Gettysburg is a charming town located in Adams County, Pennsylvania, about 80 miles northwest of Baltimore and 140 miles west of Philadelphia. 6v4v4e

From farm-to-table restaurants showcasing the best of local produce to cozy cafes serving up freshly baked treats, the town has something to satisfy every craving. And let’s not forget about the town’s love affair with apples – the surrounding countryside is dotted with orchards, and every fall, Gettysburg celebrates its Apple Harvest Festival with mouthwatering pies, ciders, and all things apple. 

While these associations certainly have their place in how we this Pennsylvania town, the true significance of Gettysburg lies in its pivotal role during the American Civil War, marking one of the most intense and crucial battles fought on American soil.

The Prelude to Battle 16v5b

The Battle of Gettysburg occurred from July 1 to July 3, 1863, during the American Civil War. This was a period marked by deep division in the United States, with the Northern states (the Union) fighting to end slavery and keep the country united, and the Southern states (the Confederacy) fighting primarily for their right to maintain the institution of slavery and for greater state autonomy. 

By the summer of 1863, the war had been raging for two years. The Confederate Army, led by General Robert E. Lee, had enjoyed a series of victories over the Union. Lee decided to invade the North, hoping a major victory on Union soil would tip the balance in favor of the South, possibly even encouraging foreign powers to recognize the Confederacy and intervene on their behalf.

The Clash at Gettysburg 245q5n

The battle began almost by chance. Confederate soldiers, searching for supplies in the town of Gettysburg, Pennsylvania, encountered Union cavalry. Fighting quickly escalated as both sides rushed reinforcements to the area. Over the next three days, the battle expanded into the largest and one of the bloodiest of the Civil War. 

The Union forces, commanded by General George G. Meade, took up strong defensive positions on the high ground, forming a fishhook-shaped line that stretched from Culp’s Hill, through Cemetery Hill and along Cemetery Ridge to Little Round Top. The Confederates assaulted these positions in a series of attacks.

The climax of the battle came on July 3, in what is known as Pickett’s Charge. After two days of intense fighting, with heavy losses on both sides, Lee ordered an all-out assault on the center of the Union line on Cemetery Ridge. Led by Major General George Pickett, approximately 12,500 Confederate soldiers charged across open fields under heavy artillery and rifle fire. The attack failed disastrously, resulting in massive Confederate casualties. This failure of Pickett’s Charge marked the turning point of the battle and, many argue, of the Civil War itself. Next day, Lee’s army began a retreat back to Virginia and the Confederate invasion of the North had been repelled.

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With about 51,000 soldiers killed, wounded, captured, or missing, the failure of the Confederate invasion had profound impacts. Politically, it boosted Union morale and strengthened President Abraham Lincoln’s resolve to continue the fight against the Confederacy. Four months after the battle, on November 19, 1863, Abraham Lincoln delivered the Gettysburg Address at the dedication of the Soldiers’ National Cemetery in Gettysburg. 

It is for us the living, rather, to be dedicated here to the unfinished work which they who fought here have thus far so nobly advanced. It is rather for us to be here dedicated to the great task remaining before us—that from these honored dead we take increased devotion to that cause for which they gave the last full measure of devotion—that we here highly resolve that these dead shall not have died in vain—that this nation, under God, shall have a new birth of freedom—and that government of the people, by the people, for the people, shall not perish from the earth.

Abraham Lincoln, 1863

In just a few brief remarks, Lincoln eloquently expressed the significance of the war and the battle, redefining the purpose of the fight as one for human equality and the preservation of a nation “conceived in Liberty, and dedicated to the proposition that all men are created equal.”

Today, the Gettysburg National Military Park, which preserves approximately 6,000 acres of the battlefield, is a focal point for visitors and history buffs from around the world. The park includes numerous monuments, memorials, and exhibits that commemorate the events of July 1863 and the people who fought in the battle.

