Ultimate General: Gettysburg

 PC
User Score
7.8

Generally favorable reviews- based on 160 Ratings

User score distribution:
  1. Positive: 126 out of 160
  2. Mixed: 11 out of 160
  3. Negative: 23 out of 160

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  1. kch3691
    Feb 18, 2018
    5
    Ultimate General: Gettysburg is a basic RTS exclusively focused to Gettysburg. My biggest problem is that the game does not give the player enough information. The game is lacking in content too, less than 2 hours to complete.
  2. McGoo
    Nov 6, 2017
    1
    I did not like this game at all. Maybe gamers will like it but it is so unrealistic in so many areas that I consider it childish. The huge advantage to defenders resulting from the advent of the rifled musket due to much greater accuracy and almost triple the range is ignored. No discernible difference between attacker and defender, glaringly obvious during Pickett's charge. Also duringI did not like this game at all. Maybe gamers will like it but it is so unrealistic in so many areas that I consider it childish. The huge advantage to defenders resulting from the advent of the rifled musket due to much greater accuracy and almost triple the range is ignored. No discernible difference between attacker and defender, glaringly obvious during Pickett's charge. Also during Pickett, rebs had huge artillery advantage and never ran out of ammunition. Pathetic.… Expand
  3. Gampy
    Jan 27, 2017
    3
    Two similar units of equal size. Mine stands on a hill with with a forest that provides 70% cover, the enemie stands on a clear field, gues what? The enemie's unit manages to kill 6 times more (not joking, 6 times) soldiers than mine. Tactics my ass, this game is garbage.
  4. bulldog891
    Aug 29, 2016
    2
    This game is awful. Pays no attention to realistic situations. My confederates will outnumber the Union 3 to 1 and retreat almost immediately. Makes it hard to set up an attack when they run at first contact. And I mean they run far away. It is so frustrating. Have played sid meters version and was able to win sometimes. Not with this one. I am very disappointed
  5. Lone_Wolf_Sones
    Aug 7, 2016
    8
    If you enjoy historical rts games and have a vested interest in the civil war this game will appeal to you. For a small development team there is a surprising amount of depth here. It also needs to be said that the game offers one of the most gorgeous maps I have seen. Gettysburg and the surrounding terrain are drawn with loving detail.

    The UI is simple and easy to navigate. There are a    If you enjoy historical rts games and have a vested interest in the civil war this game will appeal to you. For a small development team there is a surprising amount of depth here. It also needs to be said that the game offers one of the most gorgeous maps I have seen. Gettysburg and the surrounding terrain are drawn with loving detail.

    The UI is simple and easy to navigate. There are a variety of options for the enemy AI and you can tailor the game's difficulty to your liking. You can set the enemy to be defensive, aggressive, balanced etc. The controls are so good its a wonder other games haven't done something as intuitive. You move your units by clicking and drawing a 'arrow' on the map. It just is satisfying and reminds you of those old battle maps from your history class.

    Changes have been made to the game overtime allowing for even finer tuning of unit movement. The game is ultimately worth every penny.

    There was also some controversy when Apple decided it was better to censor the game because its artwork displayed the confederate flag; a context the flag belongs in. It was a period of US history that did happen. To remove the confederate flag is to undermine the sacrifices made by the men on both sides.    … Expand
  6. LoneWolfSones
    Feb 21, 2016
    8
    If you enjoy historical rts games and have a vested interest in the civil war this game will appeal to you. For a small development team there is a surprising amount of depth here. It also needs to be said that the game offers one of the most gorgeous maps I have seen. Gettysburg and the surrounding terrain are drawn with loving detail.

    The UI is simple and easy to navigate. There are a    If you enjoy historical rts games and have a vested interest in the civil war this game will appeal to you. For a small development team there is a surprising amount of depth here. It also needs to be said that the game offers one of the most gorgeous maps I have seen. Gettysburg and the surrounding terrain are drawn with loving detail.

    The UI is simple and easy to navigate. There are a variety of options for the enemy AI and you can tailor the game's difficulty to your liking. You can set the enemy to be defensive, aggressive, balanced etc. The controls are so good its a wonder other games haven't done something as intuitive. You move your units by clicking and drawing a 'arrow' on the map. It just is satisfying and reminds you of those old battle maps from your history class.

