The first thing I noticed about the game was it's graphical issues. The graphics are extremely dated, and the animations are severely lacking. I guess that could be a good thing if you are playing this on a lower end computer. However, it’s unfair to judge a game on its graphics since that aspect doesn’t say whether there is fun to be had or not. We’ll forgive this detail and move on to the more important features.

Thankfully, the developers put together some tutorials which I would highly recommend doing even if you consider yourself a veteran RTS player. The first one teaches you how to use infantry. The second explains artillery use to you, and the third and fourth help you learn how to control large armies better.

One thing that annoys me about some RTS games is the amount of micromanagement in them. While almost every game in the genre does need some, I find that too much just makes a game tedious and frustrating. Luckily, Take Command leaves the micromanagement somewhat optional. Basically it’s up to you to move your troops, artillery and cavalry into position, but the AI can control their fighting by automatically selecting what it thinks is the best thing to do. For example, with infantry, it will automatically engage enemies within range and reload when necessary. For artillery, it will automatically select from five different shot types based on what it feels is the best choice at certain ranges. If you find you don’t like the way the AI is handling anything, there is a “take command” button which allows you to manually control every action the selected unit group does. For the most part I found the AI to do alright, but there were some situations where I found it beneficial for me to manually switch the artillery shot type (such as Solid shot for long range, or Canister shot that explodes shrapnel for short ranges.)

After you’re comfortable enough in the tutorials, you can choose Open Play mode where you set up the map and scenarios yourself, or you can select the Battles option. In Battles mode, it explains to you an actual Civil War battle and what role you are going to play in it. Under each battle description is an estimated time it might take you to complete a battle, and it ranges from thirty minutes to over three hours. The objectives for each mission are clearly laid out and marked with a giant yellow star on the map that you cannot miss. Some battles are the first in a chain, and the results of one battle can carry over into the next. This game is packed with historical info tidbits, both in the scenario descriptions and between map loadings.

During gameplay, I felt like I did a lot of waiting. While you can speed up the game outside of combat to make your troops get to their destinations faster, it still involves some waiting. When you’re actually engaged in a battle, you might find yourself changing the direction of your various troops, or moving them around a little, but I still found myself waiting while they auto-fought. There is definitely nothing quick about the battles here, and I felt like I was more in a supervisory role than an interactive one.

Most of the entertainment came during the largest battles where I was directing lots of troops at once. In the upper left hand corner of the screen, it tells you how close the enemy is to your various brigades. I kept having to arrange my infantry around, attempting to get close enough to make their rifles most effective. They do less damage if they are farther away. Also, I had to watch my artillery and make sure the enemy wasn’t advancing too close to them. It takes an in-game minute to set up or break down your artillery guns, so some strategy is involved about when to move them and where to set them up.

Your troops can also become fatigued if they march through terrain such as woods or if they fight for extended periods of time. Marching on roads gives them no fatigue, and if they are idle they automatically begin to rest up. The troops also have a moral monitor. The higher it is, the longer they will stay and fight. Any troops around your commander will get a moral bonus from his presence. Aspects such as this make for some strategy, but a lot of the battles I just felt like I was doing more waiting than actual playing.

I think to truly tolerate this game you would have to both really enjoy RTS’s that require a lot of patience and also really be into the Civil War. One or the other would not cut it alone, in my opinion. I could not really get into this game no matter how hard I tried due to the fact I just didn’t feel much interest for what was going on scenario wise. However, if you or someone you know meets the two requirements of “patient RTS player” and “Civil War buff”, you might consider it. Otherwise, you might have to look past this one.