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Trying to make lemonade!!!!!

1 Rating: 1, Useful: 41 / 67
Date: October 27, 2005
Author: Amazon User

My experience with this game has been absolutely horrible. I have an ATI Graphics card and Sound Blaster Audigy two very common components. Put simply the game won't start and it locks up. Support for this game is non-existent and when you call the help number you actually wait ten minutes on the phone before an automated message says that all the reps are busy please call back in 24 hours, "24 HOURS!!!", then hangs up. If you are lucky enough to get through they will tell you whatever they can just to get you off the phone. Whatever you do if your are gullible enough to buy this game and have to call support, do not let them say they will send you an email. DONT HANG UP THE PHONE!!. DON'T BUY THIS GAME UNLESS YOU ARE A GLUTTON FOR PUNISHMENT or are looking for lemons!

The most poorly programmed game I have ever played

1 Rating: 1, Useful: 44 / 77
Date: November 21, 2005
Author: Amazon User

I am a computer programmer, and this game makes me sick. I have never seen such a piece of trash thrown into a box and sold to people. I think the game itself is pretty interesting, but what does it matter since I can't play a game all the way through? Once I get to the 1800s or so, the game crashes every 2 or 3 turns. Firaxis and 2k Games (the companies responsible for this piece of garbage) should be ashamed of themselves. I want my $50 back until you finish beta testing!

Nice Job Firaxis......Now if you could just make it playable

1 Rating: 1, Useful: 35 / 40
Date: October 30, 2005
Author: Amazon User

I have an ATI graphics card (Radeon 9800) and it obviously is not supported at all. Even when following the instruction on the Firaxis website the game locks up and is completely unplayable. I am hugely disappointed in the complete lack of respect by Firaxis for its customer base. It's a shame, by all respects this should be a good game (and probably is if you could play it).
This is the last Firaxis product that I buy......
The rest of my system is as follows:
Athlon 64, 3000+
1 GB of PC3200
MSI K8T Neo Mainboard
Windows XP Pro with Service Pack 2
If you have anything similar, I'd stay away from this game till when/if they fix the game. So much for meeting every requirement.....

Looks aren't everything

1 Rating: 1, Useful: 43 / 57
Date: January 10, 2006
Author: Amazon User

I bought this game on the recommendation of my brother-in-law, who has similar taste in gaming. Owning an Alienware gaming rig, I wasn't concerned about the system requirements--after all, this is a 3 GHz P4, with a GB of RAM, dual 200 GB RAID0 SATA drives, and a top-of-the-line NVIDIA video card. No worries, right?

When I ran through the tutorial, I thought that the game looked interesting and fun--albeit a bit complicated--so I started a "real" game. It was great fun, the interface is well done, and I really like the game during the time it works. But it's hard to communicate just how bad it is for a game to be pretty cool, hook you in, and then fail (badly) in a way that prevents you from completing it.

Right up until the Industrial era, everything is fine. At that point, the game started crashing (and patching it hasn't helped). Generally the crashes occur during or soon after one of the "cut scenes" showing the construction of a Wonder. Before the patch, the game failed with no error--it just dumped to the desktop. Now that it's "patched" it fails with a memory corruption error. Thanks, guys. That's ever so much better.

I've tried everything recommended and everything I could think of (I work in software development) but no dice. I've checked for updates for my video card, killed off unnecessary processes, started with a smaller world, lowered resolution... but nothing seems to help. The frustration and disappointment at this point will probably leave the game sitting on the shelf--I doubt I'll be frequenting the Civ IV Web site to see if they have a newer and better patch.

The funny thing is, I would rate this game really highly on the interface, game concept, and fun. I think this might have been a game that would have changed my interest from RTS to turn-based games. I really WANT to play this game and to like it as much as I was starting to before it started crashing. But it isn't so much fun if you can't finish.

My recommendation is to avoid this game.

