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Excellent transition

4 Rating: 4, Useful: 22 / 24
Date: July 10, 2008
Author: Amazon User

The good:
- One of the most addicting games of all times makes its way to Xbox and the transition is very smooth. While this version has been re-written specially for consoles, it does keep most of the original gameplay. If you haven't done this already, download the demo and see for yourselves what this is all about.
- The game has 5 difficulty settings. For those of you that had trouble beating the demo - worry not. The easiest setting is extremely easy - unlike it was in the demo.
- All 16 civilizations are available right from the start. You can select any of them and play through skirmish missions, Game of the Week or a set of modified skirmishes. This last one has around 10-15 'missions' where the Skirmish rules have been changed. For example - on one map there are more and tougher barbarians, on other there is no diplomacy, etc. Game of the Week is being updated every Sunday and will allow you to play against the AI, in same exact conditions as all other XBox Live players. Then - you will be able to see your rank versus other players in the world.
- The version of the game that I bought includes a free 'wonders' code, to be used for downloading extra wonders. Did not try it yet, so do not know yet what is included.
- Graphics are excellent - a bit cartoonish, but perfect for the gameplay. There doesn't seem to be any noticeable improvement over the graphics from the demo, so what you see in the demo is what you will get.
- The Manual is excellent. Gives a lot of detail and covers all the info you need. If you play on Easiest setting, the game will also act like a Tutorial, which is helpful, if you have never played this before.

The bad:
- You have no control over skirmishes. Basically, all maps are randomly generated - which is great, because you never get to play the same map. However - if you want to select map size, number of players, individual difficulty for AI players - this is not possible.
- I was hoping the game will have a Campaign, that you can play with your favorite Civilization. There is none. This being the case - not sure how long will it take for the fun to wear out.
- There is a lot of slowdown when the camera has to pan on longer distances. Not sure why - the Xbox 360 demo did not have these issues. It's not unplayable, but it gets annoying after a while.
- There isn't enough diversity between the civilizations. Each civilization has some special units, but there isn't enough of them. Most of the time, you will play with same units.

Overall: if you are new to this or unsure - try the demo. Otherwise - give this game a try. Despite some minor annoyances, it's definitely worth it!

Civilization now more civilized

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 17 / 21
Date: July 11, 2008
Author: Amazon User

This is the Civilization I have been waiting for! I have played through a full campaign and I have to say I love it. I love not having to build every road and micromanaging every square. They left all the good parts in but removed the tasks that became mundane towards the end of the other Civ titles.

It has the same technology trees as the other civ games so if you are familiar with them you will catch on quickly.

Multiplayer games now finish in 2-4 hours instead of 12 hours like the previous iterations of this franchise.

If you enjoyed Civ but were longing for faster game play this is the game for you.

This is what every turned based strategy war game should strive for.

the only problem I had with the game was the advisor and enemy animations were annoying to me at first but after the tutorial guy went away the other advisors kind of grew on me.

If world domination is a goal of yours and you don't think your current career track is going to get you there I highly recommend this game as the next closest thing.

Not The CIV You Expect

2 Rating: 2, Useful: 17 / 46
Date: July 11, 2008
Author: Amazon User

Well, it is hard not to compare this with the much loved computer based versions. Yes, they have in the description that this console version was written from the ground up, so that does provide an excuse. So to be fair, all I will say is that this version is nothing like the computer version. It has very few similarities at best and the game play is very different. They obviously made this for the casual gamer. Serious gamers will think this version is a joke.

To call this a next generation game would be an insult. The graphics are sub-par at best and is really nothing better than you might see on the Wii console. I am not knocking the Wii, I am just providing a comparison. This console version also lacks the many wonderful musical scores from the PC version.

They have animated characters guiding your way through the game. They all speak in gibberish that gets very annoying the longer you play. Again, the graphics for these characters are bad for a next gen console.

The victory options are non-existent. In fact, there are hardly any game options.

I don't know. When comparing to the PC version, I could beat this version up all day and write a novel. This is going to be good for the CIV novice that has never played the PC version or maybe thought the PC version was too hard to play. However, they at least could have done much better on the graphics and sound if the $60 price tag is to be justified. This costs more than the PC version and you get so much less.

Why?

1 Rating: 1, Useful: 19 / 45
Date: July 12, 2008
Author: Amazon User

Why did they make this game?

Instead of being something new and invigorating, it was old and busted.

Yes, the step away from some of the mundane tasks in the civ series are great. But...

1) Horrible, horrible graphics
2) Slow movement and panning
3) Time line is mega fast, no way to slow up
4) As in #3, no options, at all, for players to change the games
5) No way to turn off production in a city
6) The diplomacy AI is absolutely terrible, the worst I have ever seen in a CIV game. The other leaders always make demands and then go to war with you, even when you have a Panzer tank army 2 squares from the capital and they are defending with a single archer... Stupid, stupid, stupid.
7) Advisors are annoying and no option to shut them off.
8) Very little complexity or depth. Build and move, build and move. No long term planning needed... Oh did I mention it will be 1985 in about 30 minutes of gameplay? At higher levels, you can run around with only archers in 1900.

Horrible piece of work that gives the CIV series a bad name.

A Good Game

4 Rating: 4, Useful: 3 / 5
Date: July 12, 2008
Author: Amazon User

I've been a big fan of the series since Civ II. I've enjoyed all of them, and I enjoyed and am still enjoying this one as well.

