There are two types of people in this world (at least for the purposes of this review):
Type A: Those who bear a fond affinity for Sid Meier’s iconic turn-based civilisation management series, and have countless times had to savagely fight off the infamous “just one more turn” compulsion at 3AM on a school/varsity/work night. Type A’s are for the most part no younger than 25 by now, and are most probably long time fans of the series.
Type B: Those who have never played a Civ game, or if they have, never really got what the fuss was all about. Type B’s are usually younger, and have grown up in a gaming world dominated by high intensity driven action games, teabagging, and 13375 |>34 |< (if you can’t read this then you’re probably a Type A).
Usually we believe a game should be reviewed on its own terms, and in order to retain objectivity, it is best to ignore the preferences of the audience. However, when it comes to Civ, there is a pretty strong argument for delineating our readers.
So we essentially have two reviews, one for each gamer type. If you are not sure which type you are, or are rigidly opposed to my unyielding segregation of humanity based solely on a person’s gaming preference, then just read both.
Type A review
Civ 5 may as well be renamed Civilisation 2010. It is essentially the same game we have known and loved for 19 years, masquerading under the guise of being a game made in 2010. This is not a bad thing.
Having said that, there have been some pretty significant changes made. Most are good, but some may raise the ire of long time Civ stalwarts.
Firstly, as was expected, the visuals have been nicely overhauled. While it’s not quite as gorgeous as our other favourite recently released city management title – Anno 1404 – it’s not going to struggle with meeting girls. Textures are nicely detailed, and the colour palate is suitably vibrant. 2010 AAA game visuals; check.
Then there is the new hexagonal tile-set, which is one of the most significant changes ever made to the Civ franchise. For some reason, I never even questioned the square tiles, but now having played with the hexagons, the old tile-set seems archaic. Movement is more fluid and intuitive, which ultimately contributes toward a more enjoyable gameplay experience.
The second big gameplay change is the new combat system. It is now impossible to have more than one military unit per tile. This means that you can no longer build a tower of doom and march it across the map, crushing anything that gets in its way. Unit placement becomes important, and for the first time ever, we have a Civ game which requires a degree of thoughtfulness and tactical planning when it comes to combat.
That’s not where the combat changes end though. Units can move further now on average, which does a lot for the pacing of the game, as does the introduction of ranged units which can fire across many titles – another change which feels like it should have been implemented ages ago. Units also take longer to build now, which makes them feel more valuable – another great game design decision.
Another change which streamlines unit management is improved transportation over water, which was a gripe for many in earlier games. Cities can now hold just one unit in garrison, but also posses additional hit points which an enemy must destroy in order to conquer them.
And the list goes on. I have highlighted the most obvious changes, but there are loads more. Fortunately, 90% percent of them are mild tweaks which improve the gameplay, and make Civ V one of the best iterations of the series.
Fans of the series will not be disappointed as long as they remain open minded. It is still as addictive as ever, and ranks highly amongst my list of “Games that keep me up way too late on school nights.” The “just one more turn” compulsion is as devious as ever, and the revamped combat and hexagonal tile set just make everything more fun.
Type B review
So, you’ve never played a Civilisation game, but you kind of like the sound of it? Well, it works a bit like this:
First of all, it’s turn based, which means that you can only perform so many actions per turn, before hitting the end-turn button, which gives other civilisations their turn. For those unfamiliar with turn based games, they use the same mechanism as most board games.
You start out with a single settler on a map which is split into thousands of hexagonal tiles. Your settler can navigate the map, moving two tiles per turn (or less if it’s over mountains, or though trees). When you find a good place to settle, you can found your first city. You city will start with 1 population point, which you can use on one of the city’s surrounding tiles. Each tile will generate either food, money, science points, or production points – these are the main resources in Civ V. Food enables your city to grow, and gives you more population points to spend on other tiles, while production points determine the speed at which you build units/buildings. It is possible to upgrade surrounding tiles with farms, mines, and so forth. These upgrades will increase the number of points you extract from each tile.
From here the game grows in complexity. As your population grows people will become unhappy. This will decrease their production levels, and in turn lead to a nation in decline. It is important then to find fancy resources for them, and build them nice stuff, like coliseums and circuses. You can also build Wonders, such as the Eifel Tower, Great Wall of China, The Colossus and heaps more from history of human kind. Wonders give your civilisation bonuses to happiness, culture and production.
You will also have to engage with other civilisations, both as enemies and as allies. Combat is tactical, and unit placement important; a new feature which makes this one of the best Civ games yet.
It is overall a thoroughly enjoyable and rewarding experience, but be warned, it’s not for everyone. Many gamers find the turn-based gameplay boring, and similarly, the relative lack of action can be off putting for those who enjoy higher levels of intensity in their gaming time. However, if you open your mind up to the possibilities, and let yourself be absorbed into the intricacies of Civ V, you are not likely to be disappointed. If you are still on the fence, it is well worth checking out the demo on Steam.
A’s and B’s should both read this
My biggest criticism of Civ V is that it tends to chug a bit at times. Particularly later in the game, when most of the map has been exposed, and the PC is calculating the various moves for 15 different A.I’s, things can get a little stuttery. It can end up taking a little longer between your turns than we would like. Obviously it is hard to criticise Firaxis for this, as the slowdown is testament to the magnitude and complexity of some of the AI. Still, it does hurt the gameplay somewhat. We experienced this on a 6 core Phenom II with 8GB of DDR3 RAM, so you are likely to experience similar slow downs on any gaming rig. It is not a game breaker, but it is worth considering, especially for those with aging PCs.
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