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Meier's Gettysburg allows you to command CSA or Union troops in a series of scenarios that echo the real fighting if July 1863. As a commander you will learn the proper use of troops, including advancing under fire, defense, artillery use, terrain, maneuver and other techniques. Some scenarios are quite easy to learn and play. Others take more time to learn. There are over 40 scenarios, mini battles that you can play that do reflect aspects of the original battle. Graphics are clear, sounds are realisitic. When you make an error in handling your troops, the computer will say, "can't do that, general." This game is worth owning and worth playing. You can spend five minutes or hours playing. And a multi-player games is included. Can't say enough about the quality of this game which is inexpensively priced direct from the manufacturer, amazon or available at many wal-mart stores. The very clear images and mouse control of troops and artillery make this game a real winner. A great gift for yourself!!! or a friend!!!

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I'd like to add to the review of jilesmeacham below, which I think best highlights the shortcomings of this otherwise fine game. These problems are all true, and detract from the experience.

The main bug I encountered not already mentioned was the enormous amounts of casualties the skirmish formation inflicts, and the minimal casualties suffered. I have patched it, and it still happens. Try the three day battle at the easiest difficulty level with skirmish mode. The enemy, whichever side you choose will crumble. A 7-1 kill ratio is not atypical. At higher difficulty levels, this continues, but the skirmish units are very quickly routed, even if the enemy unit attacking has sufferted large casualties, and I've lost five men. This makes the skirmish the strongest formation, if you have a large amount of troops to hold objectives once they've been routed.

Another problem is that the division, corps, and army commanders, are not very useful, except for boosting morale and rallying troops, and seeing all units under the officer's command.

Also, the lack of friendly fire makes for unlikely movements. You must entirely surround a regiment to have it surrender. When it is routed and has nowhere to run, that is the only situation in which it will surrender. So it pays in the game if you manage to encircle a regiment(s), even if in reality, your own troops would have fired more shots at each other than at the enemy. But if it manages to slip through a narrow gap, which seems like computer cheating, it won't surrender.

And again, artillery and cavalry are not useful. You must mass a large amount of artillery to inflict the amount of casualties a brigade can. The only use is that they lower enemy morale at no cost. They provide opportunities for greater losses as well. Also, it's almost like the computer cheats, when it comes to using a regiment to capture enemy guns, they always run away, or the regiment is "repulsed." Cavalry are only infantry that cost twice as much to lose. They don't lose morale in skirmish mode, but their costliness leads me to pull them off to the or retreat when I have infantry to take their place. They have a speed advantage in column mode that can be used at times to capture unoccupied objectives, such as when a few routed enemy units recover behind your lines.

In the Pickett's Charge scenario, there isn't much Union artillery at the easiest difficulty level, and at higher levels, they don't do the damage that they historically did. It's likely at the hardest level for you to lose disastrously, playing as Union, because your own morale lowers more quickly than that of the computer.

I'd like to reiterate the point already made that the importance of objectives detracts from realism. If you know anything about the Civil War, then you know that, for the most part, successful generals pursued armies and not locations. There are no decisive locations on this map. Lee was trying to push north, and if there are to be any Southern objectives worth a small amount it should be to control roads to the North and the town itself.

The last problem I can think of at the moment is the significance of battle formations. It is difficult to take advantage of holes in enemy lines. You simply amass enough firepower and reserves to lower morale and cause the enemy to retreat, and it's sort of automatic. The enemy is certainly good at finding weak points in your line, however. Also, it is difficult to try moves that could be described as "daring" or "risky." I have attempted to outflank the enemy by swinging an entire brigade(s) to the side of their lines, and the problem is that it takes too long, and the scenario ends before I can get started. Also, realistically, the enemy would remove or realign some of its units from its locations if in a true battle I had troops almost behind it.

Still, given the price now, used or in a store, this game is worth getting. Lots of play on these 3D maps help get you familiar with the battlefield, if you decide to visit. Also, the PDF included has some basic information, as well as battle statistics. If you have a book on the battle, this is a refreshing way to experience it, and, despite the bugs and design flaws-it belongs on the shelf of every Civil War buff and battlefield visitor.

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It didn't occur to me to look at the dates on the reviews when we ordered this game. We have Windows ME, which the game works on, but didn't work on newer operating systems and even crashed one of grandpa's computers, causing him to comment, "Wow, this game is reallly old." Well, that's relative, but once we got it loaded on the ME computer it has provided endless entertainment for our 10-year-old genius and battle strategizer. He figured out the controls and rules quickly. When I sat down to look at it, I couldn't find my troops and gave up! I especially like the different bugle calls b/c I spend most of my time "listening" to my son play the game rather than watching/playing. It's wonderful battle history and tactical instruction. Very cool and educational -from a mom's point of view -and not bloody or gory, which detracts from the realism but makes it more palatable for younger kids.