    Changes have been made to the game overtime allowing for even finer tuning of unit movement. The game is ultimately worth every penny.

    There was also some controversy when Apple decided it was better to censor the game because its artwork displayed the confederate flag; a context the flag belongs in. It was a period of US history that did happen. To remove the confederate flag is to undermine the sacrifices made by the men on both sides.    … Expand
  7. Calvin_1
    Nov 3, 2015
    10
    This game is one of the best strategy games of all time!

    1) It is focused, it concentrates on one battle and does it well, although some may consider it to small, I like the directions they could take this engine to expand it into a more total war esc game. 2) The AI is intelligent and the difficulties are not just eye candy, they are what it is like. Cautious means that they take    This game is one of the best strategy games of all time!

    1) It is focused, it concentrates on one battle and does it well, although some may consider it to small, I like the directions they could take this engine to expand it into a more total war esc game.

    2) The AI is intelligent and the difficulties are not just eye candy, they are what it is like. Cautious means that they take their time, slow build up using artillery and advancing slowly while aggressive AI will charge your lines, flank you, encircle you and destroy you.

    3) You are rewarded for smart play as casualties carry over in the stages, enabling you to in or lose the battle on the first day of fighting.

    Admittedly, I am a very long time strategy fan and I will enjoy almost any game that actually improves over time (cough cough total war cough) a definite buy for strategy gamers.    … Expand
  8. 1337Comet
    Sep 28, 2015
    9
    Great game, Have 24 hours played total so far and would say it is spilt 50/50 between the union and confederacy. Has a great engine and operates pretty seamlessly on my AMD system.

    PRO's- Easy to pick up and play, simple controls, great GFX on all settings (set to low for an improved performance with little cost to the games cosmetics). Stays true to the historical events that was the    Great game, Have 24 hours played total so far and would say it is spilt 50/50 between the union and confederacy. Has a great engine and operates pretty seamlessly on my AMD system.

    PRO's- Easy to pick up and play, simple controls, great GFX on all settings (set to low for an improved performance with little cost to the games cosmetics). Stays true to the historical events that was the Battle of Gettysburg and its locations geographically speaking (down to the unfinished train tracks).

    CON's- Can not think of any at this time...ah the unit movement can sometimes feel clunky and unresponsive...fixed this to some degree with unit haste.

    Side note- The setting of the battle AI is really cool allowing for emphasis being placed on the aggressiveness.    … Expand
  9. dirtyproduce
    Sep 13, 2015
    8
    Experience a part of American history and download one of the finest Civil War games ever made! Control your troops of infantry, artillery and Calvary in an effort to capture specific objectives on the battlefield. You'll learn to make use of cover, supporting fire, flanking movements to defeat the enemy
  10. ManFromCasper
    Sep 10, 2015
    5
    I really wish someone would pick up Sierras CWGII and fast attack. That said. ultimate general gettysburg is a fairly nice game. The flaw is, twice as the south, i took both roundtops. The next fight, I had to re-take them and finally won. Need to get that right. Wish that when a battle is done, like cwg2, the armies would get rested and resupplied.
  11. Skaldwolf
    Jul 7, 2015
    10
    I'm a grognard. I've been wargaming for 30+ years. After all that time it's difficult not to become a little jaded. Companies promise new features, deep gameplay, and historic accuracy, and most of the time seem to fall short.

    Ultimate General simply amazed me with it's simple controls but extremely deep tactical gameplay. over all it's historical accuracy is good as well. There are a    I'm a grognard. I've been wargaming for 30+ years. After all that time it's difficult not to become a little jaded. Companies promise new features, deep gameplay, and historic accuracy, and most of the time seem to fall short.

    Ultimate General simply amazed me with it's simple controls but extremely deep tactical gameplay. over all it's historical accuracy is good as well. There are a few TINY things that could be tweaked but nothing that is big enough to even mention in this short review.

    UG:G has easily become one of my top 5 computer wargames of all time and I've played tons of them over the years.

    The fact that this small company stood up to Apple and chose historical accuracy over potential sales on the Apple store impressed me greatly. Because of this decision I will be sure to support Game Labs in the future.

