Sid Meier's Gettysburg!

Sid Meier's Gettysburg! (1997)

by Firaxis Games, Electronic Arts
Genres:Strategy, Real Time Strategy (RTS)
Themes:Historical, Warfare
Game modes:Single player, Multiplayer
Story:Sid Meier's Gettysburg! is a real-time tactical computer game designed by Sid Meier, the co-founder of Firaxis Games, that was released in 1997 by Electronic Arts. In 1998, Gettysburg won the Origins Award for Best Strategy Computer Game of 1997. It was followed by Sid Meier's Antietam! in 1998. The game allows the player to control either the Confederate or Union troops during the Battle of Gettysburg in the American Civil War. It can be played as single scenarios, or as a campaign of linked scenarios, either recounting the original history or exploring alternative possibilities. The engine was also used for the Napoleonic game Waterloo: Napoleon's Last Battle (as was a modified version for Austerlitz: Napoleon's Greatest Victory), both by BreakAway Games.Show more
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Stories about this game (7)
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user avatar@Graymawruser avatar@Graymawr
January 30, 2025
I have been a lover of military history for almost as long as I can remember. I remember fondly visiting Civil War battlefields with my parents. Watching the movie Gettysburg and Gods and Generals many times. In my early gaming days, I loved the idea of commanding armies in games and limited by a computer for a while with no 3D accelerator, this game and Antietam were my friends. Of the two, Sid Meier's Gettysburg was my favorite. I loved watching all of the full motion video Civil War reenactment scenes at the beginning and end of the campaign. The voice acting of the briefings was immersive to me at the time. In this game, there are diversive scenarios and is truly more dynamic and the outcome of the battle can be affected even more so than even Ultimate General Gettysburg that you can buy today. That game is good and will give you a fix, but even if you kick the pants off the Union troops and force them off Culp's Hill, the next battle is going to be the same as how the original battle unfolded. Not in Sid Meier's Gettysburg! You truly either can end up with the same historical results, or get a completely different outcome and different engagements! Even the regiments, brigades and divisional and corps commanders are easier to move in this game. I remember doing things like trying to keep the 20th Maine from suffering as few casualties as possible on Little Round Top, trying to flank with a large group on Big Round Top, forcing the Union off and breaking the center in Pickett's Charge, trying single prebuilt scenarios to see what they were like. Truly was lots of fun. If GOG needs my CD, I will gladly loan it to make this happen!
user avatar@ion00user avatar@ion00
January 30, 2025
I'm not even american and know next to nothing about their civil war, but I had a ton of fun with this game. It really manages to pull in this historical time frame. There are actually only 3 (yes three!!) unit types (infantry, artillery, and cavalry which are actually just scouts or officers), but it still manages to be very deep thanks to its simulation mode. Highly recommended for strategy fans. I reaaaaaaally hope to see this game on GOG. Fingers crossed!
user avatar@clancy765user avatar@clancy765
February 01, 2025
No civil war game has been able to compare to this one, in fun, and ease of learning. Miss the good old days of Sid Meier. I had this on disc at one time but has been lost to time. :-(
user avatar@Devoluxuser avatar@Devolux
March 03, 2025
This was one of the first games I ever played. I spent countless hours learning this game with my father before he passed away. This game will forever be a treasure to me and I'd love to be able to play it again!
user avatar@Bommer101user avatar@Bommer101
February 02, 2025
Still the best American Civil War RTS Game on the Market without a Doubt this is a true Good old Game and worthy of preservation .........................................
Great game, easy to learn, easy to play and hours of fun. I have many fond memories of playing with my brother. He gifted me a copy in college and I played it for hours upon hours as each time I played there was always a different outcome.
This was my first ever military strategy game that played more like a simulation than an RTS. Quite a rarity in the days of C&C, Warcraft II, and Red Alert. There's no base building, you only have three unit types, yet it remains infinitely replayable. Why? Because this game captures the chaos and unpredictable nature of the battlefield. This is a game where maneuvering matters, and where your tactical decisions, not the quality of your troops or your ability to create the perfect "doomstack" determines whether you win or lose. It's a game that is incredibly deep not because there are a dozen factions and hundreds of troop types, but because the gameplay itself is so deep. It's about the strategizing, the planning, and your ability to adjust when your enemy does something unexpected and your Plan A falls apart. To this day I believe Sid Meier's Gettysburg does not just stand as one of the best American Civil War games of all time, but one of the best real-time historical battlefield simulations of all time. The graphics may look hopelessly outdated, but the gameplay is evergreen. Its availability on GOG is long overdue.
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