Play North & South Online

I picked up North & South for the NES back in 1990, a game Infogrames put out based on a Belgian comic series. It was a strange and clever little title for its time, a mix of strategy and action that stood out from the usual platformers and RPGs on the system. You could play as either the Union or the Confederacy, which was a pretty direct setup for a war game, but the way it handled the conflict was anything but standard.

You control your armies on a strategic map of the United States, moving regiments from state to state to capture territories and railroad lines. When two armies meet, the game shifts to a real-time battle scene where you directly command your troops. You can have them fire rifles, charge with bayonets, or even try to steal the enemy's train; managing your limited ammunition and watching cavalry try to flank your position makes every skirmish feel frantic. The main goal is to capture all the states or the opponent's capital, and the game moves at a decent clip, though the computer can put up a tough fight. It feels chaotic and silly in the best way, like playing with toy soldiers that suddenly come to life.