    This is a game that will go down in history as one of the best ever. If you are a wargamer this game is a MUST buy.    … Expand
  12. semperpietas
    Jun 25, 2015
    10
    This is a fun tactical game simulating the American Civil War. It has an easy learning curve, beautiful graphics, complex battlefield AI, and a beautiful art style to represent the largest battle of the American Civil War. Controls are fluid, even if picking exact units is a little troublesome, but the scale and depth is magnificent. Performance is awesome. There are hundreds of scenariosThis is a fun tactical game simulating the American Civil War. It has an easy learning curve, beautiful graphics, complex battlefield AI, and a beautiful art style to represent the largest battle of the American Civil War. Controls are fluid, even if picking exact units is a little troublesome, but the scale and depth is magnificent. Performance is awesome. There are hundreds of scenarios representing different parts of the famous three day battle and the nine AI settings all perform differently and competently. Combat is focused around infantry brigades firing volleys and batteries of artillery that can limber an artillery and the game features a line of sight system for what the player and his units can see. Infantry brigades are rated based on the unit's historical reputation and by a three star rating system (for instance, the famous Confederate Texas Brigade or the Union Irish Brigade are rated with three stars, while less reliable units like some of the Union Eleventh Corps brigades are rated only one star).

    There are few historical quirks and rating differences I disagree with though. For instance, Union corps are labelled with Roman numerals, which is an anachronism for the period, and some generals like Richard Ewell of the Confederate 2nd Corps are rated as three stars, when I would argue that his performances would earn him a lower rater. Overall, however, these are minor and I found didn't detract from the gameplay experience.

    The only gameplay negatives is that sometimes matches can drag on and there is a timing issue. There is no fast forward button, only pause and play. Pause is useful for micromanaging, but arranging attacks and waiting for units to march across the field can take a long time. If you wish to arrange an intricate assault with a lot of maneuvering, this will often eat into match time. The game is also limited to just the Gettysburg battle, though a future expansion with Antietam is being talked about.

    However, these negatives are not overwhelming. By far, Ultimate General Gettysburg is an excellent, light, but intelligent title and recommended for Civil War Buffs and Strategy Fans.    … Expand
  13. Bunkerfox
    Jun 11, 2015
    4
    A game with some of the best AI, some bad design choices, and a fair share of bugs makes for a game which can't live up to its own moments of brilliance.

    The map, whilst very nice to look at, is horrendous. It gives no real visual clues to anything, especially line of sight. You place your cannon or men in a position which looks like they'd clearly be able to fire and engage someone,    A game with some of the best AI, some bad design choices, and a fair share of bugs makes for a game which can't live up to its own moments of brilliance.

    The map, whilst very nice to look at, is horrendous. It gives no real visual clues to anything, especially line of sight. You place your cannon or men in a position which looks like they'd clearly be able to fire and engage someone, and they will sit there, motionless. You click on an enemy unit, and they refuse to fire at it. Doesn't matter that they are lit up to be in your LoS, whether they think they can actually see it is apparently random.

    There is a topographic mode included, to help alleviate this bad visual design. Shame that's mostly useless as well. You place your cannon at the top of the hill, they still can't see bugger all. Oh, it's because I placed them a few meters to the left so now they can't see. Even with the Topographic mode it's still hard to tell ridges and valleys apart, so in the end I felt I had to play the same map several times before I even knew where and where not to put my units, or where I had to exactly place my cannons for them to be useful.

    Every battle so far seems to have its share of bugs. Units will sometimes follow crazy paths, they will need to be told to do things several times, or sometimes they will just suddenly become pacifists and never fire at anyone. In my most recent battle, almost all the units on the map stopped fighting each other. They apparently declared a truce and never did anything to each other. I could order them to attack and they would stand there. I could position my units so that they were physically intermingled with the enemy, and still nothing. When ordered to charge they ran past the enemy unit and had a tea break. In other battles I've had magic positions on the battlefield, where any unit that enters it is petrified for the rest of the battle and can never move again, both my side and the enemy. This isn't the pre-release version. This is several months AFTER release mind you, plenty of time to fix issues like this.

