Official Website

Platform: PlayStation 3, Xbox 360, Nintendo DS

Genre: Strategy

Number of Players: 1 (2 - 16 online)

Support: HD 480p, 720p, 1080i, 1080p. PS Network Compatible, Ethernet Broadband, Leaderboards, Headset Compatible

Sid Meier has become more than an iconic name in the world of video games. These days, if you put his name on any of the games that he designs, it’s guaranteed to sell millions of copies. Of all the games that he has designed though, the Civilization series might be one of the most popular with fans. The first game appeared back in 1991 and has sold over 6 million copies to date, and the Civilization series keeps getting new releases periodically, though Meier doesn’t work like other developers and try and rush a product out every year just to keep the name alive.

The Civilization series hasn’t seen a console release now in quite some time, not since the second installment of the series, but now the franchise is returning to multiple consoles as Civilization Revolutions, or Civ Rev to some. The concept behind the turn-based strategy game is one that has remained unchanged since the first game. You will take control of one of sixteen different cavitations at the dawning of humanity. If you play the Egyptians, Cleopatra will be the ruler, while America puts President Abraham Lincoln as the face of the nation. Napoleon, Gandhi, Alexander the Great and Queen Elizabeth are just some of the personalities that are found in the game, and each has their own unique traits that are a part of the culture, though some of these wont’ become available until your culture reaches a certain level.

Whatever ruler you choose, your first duty will be to establish your first city, the capital of your newborn empire. Once that is in place, it is up to you to decide how your civilization will develop. Probably one of the first and most important tasks is to develop warriors to protect your city and another to set out and explore the area. There are barbarian hordes to contend with, friendly natives who might have useful information or gold, not to mention other neighboring civilizations to meet. You also will be given the choice of what technology to work with.

Technology will pave the way for great discoveries for your empire. Learning horseback riding will allow you to begin to train mounted warriors while something like pottery will pave the way for writing and so forth. No matter what you’ve chosen, it will take a given number of turns in order to master and perfect this new way of life and much of this will rely on the science and resources you have available in your empire. In each city, you can choose how the workers will perform their tasks. You may want to focus more on generating wealth for the city, maybe having plentiful food is more important, or you could simply choose a more balanced way of life. Technology will also give you the ability to create wonders in your city, something that will help to improve the culture and add other benefits in some cases. The Hanging Garden, the Great Pyramid, Magna Carta, NASA and even the United Nations are some of the many wonders that you can create.

Another benefit of technology is the ability to build new structures in your cities, something that you will be given a choice to once a city has created the creation of anything they have been instructed to make. Building a granary will give you a food bonus, barracks will allow you to create veteran soldiers for any type of militia you develop; banks generate more money, and so forth. There is no real requirement on what needs to be created when, so players are free to choose what is the most important to them. You also will find ancient cultures across the globe that, if found, may grant you other technology that you have yet to uncover.

As for your neighbors, they can either be your best friend or greatest enemy. Often the first meeting results in them wanting peace and you’re free to chose, but if your civilization happens to be advancing greater than theirs, they will often make demands. They will want technology in exchange for gold or even trading another technology they have. You’re again free to decide how you want to proceed, and if you say no, this can result in them either being somewhat understanding or declaring war. The type of government you have decided upon will also affect how your ability to wage war is. If you have a democracy, the citizens won’t stand for you simply declaring war on everyone you want, and declining and offering of peace might be overturned by Congress. War isn’t about just defeating armies on the map but you can march into enemy territory and if you happen to defeat all defenses in any given city, you will successfully capture the territory. If you happen to take a capital, the enemy civilization will effectively perish leaving you with all of their territory and global domination is one of the many ways that you can win the game.

The units that you build will evolve over time as they win battles, giving them new skills and abilities. You can also combine three of the same type of units into one to form an army which will have improved combat strength and defense, something that increases if they are used to protect cities. The type of unit will also play a great role in victory. An army of archers for example stand very little chance to taking out a battalion of tanks. As technology improves, some units will also be replaced by whatever the latest and greatest evolution in your empire is.

Global domination isn’t the only way to win the game however. You can try and evolve your civilization to the height of culture, you can try and amass a fortune and become an economic powerhouse, or you could even try and win the space race by being the first to get settlers into space. Everything however really comes down to how you manage your cities and your civilization, so investing heavily into military might seem like a great idea, but while you do this, another civilization might be involved in building wonders and trying to achieve cultural supremacy.

The console version of the franchise still offers players the ability to play the game online with others, something that can last for a brief time or hours depending on how you go about it. The game of the week option is still included as well so you have some rather interesting scenarios to try and play through and there is a code for an initial bit of downloadable content, something that I’m sure won’t be the last.

Most of the options from Civilization IV have been carried over into Civ Rev, but as someone who invested a great deal of time into Civ IV, I found that this version of the game was a bit more stripped down. It’s simplified to some degree, making it easier I’m sure for players who might not already be familiar with the game. There aren’t nearly as many options in regards to wonders, something that the expansions for Civ 4 have continued to increase, and things like natural disasters, another thing found in the expansions, is absent.

The graphics are also more playful than what Civ IV is, and instead of the impressive look that was found in the PC game, this Civ really is more of a simplistic look for the most part. It’s not really something that comes across as looking realistic as much as it does more like a cartoon. I also noted a tendency for slowdown during the gameplay for some reason, something that really took away from having any real enjoyment in the long run. Instead of getting good pieces of historic information when a new technology was discover, that is all reserved for a separate bonus area that will show you what wonders have been created, a bit of information about some of the great people who have spawned during the game and a few other things, but Civilization Revolution doesn’t deliver nearly as well as what Civ IV does.

I’ve wasted a great deal of time on Civilization III, Civ IV, and even Alpha Centarui, but I found that Civilization Revolution just didn’t have quite the draw for me that the other Sid Meier titles have. It feels more like Civilization Junior, a much more simple and basic version of the PC game. If you’ve never played any of the PC versions of the game, I’m sure that Civ Rev will have just the right stuff to keep you entertained and there is no comparison obviously, but if you are in fact one of many who has wasted hours of their life trying to create the perfect city, Civ Rev is going to be enjoyable for a few games, but it will soon loose its novelty. You’ll find yourself drawn back into the PC and in my case, I’m now fighting the temptation to once again install the game that I had to uninstall so I could focus more on getting reviews done.

-mike-