The History Channel: Civil War – A Nation Divided

The History Channel: Civil War – A Nation Divided is a historical first-person shooter video game developed by Cauldron HQ, released on November 7, 2006 by Activision Value and the History Channel for Microsoft Windows, PlayStation 2 and Xbox 360. It garnered mostly mixed reviews.

This is the first Civil War game developed by Cauldron.

Publication
Contrary to popular belief, The History Channel: Civil War – A Nation Divided was not the first first-person shooter game set in the Civil War. The game Gods and Generals, which was a movie tie-in game to the film of the same name, was the first. But like the film it was based on, the game was received very poorly due to its play ability.

The History Channel: Civil War – A Nation Divided does technically takes the credit for making the a playable game set in the Civil War.

Gameplay
The story line for A Nation Divided is relatively short, spanning twelve levels based on some of the most well known battles of the American Civil War. One can play as either as a Confederate Soldier or as a Union Soldier. The player plays as a different soldier during each battle.

During the game, the player can play through a total of twelve different battles from the Civil War. The battles are divided into two campaigns: North and South. Each campaign contains six historic battles. The player must play through each battle to unlock the next one. After the first five battles are completed for each side, Cold Harbor is unlocked. Upon this battle's completion, Petersburg is unlocked.

Union
 * Fredericksburg (Pvt. Jeremy Burnet)
 * Gettysburg (Pvt. Ellis Spear)
 * Chattanooga (Pvt. Colin Geary)
 * Fort Fisher (Pvt. Jim O'Neal)
 * Selma (Pvt. John Howard)
 * Petersburg (Pvt. Frank Adams)

Confederate
 * Bull Run (Manassas) (Pvt. James G. Hudson)
 * Shiloh (Pvt. Rufus T. Neale)
 * Antietam (Sharpsburg) (Pvt. William R. Mervine)
 * Chancellorsville (Pvt. Ralph Stockton)
 * Chickamauga (Pvt. James T. Lockhart)
 * Cold Harbor (Pvt. Mosley Stokes)

Reception
Upon its release, Civil War received mixed reviews with the main criticisms being stale gameplay, average graphics, low difficulty, poor AI, and the short length of the game, also, many people complained about various historical mistakes, or even lack of important details (like incorrect uniforms, lack of various infantries and regiments which is especially noticeable in Bull Run level). However, many critics found the setting to be fascinating and the gameplay to be new.

Sequel
In 2008, a sequel titled History Civil War: Secret Missions was released.