    When the Unit AI isn't bugging out, it's actually rather good, at least for Cavalry and Infantry. They can often be trusted to carry out orders without any intense micro-managing, but I found it's easier to keep check on them in case they decide it'll be fun to walk across 50 enemy cannons and have a tea party whilst being flanked. Cannons need to be micro-managed though. If you place it just below the crest of the hill (A very easy mistake to make with the unclear maps) and you order it to attack someone, there is no clear visual or audio feedback telling you they can't attack. So rather than having an artillery barrage help break the line before your army attacks, your attack has been routed because you didn't know your cannons are a few meters out. You'd think that they'd maybe roll forward at least a few inches so they can attack what they are being told to attack, but they prefer to just ignore you

    The enemy general AI, however, is brilliant. There are several different AI Personalities that a general can get, ranging from ultra defensive to all-out attacking. And they do make a big difference to how a battle goes. The AI isn't stupid either. They actually know how to fight battles, using actual proper tactics. I've been fairly outplayed by them a good few times. They know when to attack weak units, when to charge, when to swap out tired units for fresh ones, and a few times I've been totally out flanked. It isn't just good AI, or passable, this truly is some of the best I've ever seen in a game.

    The UI is rather pretty, but this is apparently at the expense of usability. It gives very little feedback on your units, terrain, or the battle. It's hard to determine when a unit is breaking or not without first clicking them to bring up their small info-boxes. Whilst it is manageable in the smaller battles on the first day, as soon as large battles start it can be incredibly easy to miss units breaking or routing on different parts of the field, or whether or not that unit you're attacking with is in any condition to fight. This all isn't a very bad point or anything, but it is more of an annoyance. I would much rather have a lot more information presented to me rather than having a screen that looks pretty.

    In summary, this is a flawed game. Bugs can easily ruin enjoyable battles, and it's Mobile orientated design saps a lot of character from units and makes it very hard to easily tell what's going on. However, the AI is really something to admire. I've not seen Strategy AI this clever in a long, long time. It's such a shame that the rest of the game lets itself down    … Expand
  14. Hash_Slinger
    May 25, 2015
    9
    This game is great, its looks simple on the surface but it is surprisingly complex.
    The game revolves around the battle of Gettysburg which was a major battle, and some say the turning point of the civil war. The map is detailed and true to life map of Gettysburg PA. The whole game consists of this one battle which covers four days. If you have ever read in depth about Gettysburg or the    This game is great, its looks simple on the surface but it is surprisingly complex.
    The game revolves around the battle of Gettysburg which was a major battle, and some say the turning point of the civil war. The map is detailed and true to life map of Gettysburg PA. The whole game consists of this one battle which covers four days. If you have ever read in depth about Gettysburg or the civil war you will immediately recognize all you commanders as they are the real commanders from the battle. The objectives you need to capture are the real strategic points from the actual battle.

    The game play is pretty simple, click a group of soldiers and tell them where to go by dragging a path on the map. Tell them to charge, run, hold, or regular attack. There are four stats to consider with every with every group; cover, morale, reload, and condition. There is also artillery with a few commands of their own (canister, shell). There is also cavalry, skirmishers and commanders. The commanders provide a morale boost to troops close to them. I just pretty much described every mechanic available, but within this framework is a polished and in-depth strategy game that is a lot of fun. The ai is fully adjustable with 9 different settings, and there is multilayer head to head.

    In my opinion this is one of the best, if not the best civil war strategy game on the market. The re-playability is there if you want to try it from both sides, and then start to adjust the challenge with the ai. I recommend this game to anyone who is new to the genre, likes the civil war or wants to play a really fun game that is not that taxing. Unlike a lot of strategy games it does not take hours to learn. You pretty much know how to play right from the start. The trick is getting good. I have only played multi less than 10 games, so im no authority on it, but it was very fun and it had me actually sweating with suspense. Fans of total war should feel at home here. And the price is less than $10, a steal in my opinion!    … Expand
  15. timskorn
    May 8, 2015
    9
    I have to preface this with the fact I've been a long-time Sid Meier's Gettysburg! (SMG) fan. I even enjoyed Antietam for its greater scope, but it doesn't compare to SMG. UGG is a spiritual successor to SMG. I felt right at home playing UGG, and even if you haven't played any game like it before, UGG is fantastically simple to learn. So this will be a sort of SMG vs UGG comparisonI have to preface this with the fact I've been a long-time Sid Meier's Gettysburg! (SMG) fan. I even enjoyed Antietam for its greater scope, but it doesn't compare to SMG. UGG is a spiritual successor to SMG. I felt right at home playing UGG, and even if you haven't played any game like it before, UGG is fantastically simple to learn. So this will be a sort of SMG vs UGG comparison here.

