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VERY, VERY..... fun game

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 5 / 9
Date: December 26, 2006
Author: Amazon User

This is an extremely fun game, has a good story line, graphics are not too bad, and I would recommend it to anyone (expecially history buffs) If you are tired of the WWII games like me, you should definately get this game. The only thing that they should have incluided in the game is a multiplayer, but the single player is real fun! A++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

BEST GAME EVER MADE

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 0 / 0
Date: May 11, 2008
Author: Amazon User

this game is amazing the graphis are the best i have ever seen the wepons are so realestic its like your actually fighting in the war!!!

Very fun and realistic, but...

4 Rating: 4, Useful: 2 / 3
Date: January 29, 2007
Author: Amazon User

My one main gripe about this game is it is too short, and there is no multiplayer. So far I have only completed the first two Union battles, but I enjoyed every minute of it. It truley has the Next Gen graphics, and I don't know why people say it has the graphics of a PS2, it's graphics are atleast 5x better. I love how you reload, I heard you just pop clips into your rifle and boom, you're ready to go. You acutally have to spend a few seconds reloading. I would definently recommend playing this game. Whether to buy it, or rent it, is up to you.

A little bit of a let-down, but still a decent game

3 Rating: 3, Useful: 13 / 16
Date: December 05, 2006
Author: Amazon User

History Channel Civil War: A Nation Divided is a Civil War game which takes you through six battles on each side, spanning the entire American Civil War from Bull Run to Gettysburg. You can play as both a Confederate and a Union Soldier, adding up to a total of 12 missions. It's definitely not the best shooter for the 360, but it's still good if you like historical shooters, and breaks up the constant stream of World War II based historical shooters that seems to be coming out recently.

Gameplay:

Honestly, the gameplay is a little lacking. The game itself is quite easy because you have an enormous amount of health, which is good because when you take cover, there are times that you can still be shot at, seemingly from nowhere. Sometimes enemies will spawn right next to you even when you think you're in a safe spot. There is, however, a melee combat aspect. Though it's not perfect, using the back end of your gun still adds to the game. The AI isn't too great, but I wouldn't call it awful. Your teammates are all kind of dumb considering this is a 360 game, but they're not as horrible as some reviews would have you think. The AI does have very good aim, both on your team and on the enemy's. This is somewhat balanced by the fact that you have a LOT of health. The missions are also very short, and there's not much replayability, because theres NO multiplayer whatsoever. In terms of pure fun, however, this game is pretty good. Sure, there are annoying parts, but I found myself having fun despite all of these. There's noticeable problems, but not so many to render the game unplayable. 6/10

Graphics:

As far as the graphics on the 360 are concerned, it's a mixed bag. I found the environments to be very well made, but the characters to be bland and frankly, ugly. The characters don't look as realistic as in most other 360 games, and most look like old men, and by old I mean into their 60's. This isn't particularly bad in that sense, but it's still weird. However, the environments were beautiful. I admit, nowhere near as beautiful as those in games such as Oblivion or Gears of War, but still definitely well above the graphics of consoles such as the original X Box or PS2. 6/10

Sound:

The music is fantastic, but sadly the only time you get a chance to hear it is on the menu screens. In game the sound consists mostly of gunshots, cannonfire, and your teammate's comments. As far as the gunshots and cannons go, the sounds are quite accurate and realistic. Your teammate's comments, however, are pretty bland and repetitious, though not to the point that they are annoying. 8/10

Story/Immersion:

So is it worth the History Channel badge on the front? I wouldn't say so. The battles themselves are not accurate in terms of how the battlefields or troops are set up. I was expecting at least a somewhat accurate setting if the game is going to have the History Channel endorsing it. Also, the whole idea of being able to withstand dozens of rifle shots isn't too appealing, at least in this game. In games such as Halo, it makes sense to be able to absorb a lot of damage. But during the Civil War, a soldier would not be able to withstand more than a couple of rifle shots without collapsing. Speaking of rifles, the guns are also inaccurate in the sense that there are so many, that the guns that you can get are not the ones used or available to each side during specific battles. I know all of these gripes are very minor, but I would have expected a lot more realism from a game linked to the History Channel. 4/10

Overall:

The game was still quite fun, for me at least, but was on the short side. It wasn't very historically accurate, which is something I was expecting. It isn't the most technologically advanced, and has some bugs, but overall, it IS a decent game. Even though its 10 dollars cheaper than most new premium 360 games (50 dollars rather than 60), I'd wait for it to get a bit older, and therefore cheaper, before buying it.

24/40 = 6/10

Mediocre, but an interesting spin

3 Rating: 3, Useful: 15 / 17
Date: December 09, 2006
Author: Amazon User

I agree with a number of points made in Lazer Viking's review below. Really, I would probably give this 2.5 stars for fun and overall, if that were an option here. Being something of a history buff and enjoying FPS games (particularly COD 2, whose engine serves as the foundation of HC Civil War), I was really looking forward to this game. The historical presentation is interesting, but overall, the game is lackluster. It is simple, very easy, and not highly immersive or a great deal of fun. The graphics were decent, better than some reviews would have you think and the sound was well done also. James Horner's ballads from Glory serve as much of the background music. There were some definite issues with the collision detection in this game; occasionally you will have your gun sights directly on an enemy (doesn't matter if you are zooming, or just using the default crosshairs) and numerous shots have no effect. Additionally, the benefits of using cover are somewhat debatable. There were many instances where I was completely concealed from enemies behind a rock, or a building, yet I was being hit by gunfire from these same unseen enemies. The game was not as polished as I would like (another few months of testing would have done wonders) and many of the tasks were very vanilla/simple and repetitive. I would probably recommend renting before buying. I got this on sale at Amazon and I'm not unhappy with the price I paid, but I don't know that it was truly worth the $39.82.

