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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.

Excellent transition to console

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 10 / 19
Date: July 18, 2008
Author: Amazon User

I'm a long time Civver, so I've played Civ on the PC for quite a few years. I knew that the game would have to be streamlined when I heard that it was coming to the console, and I was curious, and perhaps concerned as to how that would affect the game overall. I needn't have worried. The move to a version of Civ for consoles is worthwhile, and will no doubt bring a lot of new Civvers into the fold. From what I've heard the initial run of CivRev has sold out, so what does that tell you?

Anyways, from a long time Civ player and new console player, I can say that CivRev is an awesome game, and very fun to play, even for my kids who, before now, would never touch a game like this. For that reason alone the game is worthwhile.

I would even venture to say that after playing CivRev, that certain aspects of Civ4/BTS make more sense. That's how good they present game concepts to the player.

The debate still rages among hardcore Civvers as to the merits of CivRev, but I think anyone who enjoys a good game will really have fun with this one. 5 stars.

Sid Meier Does It Again!

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 3 / 6
Date: July 17, 2008
Author: Amazon User

First, the Sid Meier games aren't for everyone. Period. That said, if you enjoy turn based strategy games, Civilization is the grandaddy of all turn based strategy games dating back to the early 90's, this being what I consider the most polished of them all.

Many of the reviews for this game so far all have some truth to them, so instead of repeating all those comments, let me take a few moments to dispell some of the more misguided comments, for better or worse:

- Indeed, this is addicting! The graphics are the best of ANY Civ game ever produced (at least 3 prior to this version!), and are very conducive to great game play. This isn't a first person shooter game, it's a top down strategy game, and as such the graphics are not only great, but keep the game moving.

- Advisors: They can be turned off/on, or set to different levels of "interjection". One reviewer complained that they're always butting in...use the options and tone them down or turn them off

- Stupid AI??: Sorry, the AI is FAR from stupid in this game. Depending on which level of difficulty you've set the game at, indeed the AI is adjusted accordingly. Ramp up the difficulty if you'd like AI that dosn't make mistakes. Simple.

- Game Difficulty: There are FIVE levels of difficulty. FIVE!! These take you from "n00b" tutorial mode to full blown "you better be awesome" level. Many games only have 2 or 3 levels of difficulty.

- Game Options: Not only are the standard "randomized" games fabulous and new everytime, but they have included 10 scenarios which are spectacular and lots of fun to play. AND, as a bonus, there is a "Game Of The Week" option where, if you're on the net, you can download each week, play single or multi, and rank against others, etc. As always, there are FOUR ways to win, by military dominance, by attracting "great people", etc. When you've beaten the game as Warlord in a military dominance, try it again as Warlord, but try to beat it by getting the most civilization adavances. LOTS of fun!

This game is the absolute PINNACLE of what a turn-based strategy game should be. VERY innovative, yet enough of the original Civ1/Civ2 to keep all us Old School fans very happy.

When you want literally 100's of hours of endless, entertaining gameplay and great gaming value and longevity for your money, you need look no further than Civilization Revolution. Worth every penny. Now, if someone can give me some tips on how to peel myself AWAY from this game maybe I could get some sleep!!!

This game is SO good I went out and bought the DS version as well. I'm obviously sick! HELP!! ;)

Great Job Sid

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 2 / 3
Date: August 09, 2008
Author: Amazon User

I have played Civilization on my PC for years but enjoy the Xbox version much more. The game draws you in and before you turn around two or three hours have gone by like it was ten minutes.

The World Is Yours, Join The Revolution!

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 1 / 4
Date: July 15, 2008
Author: Amazon User

So, you say want a revolution? Well here it is! Sid Meier's Civilization Revolution is a console version of the popular Civilization series on the PC. Understandably, most people would be skeptical is such a thing could be done to ergonomically suit a PS3 or an Xbox 360 controller, as RTS games which make the leap from PC to console don't fare so well in the transition.

After having played Civilization Revolution, however, I am happy to report that this game is a keeper for anyone that likes strategy games, or would like a change of pace from all those first person shooters that have been dominating the online scene. The game developers really took their time to make a game that is easy to pick up and play, yet deep enough for veterans of the genre to enjoy many different strategic options.

Basically, you select a Civilization from among a group of unique races with their own strengths and weaknesses. It's a lot of fun to try and figure out new ways to take advantage of your racial strengths or to exploit your enemies' weaknesses. For example, the Zulu are strong early in the game because their warrior units can move an extra square, or the Aztecs have military units that heal after every conflict. Other Civ's are stronger late in the game, like the Romans that can make Wonders (expensive buildings with game-breaking special effects) at half the cost.

