The History -- Civil War: Secret Missions (PC, 2008)

...my rating 4.6/5 .... this is a great game if you like the civil war, shooters, some strategy, history, etc. each scene opens up with a great telling of important segments of the war. you starts off as the REBS, and finish off as the NORTH. this isn't your usual shooter that you have unlimited bullets, and fire 1,000 rounds per second. it is however, sped up so that you wont get board with reloading. eg. musket fire is placing 2 pre-prepared packets and tamping it down - instead of ripping open the powder, placing ball, tamping, firing cap,etc. so it is the best of both. you can see you have to make your shots count- otherwise you are exposed. so realistic in that respect - which is great. you also have a rapid shooting rife and sniper rifle. i question if some of these weapons were around then; but snipering is fun! you can shoot cannons, and the always fun Gattling gun. don't have to turn crank to fire- automatic - and yes, unlimited bullets. you must use strategy on best method & cover for attack. the game is short, but great for replaying. the story is just disjointed segments of the war- so you get a good taste for what it was like back then. oh ya, you get to shoot onto towns using a canon from a moving ship. also a moving train car with the Gattling gun. anything can be produced better and more complex, but for a good price - you get a very good game that wont gather dust for long! it does give a good representation of combat of the time, just sped-up = so to reach more buyers. i would rather take the time to do actual full re-loads of the musket, etc ... but that is for the true re-enactor, not the video game masses. again, very good taste of realism of the civil war - small taste that leaves you wanting more !!!! 4.6 / 5.

Ahh! Bummer! A first-person shooter exactly like the PS3 games from the Civil War ilk and the World War II varieties. The only problem with this game lies in the actual "shooting your enemy" sequences. I have had the sniper rifle crosshairs dead on the opposing soldier's chest and have had my open iron sights pointed between the enemy's shoulder blades and unloaded every round I had into them and they NEVER got hit!!!! Unless you can run away to an area and re-acquire your target and get the computer to turn your crosshairs RED, you cannot hit or damage your opponent!!! It is really frustrating to be at point blank range with a Colt revolver and shoot your enemy 5-6 times square in the chest and face and he steps forward 2-3 steps and punks you in the face with the butt of his rifle stock! How embarrasing?!? The idea behind this game is solidly a good one but the reality of the shot placements suck when the computer can't keep up with the markmanship of a good player! Also, there is the occasional time when a soldier will materialize out of thin air behind you or from a room that you have just cleared and know it to be free of enemy soldiers. Oh and the union soldier that "appears" from under the Conastoga-style wagon AFTER I have just crawled under it myself (and cleared that area) can kiss my ___ everytime he shoots me in the backside as I am leaving the area to start the new rail station section!

GREAT IDEA - TERRIBLE RESULT - I HAVE AN EXCELLENT COMPUTER AND THIS GAME IS VERY SLOW AND HAS A HORRIBLE MOUSE RESPONSE - AGAIN - I HAVE AN EXCELLENT COMPUTER - I CANT BELIEVE ACTIVISION SIGNED OFF ON THIS - THERE ARE NO PATCH FIXES OR ANYTHING ONLINE TO HELP IT EITHER

R.W.F.

Fun game! Not the best graphics, and at times annoying (like all shooters) But for the most part I REALLY enjoyed this game! It was one of my favorites and I LOVED IT! It was also very informative, and lets you play as North and South through a campaign!

The game played fine for me, I've played far better games, the graphics weren't bad but should have been far better than they were. My main issue though is how short the game is! I thought there was a glitch or I was missing some setting to go to a new mission and the game was over! If I'd have known, I'd have never bought it.