Sid Meier's Civilization IV: Windows
2k Games
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Reviews
(6)
0
I have been a huge fan of Civ through Civ 2, Civ III and the Civ III Expansion pack. I recently got Civ IV for Christmas and I'm still adjusting to it. The only way I can really enjoy it is to erase what I knew from Civ III and just pretend that it's an unrelated game. There are some fundamental changes in this game, many of which have already been addressed in other reviews. I am going to add a few things that I'm bumping into as I learn how to play Civ IV.
1. Map size is much smaller
In Civ III on a std map, you might build 15 cities. In a Civ IV std map, you're going to get 5 and the game will tell you that you have the largest civ! The map appears to be much smaller, but I think the focus is to do *more* with less cities.
PRO:
Since you have less cities to focus on, you can really put your attention to fully developing them. You have a lot more ways of working your terrain, like building farms, pastures, watermills, forges, etc. If you enjoy terrain development and urban planning,
1. Map size is much smaller
In Civ III on a std map, you might build 15 cities. In a Civ IV std map, you're going to get 5 and the game will tell you that you have the largest civ! The map appears to be much smaller, but I think the focus is to do *more* with less cities.
PRO:
Since you have less cities to focus on, you can really put your attention to fully developing them. You have a lot more ways of working your terrain, like building farms, pastures, watermills, forges, etc. If you enjoy terrain development and urban planning,
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6 price(s)
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Like previous Civilization games, Civ 4 is a turn based strategy game that gives you control over the development of your civilization. Without going into all the features, I will point out the strengths and weaknesses.
Strengths:
While some will complain about this, the overall game has been redesigned. Unlike previous games which encouraged the building of as many cities as you could in the early part of the game, Civ 4 goes to a more strategic approach, but also gives you something to do each turn(instead of setting production and waiting several turns for what you want to build to finish). The game now eliminates the "corruption" system of previous games, and goes to a system where there is an expense that the city places on your government. So, you start with one city, and you need to build a bit slower, at least in the early game.
The graphics engine is now 3D, and with a decently powerful video card, you can see all your city improvements from the main map. You can
Strengths:
While some will complain about this, the overall game has been redesigned. Unlike previous games which encouraged the building of as many cities as you could in the early part of the game, Civ 4 goes to a more strategic approach, but also gives you something to do each turn(instead of setting production and waiting several turns for what you want to build to finish). The game now eliminates the "corruption" system of previous games, and goes to a system where there is an expense that the city places on your government. So, you start with one city, and you need to build a bit slower, at least in the early game.
The graphics engine is now 3D, and with a decently powerful video card, you can see all your city improvements from the main map. You can
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And yet again we run out and pay $40+ dollars for the newest version of our games/software just to find out that the newest version is less impressive than the prior version. Apparently the designers of CIV4 have fallen into the trap of graphics and audio being more important than playability and the "fun" factor. The qualities that made CIV3 one of the best PC games of all times seem to have been ignored by the designers of CIV4 in a weak attempt to make it "the best ever". The quality of the game is devolving back to unimpressiveness such as Episodes 1-3 of Star Wars versus Episodes 4-6. No lesson learned?
The civilopedia reminds me of playing a Sesame Street game full of icons instead of a list of units, etc. The city screen also is juvenile with icons instead of a list of units, buildings, etc... It is frustrating having to search through a screen of icons instead of being able to choose something off a list or to see a list of buildings in your city. The military adviser screen
The civilopedia reminds me of playing a Sesame Street game full of icons instead of a list of units, etc. The city screen also is juvenile with icons instead of a list of units, buildings, etc... It is frustrating having to search through a screen of icons instead of being able to choose something off a list or to see a list of buildings in your city. The military adviser screen
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My first experience playing this game was on a computer that didn't have the graphics card required to play it. I would play it and the characters would be floating eyeballs with hats, feathers or wigs dangling precariously in thin air. Still, I found myself staying at the computer for HOURS playing this highly addictive fourth installment of the CIVILIZATION series!
Once I had the proper graphics card??? FUHGEDDABOUDIT! I missed MEALS to play this game. I lost so much sleep in the first few days that when I finally DID stop playing I crashed almost before I could make it to the bed!
The story is nothing new. The overall "plot" or "point" of the game hasn't changed since Civ 1, but that's why people are drawn to it. It's familiar but updated.
The one modification I would like to see is having to change your ruler's name periodically. The game runs for 5,000 years!!! No one ruler is going to live for 5,000 years! You should play it as a dynasty. Montezuma XVI or George Washington CIX
Once I had the proper graphics card??? FUHGEDDABOUDIT! I missed MEALS to play this game. I lost so much sleep in the first few days that when I finally DID stop playing I crashed almost before I could make it to the bed!
The story is nothing new. The overall "plot" or "point" of the game hasn't changed since Civ 1, but that's why people are drawn to it. It's familiar but updated.
The one modification I would like to see is having to change your ruler's name periodically. The game runs for 5,000 years!!! No one ruler is going to live for 5,000 years! You should play it as a dynasty. Montezuma XVI or George Washington CIX
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Start playing and before you know it the kids will be asleep on the couch, the pizza in the oven is burned, the dog has pooped on the carpet, and your wife is leaving you notes about needing to talk about "your relationship". Make sure you set aside 6 hours for Epic play because you wont want to stop once you start.
0
I bought this game thinking it was more like Sim City, when actually it's nothing like that series at all! There is no hands on building and managing, at least not anything like the sims game. People considering buying the game should know that it is more board-game than Sim-style building. Some good things about the game were the graphics, discovering technologies, and expanding cities. The cons were that it moves at a slow pace, I was often bored with it. Also it seems like the AI (artificial inteligence) that you play against were either too easy of too hard to beat. Interesting game and concept. Probably wouldn't get future titles in this series.