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Gettysburg has proven to be an excellent game for both the Civil War buff or anyone who enjoys gaming in general.

Several scenarios exist: historical (what acutally happened at the battle) and speculative (fascinating what ifs, for example, a scenario exists for Stonewall Jackson's presence at the battle). The gamer is also allowed to adjust the difficulty level of the opponent (computer) until a better understanding of the game and strategies are attained.

The graphics are excellent and realistic I have visited Gettysburg 6 times in my lifetime and the game's terrain features are pretty close to the real thing.

There are a few minor bugs, but not enough to detract from the game. Highly recommended. Buy and enjoy!

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Gettysburg is a title which will capture the interest of any strategy buff. Large scale and multiple units to command, what more could you ask for. Well, an AI with a sense of reality would help. Several aspects of the game just don't reflect military logic. Firstly, cavalry march (in column order) as mounted units but when engaging the enemy they dismount and fight like infantry (also looking exactly like them). Sure, mounted infantry were common but gone is the elan of a cavalry charge, the most debonair feature of the era's battles, VERY disappointing. The only advantage cavalry have in this game is their speed of deployment which is scant homage to Custer and Stonewall. Artillery, which are the scourge of infantrymen, cause very little damage. After bombarding a few enemy brigades for a half an hour with over 50 cannon I inflicted a mere handfull of casualties. In this game (historically accuracy, at least on green troops) the major affect of artillery is to lower the morale. Veterans would not be as easily affected but here all suffer to the same degree. The most glaring problem, not limited to artillery alone but endemic throughout the game, is that routed enemy units slip through your ranks (unmolested by your troops I might add!)and disappear behind your lines to reemerge as effective fighting units where they either harass your flanks or recapture abandoned victory locations. This is just plain ludicrous compared to the historical record. Routed troops, separated from their officers, rarely recover their composure. Even when routed (running through your lines or away from them as is the normal thing to do)these units will not be fired upon by your troops. Again history has proven that routed soldiers suffer excessive casualties, which is why they rarely reemerge as combatants. But by far the most annoying thing is to see your men completely surround several regiments and artillery only to have these simply run right through your massed ranks. This happens in every game I have played. There is a patch for this but I haven't seen it eliminate the problem. Artillery is the main culprit here. The AI just refuses to allow these units to be captured. All too frequently they just limber up and saunter through or by my troops without a shot being fired in anger. Unless you close with them when they are unlimbered they are invulnerable to infantry. Indeed, my cannon stand static as they get raked with shot when closed by enemy infantry but when I close with them my soldiers break and run or the battery limbers up and drives off. These are very annoying tendencies which spoil the accuracy of a game which is touted as being close to the historical record. I think they could have done much better. Sure the atmosphere is great: courier messages, bugle calls, gunfire, battle cries, feedback from troopers all add to the spirit of the affair but these are just side issues to the main. Troops are easy enough to deploy so long as you like a box formation. Deploying in lines is all that one can muster and brigades can thus be stretched very thin. In order to compact these you will need to manually adjust their placement. When dealing with several dozen regiments this requires a lot of concentration.The flagbearers are so puny that singling them out in densely packed groups is quite taxing. Also, units will tend to stand where you put them so you will need to babysit as some regiments will stand back from the fray and allow their neighbours to be annihilated by the seemingly more cunning opposition AI. But no mind, it makes scant difference if the enemy is killing you at a ratio of 6-1 as victory is achieved through the capture of LOCATIONS. To this end I doubt if the developers gave much thought to how the game should end. I have played to an outcome where I captured all locations and inflicted losses to the enemy of 16000 to my 2000. With nearly two thirds of his men KIA the enemy still kept on attacking. I wouldn't mind if this involved some sort of clearly defined battle lines but the opponent had simply dissolved into a dozen or so remnants which merely harrased my troops at victory locations. Never saying die is one thing but lets be frank, after suffering a loss of a third of his men any commander would order a retreat: at two thirds he would surrender and then blow his brains out. There is an option to CLAIM victory but I think this applies only to multiplayer. I would like to see this game fixed to show a bit more realism before I can start calling it a great game. As it stands it has limited replayability (it doesn't matter which scenario you play they are all just variations on a theme). If endless sessions of engage, flank and pursue is what your looking for then this is right up you alley. I just think with an overhaul the game could be much more.