I have a deep and abiding love of strategy games, stemming from a childhood which was rife with boardgames featuring small cardboard squares and maps of European countries. When computers evolved to the point where they were available at home and could run such games, I knew that I loved computers as well.
About once every year or so a new computer strategy game comes along that’s novel and interesting enough to capture my full attention and keep me playing it. As a rule these games are at least loosely turn based strategy games, often 2D, with great replayability, great AI and the ability to capture me and keep me for hours at a time.
American Civil War -Blue and the Grey is one such game. While the timespan isn’t measured in centuries but rather in the course of four years the game is captivating enough to keep me engaged for hours. AMC-BaG (I also have an affinity for creating acronyms) is a deep strategy game with plenty of elements to keep a you busy during your turn but crafted well enough that you don’t become completely overwhelmed with minutiae.
For a 2D game, the maps and playing pieces are well crafted and easy to look at. It is indeed like playing on a some massive, well detailed game board. the pieces which represent your troops (from a complete army right to the brigade level) are well detailed and with a few clicks of your mouse you can get all of the information you’ll need about them.
The game itself takes place on a massively detailed map of the United States from the Mid-West right through to the East Coast. The map is quite large, offering plenty of room to scroll about and enjoy the scenery. There are no hexes or squares – instead the map is divided into regions. Moving your troops is as simple as drag and drop from region to region.
The game is turn based, using WEGO – you and your opponent plan out your moves and then they are enacted simultaneously. Gameplay can be pretty involved – if you’re a casual strategy fan then you may not want to look into this unless you plan on moving up a few notches. If you’re like me however and can lose yourself for hours in game play, you’ll love this game.
It should be noted that there is no direct control of battle here. ACW-BaG looks to put the player in the position of the leader of his or her country. You can make your plans and give your orders but it’s up to the individuals whom you put in place to actually undertake them.
You can play the game historically – where your generals and other notables are pretty much what you’d expect or you can go for a more open ended recreation of history, where there stats are randomly generated.
It can be time consuming tracking every aspect of your forces – if you’re not really into the minutia of war games you may not find this title as appealing. If you do like to have a hand in virtually every aspect of your war – from political to troop movements, you’ll get a lot out of this game. You’ve got to not only plan your battle strategy but worry about national morale, economic pressures, even international relations.
To sum up – if you’re a casual war gamer looking to spend a few hours a week in game then you may want to look elsewhere. If your serious about your gaming though and plan on playing longer sessions, with an eye towards strategic detail you will enjoy this game.
The Good:
One of the best game maps I’ve ever seen.
Great integration of WEGO system.
Just plain fun.
The Bad:
Music score will force you to turn the sound off after hours of play.
Large time investment required.
Overall Score: 8.5
Gameplay: 9
Experience (Sound/Graphics): 8
Replayability: 8
Fun Factor/Price: 9
This game reviewed on an @XI Gaming Rig.
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