Pros:

.Detailed environments, the graphics have been an issue for others, but I for one don't see the problem, they're a good match with the type of game that CivRev is

.I like the new throne room design

.Expansion of the "Great People" introduced in Civ III, and altered in Civ IV

.Armies are easy to work with

.Reworking of the barbarian system is a nice change. Now you get settlers very frequently from clearing certain camps

.Bonuses from tech discovery, one of my favorite additions, its nice to be rewarded for this, feels good to get a great person for getting to Invention first

.They've finally done away with producing workers, and its been at the back of my mind since Civ II, no more mass terraforming and wasting time building roads and railroads, and the new system happens to be a good one, you just pay for the construction

.I like that they will be adding new content for it, I no longer have to scrounge around civ fanatics for new stuff, no offense guys

Cons:

.Limited customization-this was my only major complaint, but it's a big one, I enjoyed the immense options when it came to setting up your game and map, this has been done away with in favor of standardized maps

.Not as many playable civs, this may or may not be an issue for some, for me, I liked being able to play as multiple civs and leaders, but on the flip side, the civs are vastly more developed

.Scenarios, the scenarios are *alright* but I miss the ones where gameplay, civs, civ traits, were altered in favor of interesting matches

.Some of the babbling advisors can get on my nerves

.Dan Quayle is no longer at the bottom of the reputation scale, this one was just personal

Unfortunately, I haven't gotten the chance to explore the multiplayer capabilities yet
All in all, a good addition to the Civ collection, but lacking in certain areas

A console version... not a NEW civ game... I LOVED IT!!!!

4 Rating: 4, Useful: 6 / 9
Date: July 13, 2008
Author: Amazon User

Apparently some of these reviewers thought this was gonna be some new and improved or completely original take on Sid Meier's civ games. No. This is a console version of a great PC game. As such one has to expect some differences. That doesn't mean, however, that this game doesn't include all the aspects that make up a CIV game. But I would say, if you like the computer version stick to that, if you're looking for something a little different, read on.

To answer another reviewers question, "Why was this game made?"

As someone who always found Civilization games extremely massive, confusing, time-consuming, difficult to navigate, and impossible to grasp completely - THIS IS OUR SALVATION!!!! All the fun of the Civilization franchise in a simple, intuitive, easy to learn, addictive, and yet still complex console game. The graphics are beautiful (in the civilization's own cartoony way), the game has tons of replay-ability, and the setup/interface is so well designed that I actually quickly learned about elements of the game that I never even realized were a part of the old pc versions.

In my opinion... it's the way the Civilization games should have been designed since the very beginning.

*Just make sure to go into the options menu and mute the voices of your advisors and world leaders who talk in nothing but gibberish or you'll soon find yourself yelling profanities at your television set* =)

To quick and forced ending

2 Rating: 2, Useful: 5 / 14
Date: July 13, 2008
Author: Amazon User

This was too quick I beat the easy mode in 3 hours or so. Your allies you can not cross their borders so if one puts an city by you then you are stuck in your corner until you get a boat or declare war. I am sure this game is great online where you can play many people for hours but really this is not that cool. I wanted to get into space race or something better but then I completed the domination side and it forced me to stop so I never got a chance to get past the gunpowder. I was really let down by this game. I am taking it back. I would pay 25 or so for this game but 60 is way to pricey.

Not the worse

3 Rating: 3, Useful: 2 / 5
Date: July 13, 2008
Author: Amazon User

If CIV 3 was the latest available CIV game on the PC, then this game would have been an absolute disgrace.

However, considering CIV IV was already the disgrace to the CIV name, this one isn't actually that bad in comparison.

The game lacks propper rally point and automatic scouts. Other than that it's completely playable.

As somebody else mentioned as well, the AI towards the end of the game seems to go into some sort of 'desperation' mode and tries to attack you even if it has no hope of getting anywhere. This forces you to deal with the attack, which can be annoying.

Old School Civ Just Like You Remember

4 Rating: 4, Useful: 9 / 11
Date: July 14, 2008
Author: Amazon User

If you remember being in your dorm room for 24 hours straight saying "just one more turn", this game is going to hurt your social life, family life, romantic life, and probably your health from lack of sleep and food. If you've been following the Civ series as it's gotten ever more complex graphically and play-wise, then you may want to skip this (unless you think the multiplayer options will appeal to you).

This game does have poor graphics and simplified play, but it completely takes me back to the 90s with addicting gameplay. The advisors are annoying, etc. etc. All the critiques are basically spot-on. For me though, never having a PC that could run a modern Civ game appropriately, this game is flat-out fantastic. It's (relatively) fast-paced and features workable multiplayer, along with "games of the week" that allow you to play the same map as others and gauge your abilities. But most of all, it's just really fun. The lower levels are obviously too easy, but the higher levels provide a decent challenge.

Not for everyone due to the shortcomings, but overall an awesome experience for non-PC Civ players. If you love the XBox Live game Settlers of Catan, you're going to eat this up.

Even full version is limited!!

1 Rating: 1, Useful: 7 / 16
Date: July 14, 2008
Author: Amazon User

I liked the streamlined interface, but the game doesn't last long enough. Limited to 4 hours??!! I'll return this and go back to my good old PC based Civ 3.

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