Sequels are a tricky business. On one hand, you have to please series fans, who often display an assumed ownership of a particular franchise, berating the creators for changing this or that. On the other hand, you have to give gamers something new, or face being accused of releasing a pointless iterating of a tired series, or milking the proverbial cash cow.
A good sequel should do both of these things, which is tricky because they are bound to contradict each other at certain points. After spending a good few weeks with Firaxis’ latest iteration of the hallowed Civ franchise, it is plain to see that the developer thought long and hard about this sequel. In the end, they essentially stripped it down to its bare mechanics, and rebuilt it, innovating and improving around the core gameplay fundamentals.
Civ 5 is as addictive as ever, and the fundamental gameplay of its predecessors remains intact. However, there are numerous small and large changes, all of which I found to be positive.
The first, and most noticeable difference is the new hexagonal tile set. Gone are the squares that Civ players have spent the past 19 years getting used to, the new hexagon setup provides a far more natural way of moving around the Civ world, and opens up numerous new possibilities. The new navigational patterns, combined with the revamped combat system makes Civ 5 feel like the freshest Civ game in years. Previously, combat was rendered bland thanks to the ability to stack multiple units on one tile and use this massive army to bulldoze everything in its path. Civ 5 restricts tiles to one unit each, making combat a more tactical affair than ever before. Bombard enemy units from a distance with your archers before charging them with your cavalry, or use foot soldiers to keep enemy infantry at bay while your ranged units navigate a hillside picking off stragglers – the newfound tactical depth is a welcome addition to the Civ universe.
Another new addition is the implementation of city states – of which Cape Town is one. City states are essentially mini-countries which you can discover and befriend. Stay in their good books and they will give you cool stuff, like luxury goods which help keep your population smiling. However, doing so often requires you to perform favours for them, such as taking out a rival city-state which can be challenging. Fortunately, when your diminutive friends become too demanding, you can always conquer them yourself.
There are loads of other changes which are too numerous to list, but I’ll try my best.
Religion has been taken out of the equation, and players can now speed up the rate at which their borders are expanded by simply buying tiles with gold.
You will now need to utilise land tiles with native horse populations in order to build mounted units, and the amount you can build is limited to how many horses your borders contain. This really makes you think about where you expand, as cavalry can be a game changer. It also makes mounted units seem far more valuable than before.
Cities have received a ranged attack, a genius move which leads to most of the combat taking place in isolated hillsides, valleys, deserts or plains, as opposed to being bunched around your city locations. Only one military unit may occupy a city’s walls, which means no “turtling” and players will have to get more creative with how they defend their territory.
At a certain point in maritime research, your units unlock the ability to build their own boats, meaning you don’t necessarily have to build transport ships for them. This is great, and gone are the days of countless turns being wasted ferrying units back and forth between land masses.
Apart from these and many other tweaks to the gameplay, Fireaxis has also given the game a great visual overhaul. The user interface as well as world map are gorgeous and slick, and just what we would expect from a current-generation AAA civilisation management title.
It is not often that a sequel is so promising that it looks set to possibly be the best of its franchise, especially after 19 years. Civilization V is that good though, and every change made fixes something that bugged me about Civ IV, making it a far more enjoyable game.
Civilization V is due out next month, and looks set to be the most enjoyable Civ game in years, if not ever. A playable demo will be released, so you will be able to try it out for yourself before parting with any cash.
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