Battleground Collection 2 - PC Games

Although all the games are turn based, they do a marvellous job of re-creating the flavour of Civil War combat. Turns play out in a series of phases, making the game more realistic, and it's possible to arrange troops in several formations. In addition to re-creations of the historical battles, several "what if?" engagements have been thrown in for the historically curious.

The Battleground series is famous for its graphics, and these games shouldn't disappoint. Terrain is rendered with painstaking attention to detail from bucolic fields to stands of pine to cities complete with buildings and criss-crossing streets.

Our only quibble with the package is that no printed manuals are included--only some printed reference cards. These are complex simulations, and beginners will have a hard time understanding the ebb and flow of the game if they have to refer to an electronic manual all the time. On the bright side, one you've learned the mechanics of one game you have basically learned them all. If the Civil War has any appeal to you at all, it's worth the effort. --T. Byrl Baker