Battleground 5: Antietam, a Windows CD-ROM by TalonSoft(800-211-6504, www.talonsoft.com), $54.95.
Battleground 5: Antietam, is a historical strategy game dealing with the Battle of Antietam, during which the Union forces of Major General George B. McClellan attacked Confederate forces under General Robert E. Lee. The momentous battle was fought along Antietam Creek on the rolling farmland outside Sharpsburg, Md., on September 17, 1862. It is now remembered as the bloodiest single day in the history of the United States. Players can assume command of either Lee’s Army of Northern Virginia or McClellan’s Army of the Potomac in this epic struggle.
Battleground 5: Antietam follows the first four games in the Battleground series (Ardennes, Gettysburg, Waterloo and Shiloh), providing many historical “what if” scenarios. Careful attention to detail, 3-D graphics and full-color re-enactment videos result in true multimedia entertainment. Tangle with the computer or play head-to-head against your favorite human opponent via modem-to-modem, null modem or e-mail. The multiple scenarios provided include “Carnage in the Cornfield,” “The Bloody Lane” and “Burnside’s Bridge.” The CD-ROM also features period music by Bobby Horton, a contributor to the Ken Burns PBS Civil War TV series.
As an added feature, scenarios and a map of the Battle of South Mountain, fought just three days prior to Antietam, are included.
Jay LaBarge