Doom meets the civil war

3 Rating: 3, Useful: 8 / 10
Date: November 28, 2006
Author: Amazon User

The game is "Doom" meets the civil war, a first person shooter,that although it has some nice graphics, quite frankly, I expected a lot more from a game linking itself to the history channel. The 12 battle scenarios are all the same, you move down a trail encountering random enemies. Overall, its best if you keep a sense of humor if you buy and play this game, it certainly is not "Gettysburg-Sid Meier".

No Cover

3 Rating: 3, Useful: 2 / 5
Date: December 15, 2006
Author: Amazon User

What I found most frustrating about this game is that it seemed that enemy soldiers could hit you from any distance even if they could not see you. Trees and foilage don't serve for cover at all. You have to be completely out of someone's line of sight to avoid getting hit. You also cannot lay down, only crouch...

Needs some MAJOR Improvements...

3 Rating: 3, Useful: 1 / 1
Date: April 23, 2007
Author: Amazon User

I'm surprised History Channel could dish out something this good. Well, about the game: you have a total of 12 battles to fight as either the North or the South (that's 6 battles per side). Each of these battles has a nice little intro and exit video about how the battle went, the generals, etc. etc. Then, you have your stats screen. Get tons of points and get several cool bonuses from the main menu. That's a clean overview of the non-battle system. Time for the actual battles and fights: they are pretty darn pathetic. This health system they use is rigged (your health with regenerate as a Northerner and it will remain the same until you pick up a med-kit as a Southerner). Wait a minute, they had med-kits in the Civil War? I never knew... Continuing, we have this bogus detail on the battles. Oh sure, it dishes out big promises like fighting in line battles and massive environments, but that's just a plain and easy to see lie. You will not be fighting massive battles and you will not be in line battles, ever. You will be killing people in line battles, that's it. Moving on, there is no strategy. You have a set path to follow with a copy-cat Medal of Honor: Allied Assault compass. AI is a "meh". I've seen much better. Moving on, you will be fighting small-time battles that "happened" during the big major battles. You aren't going to get to march into Fredricksburg, for instance, and start fighting in the town. You will be fighting outside in a god-forsaken forest with tons of Robin Hood-style Rebels shooting and cutting at you all the while having about 100 cannon shells landing around you. Sounds cool, but it isn't. That's just an example. The weapons are OK, but most of them aren't exactly accurate. You must note that the Union will only be using the Springfield musket when in fact the Enfield musket was the main Union weapon. Most of the environments, too, are dark and gloomy. Gettysburg isn't exactly as sunny as it should have been. Bull Run is another story. It's so bright you're likely to have your eyes melt out of your head while the image is burned into the back of your brain.

Final thought, this isn't worth the forty bucks it is currently being offered at. Rent it, but do not buy. It's the same for the PC and PS2 versions. You shall not be warned again.

Better Off A Rental

3 Rating: 3, Useful: 1 / 1
Date: May 27, 2007
Author: Amazon User

Given that the pool of Civil War games is pretty shallow , we are willing to give anything a shot right now. This game is one that you can easily beat in less than 3 hours, even if you don't happen to have much skill at FPS games. Yes, there is really no replay value to this game at all. They,The History Channel, try to add some of their flavor to game with some nice forwards before each battle but its too little and who really, besides me, cares about that? The graphics are something of the past. They look a regular Xbox game, no shunning the Xbox but you can tell the difference between the 360 the regular. When you get into the game play, you can quickly see that most of the levels have the same objectives and are very bland. Almost all the levels involve you blowing something up. Let's be a little more inventive. If anyone wanted to buy this game, I could not see why because it's way too short of ride even someone who loved the Civil war. Final Score......... 6/10

For all you that want some easy achievements: RENT THIS ONE! The points will adding before you know it!

Was average

3 Rating: 3, Useful: 0 / 0
Date: March 04, 2007
Author: Amazon User

This game had as much good as bad. On the upside, there were a healthy variety of weapons and the scenery was beautiful. The variety gives the user the opportunity to experience firing civil war era weapons only a rich (or well connected) man could fire in a lifetime. In addtition, if you like running around in classic 19th century American farmland and woodlots, this will certainly meet that need. The best scenery is Chancellorville. It places you in a heavily wooded forest with dense undergrowth at twilight. Quite mysterious indeed. On the downside, the weapon reloading is only accurate for the Henry rifle and the Spencer carbine. All the weapons which require manual primers - as most civil guns did - do not show the user placing primers on the weapons. If this game were real life the guns would go "click, click" instead of "bang, bang." Aside from that, the uniforms are not true to history. The characters in the game resemble a spaghetti western rendition of civil war uniforms instead of what was actually worn. I'm a Civil War reenactor and I can fairly say that historic inaccuracies are aplenty in this game. To the untrained eye this will go unnoticed, but to anyone who knows what to look for, it can become painful over time. On the bright side, there are a nice variety of battles from the eastern and western theaters, as well as the deep south. It may not be the best but for civil war buffs it's all we've got - it will have to do until someone comes up with something better.

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