 Strategy-gamers' heaven |
| Review Date: July 25, 2006 |
| Reviewer: Jason, |
Why the ridiculously low three-star average rating for this fantastic game? Only because of angry one-star reviews from a minority of customers who have encountered technological problems, which have since been patched. I play Civ IV on a laptop and have had no technological problems whatsoever. Civilization is the greatest strategy series ever invented, and Civ IV has improved by leaps and bounds over its predecessors. Result: a gaming sensation, which is easily the best strategy game ever made.
The game is so good it is hard to know where to begin. The dynamic 3D graphics, soundtrack, presentation, interface etc are all absolutely AAA. You can zoom in and out at will, and the graphical detail is absolutely astonishing. The music is also great and atmospheric. It changes to match the era, catching the mood nicely. All that is absolutely top-notch, yet it isn't even the major reason why I would recommend this game.
Of course, strategy games stand and fall by their gameplay, and here too Civilization IV does not disappoint. If you've played any of the Civilization series, then you'll know just what an addictive, "one-more-turn" experience it is. And I mean addictive. It's all too easy for me to skip meals and sleep because I am so completely engrossed in planning my next strategic move.
This much is familiar from the days of Civilization II (which I spent literally hundreds of hours playing in the old days). I'm pleased to say that the latest installment has successfully captured all of the old feel of the classic Civilization. I say this, by the way, as someone who never got into Civilization III, which meant that I certainly had my doubts before getting Civ IV. These doubts were quickly dispelled. The new features which have been included in Civ IV, such as religion and great people, add whole new layers of strategy to the game. At the same time, they all combine elegantly with the basic game system of old.
What's even more important is the radical effort that has been made to streamline the amount of micromanagement. This was always the Achilles' heal of the previous versions of the game. I could find myself spending an hour on every move, painstakingly moving grains of corn from one tile to another in city after city, in order to avoid the waste that would otherwise occur. The great news is that the designers have at last woken up to the pointlessness and tediousness of most of this micromanagement.
For example, now surplus production points do not go to waste (as they used to in previous versions) but instead go towards the production of the next item you want to build. This "roll over" of production (which also applies to food, scientific research, etc) means that you can concentrate on managing your empire, instead of managing every single tile every single turn. At the same time, the cities have also become much smarter at managing their resources, and there is a nice array of options (all very easily accessible in the city display) which enable you to guide a city's production priorities. Whether you choose to automate, or pursue a more hands-on approach, it is all very easy to manage.
As a result of these changes, the game now moves along much faster, while still containing a more-than-satisfying amount of thinking and strategizing every turn. This means I can sit down to start a game and reasonably expect to finish it within a week or two of intermittent playing. Sadly, the same cannot be said for many other strategy games on the market, which are often so long and complex that they are essentially unplayable.
What else? As a veteran of Civ II, I was pleasantly surprised to see what a challenge the game has become. Now, an effective military is just as important for defence as it is for attack. If you are weak, the AI will show you no mercy, and it can mount remarkably effective invasions. In general, warfare is now much more challenging and realistic. Pillaging has become a far more effective strategy than in the past, which means that fighting no longer revolves entirely around the capture of cities as it used to. The added emphasis on combined arms means that much more thought has to be given to the composition and deployment of your armed forces.
Really I could go on and on lavishing praise on this lavish game. But what am I doing? Why am a wasting time writing this review when I could be getting on with my next move?
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Turn based strategy at its best
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| Review Date: May 21, 2007 |
| Reviewer: David Bristel, Long Island, NY United States |
Like previous Civilization games, Civ 4 is a turn based strategy game that gives you control over the development of your civilization. Without going into all the features, I will point out the strengths and weaknesses.
Strengths:
While some will complain about this, the overall game has been redesigned. Unlike previous games which encouraged the building of as many cities as you could in the early part of the game, Civ 4 goes to a more strategic approach, but also gives you something to do each turn(instead of setting production and waiting several turns for what you want to build to finish). The game now eliminates the "corruption" system of previous games, and goes to a system where there is an expense that the city places on your government. So, you start with one city, and you need to build a bit slower, at least in the early game.
