Grant, Lee, Sherman: Civil War Generals 2

Sierra On-Line

Industry	Video games
Headquarters	United States
Products	Grant, Lee, Sherman: Civil War Generals 2

Grant, Lee, Sherman: Civil War Generals 2 is a computer wargame released by Sierra On-Line in 1997, serving as the follow-up to Robert E. Lee: Civil War General.

Gameplay

Grant, Lee, Sherman: Civil War Generals 2 delivers tactical recreations of battles from the American Civil War, enabling players to command either the Union or Confederacy through various campaigns. The game features interconnected battles where losses and seized supplies influence future encounters and unit enhancements.

Compared to its predecessor, this installment introduces additional unit types such as mortars, siege artillery, and naval vessels; incorporates more diverse terrain; offers enhanced graphics; and includes expanded map sizes. Artillery units now possess indirect fire capabilities. Military organization has been refined to include divisions and regiments, with scenarios playable at brigade or regimental scale. Leadership ratings of units fluctuate depending on the proximity and influence of their commanding officers.

Corps commanders have become individual entities on the map, allowing for reassignment and greater command flexibility. The game eliminates the possibility of completely destroying enemy units or forcing desertion due to low morale, except for siege artillery and mortars which can be captured or desert under specific circumstances.

Newly added unit categories include static heavy artillery with extended range and mobile yet slow-moving mortars. Naval units operate within water hexes, with the Union side exclusively deploying frigates. Horse artillery is now a separate class of faster-moving units capable of changing formation and performing movement and attack actions simultaneously.

Indirect fire enables howitzer-type artillery to strike unseen hexes, though with a chance of missing or causing friendly fire incidents. The introduction of scout and engineer units adds new tactical options; engineers can build structures such as pontoon bridges but are consumed upon completing their tasks.

Unit morale calculations incorporate factors such as unit statistics, leader effectiveness, terrain advantages, and recent combat results. When leaders are lost in battle, automatic replacements occur based on rank order or available reserves; if necessary, generic leaders with lower ratings are generated.

Victory hexes provide strategic importance by awarding additional points to the controlling faction; their value increases when contested repeatedly but diminishes if left unchallenged.

Unit strength indicators now display percentages representing killed or wounded soldiers as well as stragglers—troops who can return after resting. Higher leadership or unit statistics reduce straggling rates. Morale decreases proportionally with casualties.

The campaigns broaden coverage of both Eastern and Western Theaters but exclude certain significant battles due to development constraints. A scenario editor allows players to design custom engagements.

An update released in August 1998 fixed various bugs, including one that prevented proper death mechanics for division commanders.

Development

After the commercial success of Robert E. Lee: Civil War General, developer Impressions Games began work on a sequel initially named Civil War Generals. Jeffrey Fiske, who led design on the original title, was replaced by Doug Gonya, the initial scenario designer for the first game. Steve Grammont, formerly head of quality assurance, was promoted to producer for Civil War Generals 2.

The design team based the new game on player feedback from the original combined with fresh concepts from internal staff. Criticisms of the first game included its brief campaign length and ambiguous victory conditions—issues addressed in this sequel. The team once again incorporated artwork by Mort Künstler and partnered with documentarian Jay Wertz to produce video content. A playable version was showcased at the June 1997 Electronic Entertainment Expo (E3).

Late in development, publisher Sierra On-Line urged Impressions to convert the project into a real-time strategy game to capitalize on genre popularity. Sierra founder Ken Williams personally supported this direction. However, producer Grammont resisted this change, leading Sierra to ultimately permit Impressions to complete the game according to its original turn-based design.

Initially scheduled for release in fall 1997, Civil War Generals 2 launched on October 20, 1997, retailing for approximately $49. To promote the game, Sierra partnered with Computer Gaming World to host the "Ultimate Civil War" contest, which awarded winners a trip to an American Civil War reenactment event and inclusion in Impressions' subsequent wargame project.

Sales

Grammont reported that Civil War Generals 2 achieved strong commercial performance, greatly exceeding Sierra's initial sales projections. The Ultimate Civil War Collection bundle, which included the original game, rose dramatically from 58th place in June 1998 to #7 in July on the NPD SofTrends' reference software sales rankings. Within the United States, Civil War Generals 2 secured the fourth position on PC Data's weekly computer game sales chart for the period September 27 to October 3, 1998. It then placed fifth and sixth in the subsequent weeks, ultimately ranking 12th for the entire month of October with an average retail price of $29. By January 1999, worldwide combined sales of both Civil War Generals 2 and its predecessor had surpassed 700,000 units. At that time, PC Gamer US characterized the series as "very successful."

Critical reviews

Keith Sullivan of PC Gamer US commended Civil War Generals 2 for its breadth, engaging gameplay, user-friendly design, and the continuity within its campaign system. However, he described the graphics as mediocre and labeled the artificial intelligence as "barely adequate," also finding the soundtrack irritating. He summarized the title as "a good, competent offering" suitable for most players but less appealing to dedicated wargaming enthusiasts. In contrast, Jim Cobb from Computer Gaming World criticized the game’s "completely broken combat system and [...] outdated game engine," which he argued weakened both campaign and morale features. He additionally pointed out historical inaccuracies that made employing authentic tactics to secure victory unfeasible.

Bertrand C. Emmett of PC Magazine praised the audiovisual elements and the comprehensive multimedia encyclopedia included, describing the overall experience as "engaging." Jim Pedicord from Computer Games Strategy Plus emphasized the expanded scope and more intricate rules compared to the original game, calling it "the game the original should have been." He noted improvements such as zones of control and victory hexes alongside enhanced AI performance. Pedicord concluded that while it might be somewhat lacking for genre purists, it would likely satisfy most wargaming fans.

Legacy

Following his work on Civil War Generals 2, Grammont departed Impressions Games and collaborated with designer Charles Moylan at Big Time Software to develop the notable wargame Combat Mission: Beyond Overlord. They subsequently established Battlefront.com in the late 1990s to publish Combat Mission and its follow-ups, securing a prominent position within the wargaming industry.

In January 1999, Impressions and Sierra revealed plans for a sequel titled Civil War Generals 3, targeting a fall release. Created by Jeffrey Fiske and Steve Serafino, this installment centered on the initial year of the American Civil War and introduced war economy management alongside empire-building elements and turn-based simultaneous execution mechanics. Combat was intended to be real-time with an optional simplified "quick battle" mode designed for newcomers, enabling victory through either military or economic strategies. Sierra expected it to perform strongly alongside titles such as Pharaoh.

Nonetheless, by April 2000, Impressions cancelled Civil War Generals 3 due to disappointing sales forecasts that barely justified development expenses. Despite this cancellation, the development team expressed continued enthusiasm for creating future wargaming projects.