The Blue & The Gray Review


Title           The Blue & The Gray Review
Game Type       Strategy
Players         1
Company		Impressions
HD Installable  Yes
Compatibility   All
Submission      Courtesy of Sean Caszatt

Review
Simulations were not my thing.  I'll admit that now.  I thought I'd take a
look into one to see what they had to offer.  Feeling slightly bored with
the standard videogames, my brain was begging for something more substantial.

I might have gotten in over my head with THE BLUE and THE GRAY.  The game
comes with four books.  One is a technical supplement and tutorial.  (The
technical part applies mainly to the PC version of the game.  The Amiga
version is supplied with a "technical information" insert to compensate.)
The second book is a campaign manual that points out all the workings of
moving your armies and the various options available to them.  The third
book is a "Micro Miniatures" Battle Manual that explains the battle mode
used by the game, which allows the gamer to control individual or groups
of soldiers.  The fourth book is a history book containing all sorts of
information about the Civil War.

This was all quite intimidating, but interesting.  Needless to say, I
wasn't very good at this game the first few times I played it.  I did,
however, manage to rewrite history by allowing the Confederate Army to
capture New York City.  My meager forces were no match for the South and
fell quickly.

The game is played by moving your troops around the map of the U.S. as it
was in the 1860's.  You can recruit new soldiers and equip them.  You're
allotted so many moves before the opposition takes it's turn.  This is
probably not new to regular players of simulation games, but it was new to
me.

All in all, I feel I can recommend this game to hardcore simulation
players due to the complexity of the game and its many different options.
I also believe I can recommend it to novice players because of the nifty
tutorial that's included.

The graphics are sparse as most simulation graphics are, and the sound is
minimal but effective.  It's the gameplay that keeps the game interesting.
It's not a perfect game, but it is certainly not mindless.

For a change of pace from those run-and-jump, hack-and-slash games. give
THE BLUE and THE GRAY a try.  Set aside an afternoon to get a grip on the
mechanics of the game and get into it.  It's not a game you can just plop
down in front of and expect to get anything out of it though!


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