual preferences. Thus the player can command particular units or set general objectives for entire groups, such as to maintain the line of defence or to flank the enemy. In the latter case, the presence of AI-controlled commanders proves useful, because they become partially responsible for commanding the lower-echelon soldiers. The player's subordinates gain valuable experience in combat, thus they gradually fare better and better in subsequent encounters. This applies mainly to officers – their rank depends on the level of their subordinates' advancement. Interestingly, similar to regular soldiers, they can also take damage in combat or even die, which is always a loss of the effort the player had put into their development. The player's actions have direct influence on the course of the events – as the player achieves subsequent victories, their reconaissance-related capabilities and influence on politics in the broad sense increase.

What is characteristic about Ultimate General: Civil War for PC, is the high level of realism present. The weaponry used by the in-game armies represents the equipment soldiers used in the historical period the game is set within. For example, massively produced Pattern 1853 Enfield rifles are widely accessible, but obtaining rare weapons requires taking over the enemy's resources or taking them from their very hands. Furthermore, the player has to analyze the topography of terrain accurately in order to take advantage of it. Fences and buildings can provide lots of cover for the player's soldiers; hills on the other hand, allow to track the enemy faster; as far as bridges are concerned, one can use them as an obstacle, which is especially useful when defending a particular spot. The game brings advanced artificial intelligence, which applies realistic combat tactics. The adversaries can flank the player's forces, take advantage of weak spots and gaps within one's line of defence, cut the player's supply lines, as well as destroy strategically important objects that are not guarded.

Game mode

Apart from the singleplayer campaign, which comprises a series of the most significant events from the Civil War, the creators implemented a special mode, which allows the player to go through particular battles separately.

Technical aspects

Ultimate General: Civil War for PC offers high-quality visuals. Particular battlefields were recreated with attention to the smallest details – it was necessary both to make use of historical maps and satellite photographs.

Last updated on January 15, 2017