The graphics engine is now 3D, and with a decently powerful video card, you can see all your city improvements from the main map. You can zoom in and out as well.
Cultural boundaries are based on the culture output of your cities, and you can use culture as a way to expand your borders and capture border cities.
Religion is a system that allows the founder(s) of the different religions certain extras. If you are the founder of a religion, and you accept that religion as your "state religion", you can see all the cities that contain that religion. Religion can spread on it's own, or you can help it by sending out missionaries.
The game is open for mods, and there are many out there that you can download to tweak the game in different ways.
Replay value is high due to multi-player, as well as the random factor in map generation. There are some static maps, but there are also a number of random maps that can be adjusted based on your preferred play style. If you prefer there being only one continent, or higher or lower ocean levels, or a larger or smaller map, you can start the game with the settings YOU prefer.
There are also different game "speeds", which decide how long each game will take. A marathon game on a huge map can take over six hours, but you don't need to play on marathon.
Each of the AI civ leaders have their own personalities, with some being more warlike than others.
With the Warlords expansion, you have both unique units for each civilization, as well as unique buildings. These unique buildings and units replace a "standard" building or unit.
There are many more positives, but no game is without it's negatives, even though I don't really consider many of these to be real flaws.
If your video card does not support directX 9 in hardware, the game won't look as good, and you will need to turn off certain graphics options. That is due to the video card not being able to handle certain graphics features. Even with DirectX 9, if you have a low end video card, including integrated video in most laptops, you may encounter some graphics issues. Intel video tends to be the source of many problems, but older laptops with DirectX 8.1 or earlier graphics chips tend to be the source of many display problems.
Even with a reasonably fast machine, video, CPU, etc, if you play on a huge world with 17 computer controlled civilizations, you will find that you need to wait a bit between turns(as the AI civs get their turn). This can make it a little annoying, but again, the choice of playing on a huge world with an older/slower computer is yours.
The AI at times can be a bit...slow. This is why multi-player is a good thing, because you can play against other humans. There are some mods out there that help with this. The next expansion(Beyond the Sword) has improved AI as a feature.
If you prefer a game that lets you win or lose based on thinking, and less on reflexes, then Civ 4 should be seen as a great game. If reflexes and fast gameplay are what you look for, then Civ 4 is NOT for you. Warlords and the second expansion(due out in July of 2007) add(and will add) to the base game. There are also a lot of elements in Civ 4 that will appeal to those interested in history, since there are references in the game to real life leaders, cultures, and world wonders.
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Civ 4 is best strategy in long while.
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| Review Date: December 4, 2006 |
| Reviewer: Tanya Sigman, Dallas, TX USA |
This game is awesome. No other word can be used. The game may have been released not quite ready just over a year ago, but a few patches and the release of the Warlords expansion disk makes this game a must have. Everyone will be able to find a level of play that is comfortable with them.
The game is very customizable, choices of maps and scenarios that come along with the game will keep you busy for a long while. Then add in all the additions made by fans of games and the fun never ends. Playing against the AI is fun and challenging. Playing multiplayer is great and also easy to do.
This game is such an upgrade over Civ 3. The graphics, the elimination of tedious chores from previous versions means more fun to play the game. The great person addition to the game adds more strategy as well. There are so many strategies and styles of play you can learn, you will want to try all civs in a game. |
Combines the best aspects of Civ 2 and Civ 3 into something sublimely playable and addictive
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| Review Date: April 30, 2006 |
| Reviewer: Joe Majsterski, Houston, TX United States |
Ah, finally, Civilization 4 has arrived to turn us all into the walking dead. Seriously, I have been having real trouble fitting sleep into my schedule anymore. This game is that good.
I've been playing Civilization ever since the first one came out all those years ago, and I've enjoyed each one in turn. I must say, however, that Civ 3 was something of a disappointment to me. Yes, it added some great concepts like culture, but the massively truncated tech tree, and the obnoxious expansion of competing civilizations, among other things (anyone else get tired of looking at Sid Meier's face?) ultimately made it a lot less fun then it could've been. I found myself going back to Civ 2 and playing it, enjoying it more despite its age, and longing for more, almost pining. Well, there's no more doubt about which one to play. Civ 4 has come to save the day.