    For me, this is a 21st century SMG. The graphics bring the battle to life, and the scope gives a visual "awe" to the battles that you don't get in SMG. There's more simplicity to the unit commands in UGG which, for the most part, are just fine with me. The unit AI is surprisingly good. You don't need to babysit your units too much. I've seen units charge on their own to support an adjacent battalion.

    The controls are extremely simple and visually appealing. Drawing lines all over a map has a satisfying "General" feel to it, and its an easy way to see your overall movements all at once.

    Unit information is easy to gather. The numbers strength always hovers over the unit, so you can see that Ames has 1431 men, for example. Visually the unit size scales to show larger formations, so a 1500 man unit will be much larger than a 300 man unit. Clicking on the unit shows real-time info on Morale, Condition, Cover, and Reload. After playing the game, and even after reading the manual, "Condition" seems the most ambiguous info for a unit. I've had a lot of units at low or zero condition, and they still fight, still hold their position, and seem effective. I'm sure it IS affecting the unit, but not to such a degree as to care much about it.

    Morale takes in all sorts of factors that, if you're knowledgeable of the war or have played similar games, you'll automatically know that units get morale boosts from nearby Generals, friendly units, and not being shot in the back by a flanking enemy unit. The game uses some symbols on Morale to show bonuses, but its not entirely clear HOW much morale boost a unit is getting by looking at its Morale. On the same note, UGG doesn't do a great job indicating a unit with flagging morale like SMG does. SMG's units all had a flag you could see to identify morale (the flag would be large and flapping if it had great morale, and low/sagging with poor morale). In UGG, a units icon will flash white when their morale is low or broken. Usually by the time its flashing though, the unit is moments away from routing and there's not much you can do. So the only effective way to know if a unit is losing morale rapidly is clicking that unit and seeing how fast their morale is dropping, or based off instinct from playing the game. If I see a lone unit attacking a defended position on a hill and taking fire, I already know their morale is dropping fast.

    Cover is extremely important, and is very useful to see the % of cover a unit has. Reload is interesting too but a more useful indicator for artillery units. If a unit is in poor conditon/morale, they reload slower. You'll see after a unit fires their Reload go from 100% to 0%, then slowly build back up again. This reload time is also dependent on many factors. But, in general, Morale and Cover are icons I reference the most in my decision making.

    The ebb and flow of the battles, and the length of the battles, are far better than SMG. Battles in UGG can go back and forth for some time. Resting/keeping units in reserve is very important for counterattacks. Retreating from a VP location is OK if you need to reassemble.

    I've played two games now, one as the CSA and the last as the USA. Both times I played with the standard "Balanced" AI. I played first as the CSA. By the end of the campaign, I came out with a minor victory but at great cost. I lost a lot of boys out there. I love that UGG tracks every kill, and unit losses/positions carry over to the next map. In order to "win", you have to take your objectives but not lose all your men in the process.

    As the USA, I completely annihilated the CSA. It wasn't even close. The final scenario I literally wiped every CSA unit off the map. There's more difficult AI's I'm going to try, and there's also a "Boost AI" button which, I don't know, maybe gives them extra units or faster reloads or something. UGG is definitely worth finding an AI that will give you a run for your money, so I'll be experimenting with the difficulty levels.

    UGG's campaign is a lot of fun. You get to choose your next move after each scenario, and everything you do carries over to the next phase/map. I spent a lot of time pondering strategic decisions.

    I don't give this a perfect 10 because I miss the flavor SMG brought to the game, namely voice overs. Units in SMG would give audio feedback to indicate morale like, "We got em now!" or a holler whenever an enemy unit routed. The battle sounds in UGG are satisfying, but voices would do wonders for it.

    Don't hesitate to buy this game.    … Expand
  16. Kinerage
    Apr 30, 2015
    9
    Easy to learn. Deep mechanics. Simple controls. Smart AI. Cheap price.

