411: Sid Meier's Civilization: Revolution Preview

As a fan of the Civilization series, (it was included in their top 50 games of all time) 411 could not wait to see what Sid Meier did to his Civilization series to bring it into the next generation of game play. What they discovered based on the demo is a game they truly cannot wait for. The game is scheduled to be released on July 9th.

[GamerMan]

When the heck Civilization Revolution will actually be available. I have BestBuy showing me July first. Other places saying July 8th and now this site pushing it back to July 9th... it's already bad enough they delayed the game and the demo said available mid June :(

I'm really looking forward to strategy gaming from the comfort of my TV instead of hunched over my ancient and decrepit computer.

[Superfragilistic]

Last I heard US doesn't get it till late July.

As for wetting your appetite, Civ Rev is fantastic and it deserves all the kudos, and I hope sales, that it gets. It's all I've played the last week, except for the odd MGO and NG2. In fact it stopped me playing MGS4 on my PS3 and brought me back to the 360 for achievements and online multi. It's easily the best strategy title I've ever played on a console and the increased pace, combat emphasis and reduced micromanagement make it a joy to play. Multiplayer is wicked and is far better than the PC versions and there are new maps/scenarios every week with full online leaderboards! Hell they've even got a "Beta Centurai" scenario! lol :)

My only wish is they add an expansion down the track for bigger maps, more civs and maybe a map editor... but really it'd just be added cream to an already cherry on top sundae! ;)

[GamerMan]

Yeah the demo gave me enough to want more. Me and my friend played online and barely got into it and the demo did it's job. I've liked the majority of all the Civilization games since the first one and can't wait to play this one. It did get rid of some of the ridiculous stuff as far as I'm concerned but some of the wonders are worthless now except for culture reasons. I can see me getting many sleepless night playing this game. How long has a single player game lasted you?

Yeah I heard it was in the end of July to originally for NA but later found out it was supposed to be the first week of July. I think anyone that loves a good strategy game should definitely pick this game up. I personally can't wait for it.

[Superfragilistic]

Depending on how you play the game, you could probably win being mighty aggressive within 4hrs. But if you took your time it could well take much longer than that (I had one match beyond 8hrs). Personally it's a welcome change from the fortnight long campaigns on PC. I can pick this up and finish a game over a couple of nights. What's amazing is that the bulk of Civ is still there, but it's either behind the scenes or is deceptively controlled by the player through seamless menus without him initially being aware of it (eg. workers). The multiplayer really leaves the PC for dead and also ensures games continue and people don't drop out and end the game for everyone else.

My only minor gripe is it's too easy on anything below Emperor (the second highest difficulty) with Civ veterans well at home on King (the third highest difficulty) as a starting point. The weekly scenarios, trophy room, achievements, online leaderboards and "hall of legends" (something like that?!) all add to a busty package, the only warning is that you can't save games when playing "game of the week" as it is a weekly online comp - which is great as it adds to strategic intensity and gives a fresh approach to Civ strategy (no more save game, take turn, fail, reload), but not so much if you've got other stuff to do and all you can do is pause it! lol

Whenever you get it. Enjoy! The game has some tremendous scope for future expansions and DLC and truly is a joy to play on a console with such intuitive controls as opposed to the quagmire of pedantic detail in the PC versions. To be honest I really don't see myself revisiting Civ on PC for a very long time... and that's a welcome surprise I never expected! :)

[GamerMan]

8 hours is plenty of time and most likely will take me that since I'm more of the person that wants to win out on the space race :lol:

Except on occasions where I feel like being a war monger. I started noticing a lot of the details that they kept in a more streamline version of it and am very impressed and I feel like I get to play the game more than just micromanage all aspects but they do give you enough control still where it isn't too dumbed down. A perfect fine line they walked there. I definitely like this version and it looks like I probably won't go back to the PC counterpart either with the way your stating it. I will go back for the Colonization game they are working on though. Since at this time there is no console counterpart :)

The game of the week component sounds like a lot of fun and I can't wait for that. That right there alone will help me keep the game fresh once I murder the single player a few times. I've found from the demo that I do have to change my strategy a bit from my PC games when I went up to warlord but it sounds like I will be right at home after playing a couple games straight through and should be up to king in no time at all.. I've never been good at Deity on PC and don't expect to be on the console version either :P

Now you got me more excited for this game, when I was already bursting out the sides to get it in the first place. Play a round (or many) for me while I wait.

[Superfragilistic]

I played one last night and I'm sure to do the same again tonight. It's actually kept me off the EndWar Beta! lol

What I love about this new Civ is that other than a streamlined tech tree, unit list, corruption and the ability to assign a governor to auto build. It's all still there, but not as obvious or as potentially off putting as the screens of info in the PC version. The maps have been shrunk, build times reduced, civilization and wonder bonuses increased, and combat vastly enhanced over the PC version. The experience bonuses, terrain/city bonuses and army building (inc. generals!) all provide for a much more robust military tooth and nail that is perhaps my favourite part of this version, particular in multiplayer, higher difficulties and a couple of crazy scenarios such as "Blitz" where peace never exists!

You'll no doubt love it. And I'd even go so far as to suggest that given the trend with DLC, particularly on Live, it's entirely likely to see new scenarios, civs, units, tech and maybe even a colonization and warlords mods down the track! :) I just hope it sells well and if Take2 is consumed by Ubi or EA that they continue to support it (in which case Ubi has a much better track record!).

PM me when you get it and I'll give you a couple of games. Negotiating with other humans and being double crossed before you stab them in the back is a lot of fun! lol