Civil War Gaming at its best!!
First off lets explain what this game is all about. Its about the first battle of the Civil War that took place at Bull Run. This game recreates this battle that no other game could do. The designers work long and hard on this game and they made it to one of the best war games of the year. In the game you are a commander and you control either the Union or the Confederate armies. You are placed on 1 of 4 maps that you choose, and you go and battle it out with the enemy just like in the real Civil War. You can hide in the trees and wait for the perfect time to ambush your enemy while they are marching on by, or come face to face with the enemy and fight to the death. It does not matter how you fight all that matters is that you beat the enemy at all costs.
Gameplay:
Well its another take command of a army and control them where they go and how they fight. However this game makes doing this fun and easy(sorta). You can choose who you are in the game from the great General to the unit leader. The higher the rank that you choose the more people and units you have to control and take of. However if you are at a low command the higher commands will sometimes take over your units and place them where they think they should be. You can send out messages to over commanders for help, reinforcements, or tell them that the objective is completed and you need new orders. They will 75% of the time respond to your messages, depending on whether you really completed the objectives or not. Controlling your units are easy just click on the unit(s) and right click where to go. If they see a enemy they will either do nothing or if the enemy is close enough they will start firing at them. A average battle takes between 1 1/2 to 3 hours to complete. All in all its a good setup with alot more stuff to explain, but i can't explain it all in here.
Graphics:
The units are basic model units unlike you would see in other games. From far off they look pretty good but when close up they look blurry. However the incredible detail to the landscape and hills and even houses make up for that. The maps all include hills, ditches, swamps, forests, fences, houses, fields of corn, farms, and roads. These maps are almost the exact replicas of the real battle fields. The maps are not really big but not too small to where you can not hide. It can take a unit, walking, about 20 minutes to get across the map.
Sound:
The sound is pretty good for this type of game. You can hear the cannons firing off in the distance. You can hear the crying of the men charging the enemies lines. Also all the guns firing at once. Its a great sound pack and it was pretty well done.
Overall:
I would give this a 9.5 outta 10. This game has it all. I would defiantly consider anyone who likes war games to get this and try it out. It is alot of fun and it is very enjoyable.