    UG:G is an underappreciated gem strategy gamers would be proud to have in their collection. For those who are new to strategy games and wanting to try, this would be a good place to start.
  17. JimCorbett
    Mar 31, 2015
    6
    I've come back to this game after a few months and I have decided to update the review. I previously gave the game a 3/10 but I'm glad to say that I found the game to have been improved considerably. Firstly, the game has fixed a few things that I criticized before: Your pathfinding AI is now better. Units won't run around aimlessly. Artillery is easier to use and acquires targets on itsI've come back to this game after a few months and I have decided to update the review. I previously gave the game a 3/10 but I'm glad to say that I found the game to have been improved considerably. Firstly, the game has fixed a few things that I criticized before: Your pathfinding AI is now better. Units won't run around aimlessly. Artillery is easier to use and acquires targets on its own now which is great. It's still difficult to tell if you'll be able to shoot at some enemies or if a tree or barn is in the way, but overall it is greatly improved. Now on to the good: The map looks nice and you can see where all the landmarks are easily . Both factions play differently, the north is more defensive and likes ranged units, while the confederacy is more aggressive and likes to get into melee combat. They aren't perfectly balanced, but that's to be expected. Maps aren't super long and I like who what you do in the previous battle affects your placement and options in the next. However i did find that sometimes when i captured an objective in one battle, the game would take it away from me for the next, which is annoying but not game breaking. I'm not sure how long or short the game is, some people say you can win on the first day while others say it's taken them 4 days. I've always finished in three days which is about 6 separate scenarios. It's still difficult to discern what affects the morale and condition of your troops (which drop rapidly). I wish things like this were easier to figure out. In the end, unless you're interested in multiplayer (which isn't very active) the price is a bit steep for what's offered. Recommend waiting for 50% off at least.… Expand
  18. MarcusAntonius
    Mar 30, 2015
    10
    Really excited to see where this franchise goes, I have been following the modders turned game developers since their days tinkering with the Total War series. With that said , this game is a great effort but it's definitely limited. Though it's definitely a must buy for casual armchair generals.
  19. HDTM
    Mar 4, 2015
    10
    Game is awesome and getting better and better with devs improvements.
    Ultimate General is the state of art for wargames. It's the dune 2000 for tactical wargames, a revolution!
  20. llcw08
    Feb 15, 2015
    9
    This is a true Innovative Masterpiece of theme and AI. The one map, one battle theme will be quickly expanded after 'Ultimate General: Gettysburg' finishes its final polish.

    The best parts of the Total War series are the battles, and Ultimate General: Gettysburg is a real-time Kick without the cartoon-like aspects of Total War. The AI is amazing. Not only does it seamless morph into    This is a true Innovative Masterpiece of theme and AI. The one map, one battle theme will be quickly expanded after 'Ultimate General: Gettysburg' finishes its final polish.

    The best parts of the Total War series are the battles, and Ultimate General: Gettysburg is a real-time Kick without the cartoon-like aspects of Total War.

    The AI is amazing. Not only does it seamless morph into the type of opponent You Choose, but the AI also helps you manage your control over your troops!

    I am still a fan of Sid Meier's games and CA's Total War, but this 'Gettysburg' is far, far beyond anything encountered in any other 'Gettysburg' or other large-scale wargames. The UI is sometimes criticised because the Player actually needs to Understand what they are Doing... [?]

    Ultimate General: Gettysburg is the new baseline in this game genre.    … Expand
  21. bitmap
    Feb 12, 2015
    9
    Well balance battle engine with just enough controls to keep you in charge of events without having to micro manage too much. What really makes this game stand out is the intelligence displayed by the units, particularly your own units. They'll put themselves into appropriate formations in battle and will withdraw if things are getting too hot for them. The enemy AI is a worthyWell balance battle engine with just enough controls to keep you in charge of events without having to micro manage too much. What really makes this game stand out is the intelligence displayed by the units, particularly your own units. They'll put themselves into appropriate formations in battle and will withdraw if things are getting too hot for them. The enemy AI is a worthy adversary, particularly on the higher levels. And setting the enemy AI to a higher difficulty level really does make it play differently and not just increase the amount of punishment enemy units will take before they break.