Waste of money

1 Rating: 1, Useful: 32 / 39
Date: October 30, 2005
Author: Amazon User

The game simply doesn't start. The company blames bad ATI graphic cards and drivers, but I have a new NVIDIA GeForce card, and the game still doesn't start.
Tech support is a joke: if you call Canadian number, the message will say your call can not be completed as dialed; US support will keep you on hold for 15 min, then suggest to visit their web site and quickly hang up.
Overall, for me this was a classical example how the combination of incompetent development, management and support can ruin a great game.

Don't Buy It

1 Rating: 1, Useful: 30 / 52
Date: October 30, 2005
Author: Amazon User

I've now installed this game on 3 PCs. On 2 of them the terrain is black and the game is unplayable. On the best PC, the game is viewable but still unplayable. Civ4 is an unspeakable desecration to a great line of games.

Some specifics: The map is just plain ugly and eye-straining. The screen floats and jumps around like playing a shooter game. You have to constantly look all over the screen to find pieces of related information. The right-click options (formerly a Civ game strength) are turned off by default and even when you re-enable them, they still aren't very useful.

All the effort at trying to 'see' what's going on produces a gaming experience that is mentally exhausting and devoid of strategic thinking. Don't buy this game. They'll probably come up with some graphic patches for some of the hardware, but don't buy the game then either because it just isn't any fun.

Sad disappointment

1 Rating: 1, Useful: 12 / 14
Date: December 22, 2005
Author: Amazon User

What could be a fun game is so riddled with fatal bugs that I've deleted it after one day.

The "solution" provided by 2K is to run a naked system; no firewall, no anti-spyware, no anti-virus, nothing. Come on people this is almost 2006, no one runs, or should run, a system without protection. I wonder what would happen if I actually wanted to go MP?

The graphics are the best yet in the series, the interface is better but not great. But this is a complex game.

I had installed the 1.09 patch so these comments are valid for the current version.

Too bad I can't get my money back.

Beware, Beta-ware! Bugged, Boring, and Botched

1 Rating: 1, Useful: 10 / 13
Date: November 29, 2005
Author: Amazon User

This software is a Beta release. Even after the 1.09 patch, it Crashes to Destop or causes BSOD's. Stuttering sound and movies. It is a terrible resource hog. This is on a rig that exceeds all published RECOMMENDED specifications, yes, I mean those printed on the box.

The game itself is unfinished; it feels like a Yugo.

No personality, all the cute things from the previous versions are gone or dumbed down. No popheads, only a sterile City Screen with numbers. No Advisors, only spreadsheet like advisory screens. Wonder movies are not fun and informative. No throne room. No Aerial view. No victory movies. No fun.

The pace is too fast for single player; you will find yourself building units that are obsolete before they are completed. Multi player is bugged, good luck. And beware, as it will create folders on other peoples computer that may use your real name if you play online.

Unless you are into self-flagellation, or love to spend more time troubleshooting than playing, even on top of the line game rigs, stay away.

Wait a few years until a few expansion packs come out and buy the complete version; or pick this up in the bargain bin next summer or on eBay - some there are giving it away for the cost of shipping only.

Buyer Beware - Firaxis and Take2 are scamming you on this one. Save your money.

Nice Job, Sid

1 Rating: 1, Useful: 14 / 19
Date: November 07, 2005
Author: Amazon User

I thought I was doing something wrong. My system met all the requirements. Yet I could not get it to launch. My self-doubt turned to rage when, through trial and error, I realized the "install" and "play" CDs were misprinted/ reversed. My rage turned to molten lava when I could hear the sounds of the game, but could not see any graphics. My molten lava went through the roof when I read up on the game online and found that four out of five players are having the same problems. Do not, do not..... DO NOT BUY THIS GAME.

Do not buy this game

1 Rating: 1, Useful: 16 / 23
Date: November 04, 2005
Author: Amazon User

Please do not buy this game. It is full of software problems(bugs) almost like BETA software. I've tested BETA software that is completely functional where this software game is not.

On dialing the customer service 866 number to obtain support, a recording says your call is very important to us and please continue to hold, but you are placed on hold for about 5 minutes then the recording says all lines are busy and try again later or send email. Then you are HUNG up on !.

I could list all the bugs I've found so far but what is the point. The game is basically unplayable.

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