North & South

North & South is an action-strategy game from the French studio Infogrames, inspired by the popular comic Les Tuniques Bleues and set during the American Civil War. On the strategic map, the player moves troops between states, conquers cities, and manages supply by train, while battles for individual territories play out in arcade minigames - infantry skirmishes between trenches, a horseback ride collecting crates of gold on the way to a fort, or defending ramparts with artillery against attacking enemy soldiers. At the start, the player chooses whether to lead the forces of the North or the South, which shapes the specific objectives and unit deployment on the map, giving the game solid replayability.

On the Atari ST, the game offers colorful, comic-styled graphics that faithfully mirrored the source material's look, including its characteristic big-headed figures, along with brisk controls for the arcade sequences, which were a key draw alongside the strategic layer on the map of the whole United States. The music and sound effects carry a playful, light-hearted tone that contrasts with the serious historical subject matter and underscores a more parodic, humorous take on the North-South conflict rather than a serious historical reconstruction.

The combination of strategy and action in North & South became a model for a number of later games that tried to combine a clear map with directly playable battles instead of simply calculating an outcome, and thanks to its humor and accessibility, the title found fans far beyond France's borders. On the Atari ST, it was among the titles that proved even a lightly conceived strategy game can be brisk and fun without needless rule complexity or a long study of the manual, and it is still remembered today as one of the most accessible entry points into the genre for players who otherwise shied away from classic war strategy games.

Why play it: For players who otherwise shy away from classic war strategy games - a brisk, accessible combination of a clear map with directly playable battles, without needless complexity.