    Although this game is about Gettysburg, the engine could (and hopefully will) be quite easily adapted for other battles, and not necessarily just Civil War ones. Also if the developers can add a strategic level to future games, this could develop into a series that will be a serious challenge to Total War.    … Expand
  22. Tikevin83
    Feb 10, 2015
    7
    The highly innovative control scheme is mixed with wildy varying AI strength both in terms of the 9 AI general choices and the decisions individual units make on the battlefield. Troop reinforcements vary in time adding realism and replayability to the scenarios but simultaneously making it very difficult to develop a consistently successful plan of attack against even the weaker AIs.The highly innovative control scheme is mixed with wildy varying AI strength both in terms of the 9 AI general choices and the decisions individual units make on the battlefield. Troop reinforcements vary in time adding realism and replayability to the scenarios but simultaneously making it very difficult to develop a consistently successful plan of attack against even the weaker AIs.

    To elaborate on the control scheme, I've really never seen anything else as accurate in depicting battlefield orders. You can command your troops to suicidal marches across long stretches of open ground and they will follow you, but only if you place generals to guide them. Without leadership they are easily routed. Routing units follow orders inconsistently, again making for a very realistic command experience. All these commands are given through drawing routes by clicking and dragging units around the battlefield, similar to Madden 09's system for drawing audibles on the Wii.

    At the same time the system of units routing is the source of a few minor bugs, occasionally your troops will be unable to stop attacking a destroyed unit and the entire battle will be broken as a result. Minor flaws like this currently prevent the game from being consistently enjoyable.

    I will be very excited to see further efforts from game labs and the improvements in patches to this game, but for now the game feels like an unpolished demo.    … Expand
  23. Paul_Kingtiger
    Feb 6, 2015
    9
    An excellent example of a easy to access yet deep wargame. Complex AI and tactical gameplay are behind a very easy to use user interface. The game is perfect for those who want to try out a strategy game, but don't have a lot of experience, yet offers deep and compelling gameplay to strategy die hards.

    Focusing on the 3 day battle of Gettysburg, the game offers a number of battle    An excellent example of a easy to access yet deep wargame. Complex AI and tactical gameplay are behind a very easy to use user interface. The game is perfect for those who want to try out a strategy game, but don't have a lot of experience, yet offers deep and compelling gameplay to strategy die hards.

    Focusing on the 3 day battle of Gettysburg, the game offers a number of battle phases fought in real time, with success or failure in each affecting choices in a branched campaign system. Included are a number of single battle scenarios and multiplayer battles.

    The graphics style is very evocative of a tabletop wargame, as you move infantry, cavalry and artillery around a beautiful, hand drawn battlefield where terrain affects your unit's performance and field of view.