After you have selected your Civ, you place your first city. Positioning is key here, since you must place it near areas where you can harvest resources to make your city grow or to make units for going to war. Afterwards, the game is like a huge chess board where you fight four other enemy Civilizations. There are also non-violent ways of winning, such as the Cultural Victory (where you build Wonders or generate Great Persons by making building that produce more Culture) the Economic Victory (by making a lot of money and building the World Bank) or Technological Victory (where you beat the other Civ's in a race for outer space.)

The graphics for the game are cartoonish and colorful, and they are adequate for the sheer lunacy of the game's main objective, which is nothing short of world domination. The music is enjoyable, with different aural cues to let you know which Civilization is on screen at the time. Some voices though, which speak in a Sim-like language called Firaxlish, are a little annoying, especially from the side of the advisers. But this is minor nit-picking, as the presentation is top notch, and it's a real thrill to see sprawling cities grow and develop across the map, or to see your mighty Artillery topple an enemy city.

I must say though, that the single player is a little lacking in options. There is no campaign mode to speak of, but there are five different difficulty levels to test your might against. The online multiplayer, however, more than makes up for this shortcoming, as it's a real blast to go at it one-on-one or two-versus-two online. There's also a cool map of the week function, where players compete to see who can best complete a new downloadable map every week.

Civilization Revolution is truly nothing short of revolutionary, as it is the most addictive turn-based strategy game ever to come out for consoles. This is a gem of a game, a future classic which will be the standard for all future games of this genre.

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!

360 version is fun but not worth the full price

4 Rating: 4, Useful: 11 / 17
Date: July 24, 2008
Author: Amazon User

They did a really fine job paring the interface of the PC version to a 360'a console screen and a console controller. Very few complaints there. And I wasnt surprised that some gameplay elements are completely removed or very simplified (like the tech tree). That's all fine because the core gameplay is fun.

But I get the impression this could have easily been a "Live Arcade" download if it werent for all of the "advisor's" animations taking up disk space. I just dont think this should be a full price game. Even a bit of a rip off really. 30 bucks max.

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.

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* =)

Moving to the 360: Teaching old Software new Tricks

4 Rating: 4, Useful: 5 / 13
Date: July 21, 2008
Author: Amazon User

By now, I'm sure you know the drill: You pick a country, fine-tune the beast in any way you want, and explore the world while the world explores you --- sometimes with U.N. intentions and sometimes with the point of "enter your unit here." In this variation there are 16 wonderfully blunderful characters to choose from repping 16 different countries. Sadly, there is a bad male-to-female ratio when it comes to this, but the civilizations inner workings are interesting. For example, picking the Romans gives you ½ price roads and some sort of bonus feature you get depending on the age (of which there are three). You also have units that are specific to the civilization, a specific construction type, and sometimes you have settler bonuses and so on. After your people have been chosen, you start your march into the future with a unit that can build a city and thus it begins.

Some things of interest: When it comes to your worker units, you have quite a bit of control. You can have then concentrate on a balanced approach to worldly endeavors, chase the beaker, go for the artistic, mine for gold, aim for production, and so on. When it comes to cities, you have a beast that is managed easily enough and that doesn't have a lot of the problems from the past. The only thing I really did not like was the fact that a small country can border you and, even if you are a larger country, the sphere of influence from the little buddy on the block can take your city from you. Talk about something that can turn you into a warlord quickly. You also have "interesting people" appear and they add GREAT things to your society. Henry Ford gives a city 50% upgrades in production, Marie Curry gives you 50% science for the city, and you can take this OR exchange it for something equally good. You also have a bonus for being the first to discover specific sciences: get engineering and find yourself with some +1's and so on. Exploration is easier in many ways because you get Galleys almost immediately as a unit and that helps out A LOT. Armies are easily assembled: take three units, slam them together, and yummy - you have a little beast that gets stronger as it fights. Also, you get "moves" when you beat "x" amount of baddies and they help a lot.. Then there are the Generals that appear when you do crazy - I mean brave - things, roads that you can outright buy, and so much more. This leads to the ways of winning: War, Space, Money, or Technology.

If you like Civilization, check this out. A sexy little beastie made for the 360 makes my mouth water and I'm happy about it. If you don't mind the change of scenery (PC wise, I mean), you and it can make sweet love into the AM, too.

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