Sid Meier's Gettysburg

Computer Game Review

Reviewed by Graham Empson

By Fraxis distributed by Electronic Arts.

Probably the most famous battle of the American Civil War and one which has certainly been done before, but not like this. Sid Meier and his team at Fraxis have created something truly innovative which combines elements from turn-based wargaming with real-time gaming and places these in a strategic setting - quite an achievement in itself.

Though it covers the historical battle the innovations in the game mean its unlike any of the previous versions you have played. The game demands you use realistic tactics of the period. You even get a neatly written booklet which explains the basics, an excellent idea for beginners and it even enlightened me on a few things too. You don't just throw your units in wholesale without planning a sound strategy because that leads to failure. If you want to control the movement of every single unit on the field, forget it, learn to delegate, accept that the action is real-time and happening all over the battlefield and you can't be everywhere at once.

Instead of attempting to re-create the entire three day battle in one huge game, it has been broken down into many smaller scenarios focusing on the critical and interesting actions over the period of the battle. This is essentially mainly due to the regimental / brigade scale which is in use and means the player would find it nigh impossible to control the whole army, especially while operating in real-time. Adopting this approach is admirably sensible but does generate a couple of small niggles from yours truly.

At the lower level of difficulty you get a lot of empty map space which gives the feeling that your brigades are fighting in glorious isolation and not as part of a division which in turn is part of an army corps. It permits you to manoeuvre outside of the historical constraints, shows you wide open flanks, when in reality these were protected. At higher levels of difficulty you do get a better feel of not being alone since fixed units appear on your flanks but these do not participate. Given the excellent AI {artificial intelligence}, it gets to be a hard opponent at high levels of difficulty, it would have been a nice touch to let it control the friendly units so they actually appeared to participate. No way does the player need them, his hands are already full so more units would just turn into overload.

Obviously as the basic units are regiments of infantry and cavalry with batteries of artillery it is perfectly possible to command individual units. This is definitely not a good idea. You have to be a commander, make full use of brigade level orders, because, in real-time, you can't be everywhere at once. Unless you retain cohesive brigade formations your chances of success will diminish rapidly. A disorganized mass is a quick way to oblivion. Using the wrong formations at the wrong time is a sure way to defeat. The range of orders available and some ability to queue the orders helps reduce your workload. You need to remember you are the commander so keep scrolling round to ensure your plan is being followed as are your orders you hope.

The isometric rendition of the map is good, offering an excellent feel regarding the varying heights of the terrain over which you are fighting. You have scrolling, which in one player mode causes the screen to blank, but other games do the same. Its probably the usual case of a single CPU chip, so if you use too much of it on graphics then the AI is deprived so compromise is necessary. Given the need to compromise concentrating on the AI activity certainly gets my vote.

Once you have done the tutorials, learned how to control your forces, looked over the battlefield then you are ready for the action. When battle commences this is where the game comes into its own. Believe me you will cover the spectrum of feelings from jubilation, as your attack smashes the enemy line, to total despair as the AI smashes into your flank and you have nothing to stop it. You get the feel of battle and of course the attendant frustrations of being a commander. If you do get it really badly wrong it can lose the fun factor.

When your forces end up in a tangled mess and confusion reigns, it becomes ever more difficult to see who is where, with what. Whilst the animation is very good, a minor niggle by this old timer, you have no option to turn it off or change from animated units into blocks. My own personal preference is for blocks with identifying numbers that way I can distinguish units in close proximity and it assists in sorting out tangles.

You soon realize that the AI is excellent, certainly one of the best I have seen to date. It has an innate capability to spot your weak points and probe for your flanks, without apparently cheating too {at least I haven't spotted it yet}. You will discover that at the lower difficulty levels the AI still retains this capability that is because the difficulty level uses morale as the adjustment, a very neat twist. The level of difficulty is represented by generals of varying quality, Rowley is easiest and Hancock the hardest for the Union. You are also offered a choice of tactical personalities for your opponent offering combinations of indirect, flexible, prudent in one direction with aggressive, prudent and cautious in the other again using generals names. This of course provides some good variety and will retain the interest for a good while.

So well done Sid Meier for an excellent game and for yet again pushing the boundaries back once more. Whilst the game is not perfect it has taken the concept of combined strategy and real-time a lot further down the road than the other attempts I have seen to date. My recommendation just in case you were in any doubt is very highly recommended and I shall be playing this game for a long time to come.

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