    Despite featuring only a single campaign the game offers lots of replayability as you try out both sides and multiple strategies. When you're done with that, multiplayer gives a whole new challenge.
    All of this at a very reasonable price points makes this game a must have for anyone who loves strategy games like the total war series.    … Expand
  24. Cubandudester
    Jan 21, 2015
    10
    Such a great game, I am so glad that the guy who did all that great work with the darth mods for Total War games is going out on his own with a very talented group of guys that are extremely passionate about their game. A sequel is also planned, if I could I would pre- order it now, and I never pre-order lol :-)
  25. RandallCReed
    Jan 18, 2015
    9
    There are many things about this game that are truly remarkable. First the graphic presentation is stunning; the map is detailed and very accurate. Second, the animation graphics are extremely well done; artillery rounds have arc of fires and impact explosions, massed rifle fires are well done, casualties littler the ground after a fire fight, and movement commands have neat effects toThere are many things about this game that are truly remarkable. First the graphic presentation is stunning; the map is detailed and very accurate. Second, the animation graphics are extremely well done; artillery rounds have arc of fires and impact explosions, massed rifle fires are well done, casualties littler the ground after a fire fight, and movement commands have neat effects to show intended movement paths. But the really impressive thing is the Artificial Intelligence built into the game engine. Not only does it handle higher command on the opponent's side in single player mode, but it handles all of the sub-brigage functions during the actual game for both sides. You, as commander to do not have to attend to every detail of every unit if you do not choose to do so. The brigades have intelligent actions and autonomous functionality built into them. The total effect during a game is extremely well done and very impressive. There are a plethora of scenarios and "what if" situations that make for interesting historical exploration for those who are students of the period. About the only thing missing is a good 3-day campaign game, something the episodic scenarios cannot quite compensate for. But, the development team is hard at work improving the system based on first-user feedback and I am confident that this omission will be corrected as new patches are released. This is definitely a system worth investing in, as I can easily see this becoming a "franchise" system like Total War. Recommendation: Buy it!… Expand
  26. newlynx
    Jan 8, 2015
    9
    An excellent strategy game, from a small studio, that wants to recreate the full Gettysburg battle. The graphics are nice, the UI needs work but the AI is fantastic.
    A real diamond for the RTS fans...
  27. maths
    Jan 7, 2015
    6
    I bought this game since it is interesting and it received a fairly positive feedback form the community. However, I don't feel that the praised AI (ver. 1.3) has a room to show off since the game is divided into small battles, each with a given starting position; and I felt that there would not be much difference if the AI just moved in scripted patterns. Maybe I am a little bit ignorant,I bought this game since it is interesting and it received a fairly positive feedback form the community. However, I don't feel that the praised AI (ver. 1.3) has a room to show off since the game is divided into small battles, each with a given starting position; and I felt that there would not be much difference if the AI just moved in scripted patterns. Maybe I am a little bit ignorant, but this is my feeling anyway. This is by no means a bad game, but the fact that the game is divided into small battles was a game breaker for me personally.… Expand
  28. OliESC_Xberg
    Dec 2, 2014
    9
    It's a very simple and very good game. Simple?
    Yes, cause it's very easy to control. You move your units just by drawing them over the screen, you can turn them by holding the mouse button and there are just a few additional orders like 'charge' or 'fall back'.
    And that's it? Yes sure, and no! There's much more! Compared to most other titles of the genre this game has a very high level    It's a very simple and very good game. Simple?
    Yes, cause it's very easy to control. You move your units just by drawing them over the screen, you can turn them by holding the mouse button and there are just a few additional orders like 'charge' or 'fall back'.
    And that's it?
    Yes sure, and no! There's much more!
    Compared to most other titles of the genre this game has a very high level of strategical and tactical depth. The morale system is very complex. The positioning of the units has to be thought out well. Even the strongest brigade will route at some point when it's getting attacked in the flank. And a general always has to ask himself if his troops are able to perform the given orders or if he demanded too much and sent them on an impossible mission. From this point of view the game isn't simple at all.

    The 'Battle of Gettysburg' takes place as a serie of several smaller battles with various conditions on different maps with different terrain types which are all part of the larger surrounding area of the city of Gettysburg.
    Although the game is finished and released the developers continue their work and still add improvements and new features to the game. Thus the game will even get better.    … Expand
  29. Yarev
    Nov 19, 2014
    10
    Great game, superb AI, stunning map and very addictive.
    I really hope it is a birth of a new series
    If devs decide to add a campaign map than it will be a very dangerous competitor to total war
  30. bushwackerish
    Nov 8, 2014
    8
    o ok
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Awards & Rankings

29
#29 Best PC Game of 2014
71
#71 Most Discussed PC Game of 2014
79
#79 Most Shared PC Game of 2014

Critic Reviews

All reviews »
Metascore
84

Generally favorable reviews - based on 8 Critic Reviews

Critic score distribution:
  1. Positive: 8 out of 8
  2. Mixed: 0 out of 8
  3. Negative: 0 out of 8
  1. Pelit (Finland)
    Sep 1, 2015
    84
    Ultimate General: Gettysburg works surprisingly well as a game, but could use some oomph and chrome, as war is too clinical. [Aug 2015]
  2. Games.cz
    Jun 24, 2015
    80
    Perfect strategy, suitable either for demanding old school turn-based strategy lovers, or for RTS fans spoiled by the user-friendly controls. A bit limited selection of scenarios and not-so-good artillery controlling are the only flaws spoiling the great game.
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  3. Eurogamer Italy
    May 5, 2015
    80
    Ultimate General: Gettysburg is a prêt-à-porter RTS, very easy to pick up but difficult to master and quite varied despite the apparent monotony of the single setting available. The tablet derivative movement system is a major flaw, but for 12 euros on Steam, you can live with it and smell musket powder for months.
    Read full review
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