All of the neat innovations from Civ 3 are still here, such as culture, but a lot of annoying issues that lingered through the first three games are gone. No longer will you be scurrying from city to city, putting down bouts of anarchy. Instead, angry population just doesn't work, but allows the rest of the city to function normally. Caps on population in cities has been changed, so you don't HAVE to build that aqueduct, but it makes things alot easier. It's small changes like that which add immense pleasure to an already amazing game. The annoying micromanagement has also been minimized quite a bit, although you'll still be bouncing all over the map as cities complete projects.
Wonders have been beefed up significantly, with a slew of new ones that may be produced by all civilizations. These National Wonders, while neat, are nowhere near as powerful as the World Wonders. Still, they add a little more flavor and depth to the game, and make sure you have more build options throughout the ages.
The combat system is much nicer, with a single number rating both offensive and defensive strength keeping things neat and tidy. This single number can be heavily modified by terrain, fortifications, and combat experience, but overall things run smoothly, and combat is a lot more fun t handle.
One other major addition is religion, which can heavily influence your relationships with other civilizations. You'll find it much easier to ally yourself with civs that have the same state religion, as other civs will constantly be annoying by your unwillingness to convert. This can make for some fun conflicts, and sending waves of missionaries to influence other cultures can be entertaining. Luckily, you can also eliminate state religion late in the game to get rid of those troublesome religious arguments with other heads of states.
Everything that was great about the older games is still great in this version. The addictive "one more turn" aspect is still there, as is all the classic fun of watching your tiny town blossom into a continent spanning empire.
The graphics are really quite phenomenal, with exceeding intricate details of each town on display in the world map. Yes, it's no Doom 3, but for Civ fans, it will be quite a treat to see tiny little aqueducts running out of towns towards water supplies. The battle animations are fun to watch as well.
Things sound great, which lots of great chimes and such for tech advancements and the like, and fun combat effects, and even though the music isn't always perfect or totally compelling, it's never too intrusive either. It's mostly forgettable stuff, although the intro song and the main menu tune are both fantastic.
Civilization is already almost infinitely replayable, considering how many different leaders you can choose, with different specialities and bonuses, and the amazing variety of map styles and sizes you can pick, but now, with the ability to create mods and true online play included, the possibilities are almost literally endless. You could easily be playing this game in 2010.
Civilization holds a special place in my heart. Few other games have kept me up so many late nights. The concept itself is so brilliant, and the execution is masterful, with Civ 3 being the only hiccup in the series. All of the issues in previous games have been addressed, and Civ 4 really is the best one yet. It's complete and total gaming satisfaction, and I can't think of any reason not to recommend this game to everyone. |
Fantastic, Underrated Game
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| Review Date: October 9, 2008 |
| Reviewer: Ian, |
I have no idea how this is averaging only three stars, because Civ IV (along with Beyond the Sword) is without a doubt the most balanced and entertaining turn-based strategy games ever made, and a serious contender for the best PC title released this decade.
This game is not for you if you:
- don't like time-intensive games that you'll almost certainly not finish in one sitting
- don't like strategy games in general and turn-based strategy games in particular
If either of those statements apply to you, don't buy Civilization IV. Otherwise, almost every serious criticism of previous turn-based strategy games has been addressed:
- You can choose to micromanage or simply have the AI take care of city and worker management-- the latter works perfectly fine for the first few difficulty levels. This removes a huge chunk of gameplay that may people find tedious.
- It's possible and oftentimes preferable) to win cultural, religious, or scientific victories. Combat is not a prerequisite to victory, particularly on the lower difficulty levels.
- There are a dozen different randomly generated map types, many difficulty levels, and a wealth of options. The game's extraordinarily replayable... especially since there is quite a bit of third-party, user-generated content you can download.
- The graphics are nice but not good enough that they overwhelm the gameplay or require a state-of-the-art computer.
- Combat is easy to learn but difficult to master.
Basically, just get it and play it if you haven't already. |
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