The problem with rooting for the underdog is that we often forget that they’re the underdog for a reason. Gettysburg: Armored Warfare was a long shot from the very beginning. Its one man development team attempted to tackle one of the most iconic wars in history with a novel idea. However, Gettysburg not only falls short of its goals, but there isn’t a single aspect of the game that doesn’t either feel rushed or simply unfinished. I don’t get any joy of beating down the small guy, however it needs to be said: in its current state, Gettysburg stands to be ed as yet another horror of the civil war. Let’s start with what is good here. The concept is absolutely fantastic. Gettysburg: Armored Warfare allows players to answer questions that have plagued historians for years, such as “Would the Confederacy have had better success if they had access to Zeppelins?” Gettysburg plays as a strange hybrid of RTS and third-person shooter mechanics, where players lead armies made up of units from the 1860s and the 2060’s. To call the idea “ridiculous” is an understatement; however there’s an unmistakable charm to be found in the premise. The two game modes available do offer a bit of variety compared to usual RTS offerings, however there’s nothing really remarkable to note. Both modes focus around a capture-the-point mechanic à la Battlefield 3’s Conquest mode. The Army Skirmish option has four players facing off in a more traditional RTS mechanic as you issue orders to your troops from above, while Deathmatch offers 64 players the ability to jump into any unit of their choosing and duke it out on the battlefield. Sadly, any enjoyment that can be found from these modes is grossly marred by the glaring faults and bugs that litter the title. It doesn’t take long for Gettysburg to start showing its faults, and by the time I had reached the main menu, I already knew that I was going to have some issues. The loading times for the game are borderline obscene, routinely taking upwards of 2 minutes on a fairly beefy rig. Alt-tabbing out of the game will force another 2 minute loading screen even if a game is currently underway, and will often result in missing textures and/or terrain. Multiple attempts at loading levels would fail to load fences, water or at times the entire sky, leaving only a grey matte plastered above the battlefield, rendering a game with an already sub-par aesthetic in a deplorable fashion. If you manage to make it into a game without it crashing, you’re immediately left to fend for yourself. While most games offer the a chance to change key bindings, Gettysburg has made the questionable decision to not offer any sort of control scheme whatsoever. Outside of looking for a manual of some sorts in the official forums, I was forced to blindly hit keys at random and hope that something would happen. This is outright inexcusable. Once I did manage to discover the control scheme, I quickly found out that most of it simply didn’t work. Attempting to play the game as an RTS was nigh impossible as my units simply wouldn’t attack on command. The game offers multiple control options such as “defensive stance,” “attack position” or “attack ground,” however there doesn’t seem to be the slightest difference in the outcome. My combat options were essentially limited to directing my troops to stand directly next to their opponents in the hope that the AI would retaliate after being fired upon or I would have to assume direct control of one unit and hope that I could outgun the entire enemy platoon. There doesn’t appear to be any sort of hot key option for unit selection, so you can expect to spend plenty of time looking around the battlefield for your units in hopes of getting them turned in the right direction. Team Deathmatch was a bit more serviceable at first glance; however, once the game started moving, that all changed. The balance of the game is absolutely atrocious, and with only a limited amount of “good” units available per team, the unlucky players are forced to play as Calvary. As a result, they must simply hope that they can cut down a tank with a sword. This approach to warfare works about as well as you would expect. It would be impossible to have balance between the units without destroying any level of believability that is offered; however, in its current state, there is no incentive to play unless you happen to be in a tank. Even then, only the most sadistic of gamers will find more than a few moments of enjoyment shelling riflemen from a distance with zero fear of repercussions. There is no single player campaign to speak of outside of a “practice mode,” which seems to only push the bugs and failings of the game into the spotlight for all to see. After multiple attempts at starting a game to have it crash as I was picking my units, I finally was allowed to progress long enough to field an army and start going after the point. Immediately after my army was put on the battlefield, two thirds of it had decided ritual suicide was the better option and died in the spawn area. This was followed by the only other thing Gettysburg: Armored Warfare seems to succeed in at this point: yet another crash. Gettysburg: Armored Warfare is an unfinished game. There is no way anyone could have played this title for more than 15 minutes without seeing its massive failings and plethora of bugs. While Radioactive Software certainly is at fault for these failings, it’s absolutely disgraceful that Paradox would agree to publish it in its current state. Given enough time, Radioactive Software could turn this around with proper bug fixes and continued development but the fact that it was released as a completed title in this state may have burned bridges. It’s always a shame when a fantastic idea falls flat on its face, but unless there are massive changes, I can’t in good conscious recommend Gettysburg: Armored Warfare to anyone. on this title, and don’t look back.

This review is based on a copy of the game that we were provided for review purposes.