Hobbies And Interests
Gameplay
"Civil War: Secret Missions" consists of first person shooting, where the gamer sees things through the eyes of the soldiers. You play as either a Union or Confederate solider and undergo missions during the American Civil war that took place behind enemy lines. The missions are based off actual events from history, including the Great Train Raid of 1861 and the Fall of Vicksburg.
Extras
Numerous extras are scattered around the game's levels, but they are of little consequence to gameplay and designed only to entertain. These extras include fictional letters and pictures of participants in the actual Civil War. There is no multiplayer, however, so IGN reviewer Jeff Hanynes speculates that the reason for the extras is to add replay value since the game must stand on single player alone.
Reception
"Civil War: Secret Missions" received a negative critical reception upon release. PSX Extreme awarded the game only a 3.9 out of 10 while IGN was more positive, giving it a 5.0 out of 10. Both critiques focused on the bland gameplay, outdated graphics, lack of features and poor production values. The PlayStation 3 version received a better reception than its PlayStation 2 cousin, which was awarded only a 4.5 out of 10 from IGN.
Predecessor
"Civil War: Secret Missions" is actually the sequel to "The History Channel: Civil War -- A Nation Divided" which was released in 2006 for the PlayStation 2, Xbox 360 and PC. There was no PlayStation 3 version of it. "A Nation Divided" was also received poorly on both the PlayStation 2 and Xbox 360 consoles, with scores of only 4.0 and 4.5 out of 10 from IGN respectively.