Sid Meier's Civilization Revolution Review

By Alec Meer Published 11 June, 2008

Reinventing the wheel.

Version tested:

Hopefully yesterday's surprise announcement of Civilization IV: Colonization has quietened strategy gamers' hysteria that this cartoonish, slimline version of Sid Meier's favourite (or at least most lucrative) son might be the long-running series' only future. You don't get much more niche than an out-of-the-blue sequel to a 1994 turn-based PC game about trading rum between America and Europe, after all.

Well, hey. Already I'm probably confusing people who don't know much about Civ. In fact, over two previews, I've talked about how Civ Rev feels, and about how this console rethink differs from more than a decade of PC Civilizations, but what I haven't done is say how it's played. So, for total newcomers, let's take it from the top.

Civilization is all about tribalism. It begins with the most barbaric aspect of that (quite literally, hairy blokes with wooden clubs hitting other hairy blokes with wooden clubs) and ends with its other extreme - asserting your tribe's dominance over others through technology, culture, commerce or military might. In other words, you pick a nation and progress it from cave-dwellers all the way to factories and tanks.

To do this, you explore the world, you research new scientific advances, you found and improve cities, you shake hands with foreign dignitaries - or you wave your clubs/swords/lances/rifles/machineguns/nukes at anyone who stands in your way. It's all turn-based, your puppet-like armies marching across the land square-by-square, and a raft of numbers gradually raising and lowering - ideally the former. There's honestly no reason for it to be otherwise. You need that time and headspace to choose what you want each of your cities to be building, to decide whether invading Norwich is a smart move or not, and to prepare yourself in the event that an army of Zulu cannons starts rolling your way. You'll win because you think better, not because you react faster.

'Sid Meier's Civilization Revolution' Screenshot 1

Combat maths is a little off - invisible dice-rolls play a part, despite the Top Trumps presentation of units' stats.

Me, I tend to be a pacifist in these things. Given the choice, I'd rather head to a quiet corner of the planet, get my head down and build an empire off my own back - not by greedily seizing land and coin from others. Civ Rev thus takes some getting used to. It's simply not possible to play it like that. This is inescapably a competitive game - one in which you're nose-to-nose with your rivals at all times. If you're doing well, your rival nations - each as determined to rule this tile-based world as you are - will constantly threaten you with annihilation if you don't relinquish your treasures.

The demands start small, but grow to unreasonable with alarming speed. No, Ghandi, you can't have 500 gold. No, Queen Elizabeth, I'm not going to give you the secrets of steam power. No matter how placid I try to act - will 200g be enough to satisfy the bloke in the nappy? Would Currency keep Queenie quiet? - it'll come down to capitulation or war soon enough. I've played a couple of dozen games of Civ Rev now, but there hasn't been a single one in which I haven't ended up having a barney with a hysterical neighbour or three. In most, I've usually ended up actively wiping out other Civs just to keep them from my own door.

'Sid Meier's Civilization Revolution' Screenshot 2

A lot of work's gone into the character models, but generally you're so focused on your situation that you just push them off-screen immediately.

Because that's the thing. You can't play Civ Rev like Civ. The underlying systems are the same, if hugely (and at times brutally) simplified, but where its PC siblings could, to a certain extent, be played at your own pace, this sticks army ants in your bed. If you try to sleep, you'll be eaten alive. It keeps moving at all times, and if you don't move with it you won't get anywhere. That said, the lowest couple of difficulty settings are almost hilariously forgiving, but you'll very quickly want to graduate to a more challenging one. Even if you're specifically aiming for an economic, cultural or technological victory, be prepared to shed some blood along the way.

While I miss the option for subtlety, this pushiness makes perfect sense, and is really the only way to ensure a match comes to a satisfying conclusion within a couple of hours. It's also a smart move for a game that may struggle to entice a brand new crowd. Offending existing Civ fans (and it will - the angrier, snobbier ones at least) by throwing too many nuance-babies out with the bathwater is one thing. Being perceived as too stuffy, too slow, too turn-based strategy by the mainstream console crowd - now that would be disastrous.

That's why it's so fast, that's why there's so much emphasis on combat, that's why trade and diplomacy are all but absent. This isn't 'dumbed-down', as is the knee-jerk protestation of elitists, but there's no escaping that it's been made for a completely different audience to the usual Civ crowd. My concern is that its audience doesn't in fact exist, that it's an unnatural middle-ground between veteran Civ players and folk who run screaming from the very concept.

It's not stupid. There's plenty to think about, and you're viscerally rewarded for doing so. Often, I started feeling sorry for my rivals as, faced with a tank army smashing through their hopeless horsemen, they begged and begged me to let them live, pathetically offering up the last scraps of gold they had. If anything, there's far more focus on having a master plan from the very start than in the bigger Civs. The world is small and your rivals few but ever-present. If you don't have some idea of how you're intending to deal with them, you won't get anywhere. You'll learn the interface, you'll memorise the rock-paper-scissors of which units are best against which units, you'll twig that you need to manually shift cities' economies to focus on growth, production, science or cash as the situation requires.

And you'll learn this only by having an attentive mind over the course of several games. It's not stupid. For a lot of people, it may not be stupid enough, even.

'Sid Meier's Civilization Revolution' Screenshot 3

The early game is spent picking on aggressive but puny barbarian villages - a good source of unit experience and bonus cash.

Which is a little at odds with Civ Rev's biggest failing. As I suspected in the last preview, the game's too small. It's not 'too small compared to Civ IV'; it's just too small. While becoming really good at the game will take some time, the array of possible options and outcomes are almost all revealed after just two or three 1-3 hour sessions. You'll have researched every technology, built every unit, achieved every type of victory and conceived of every strategy. It does what it does do very well, with cheer, with accessibility and really very prettily, which is why discovering that, upon feeling you've gotten your head around it, there isn't much left to experiment with is so disappointing. It's the pop song that ends after 90 seconds - being an eight-minute epic would surely rob the joy from it, but dancing your heart out to just one more chorus would have made all the difference.

Which does, however, makes it ideally suited to multiplayer. Truly, this is a Civ you can play post-pub or pre-dinner, absolutely confident that the whole thing will wrap up before booze-oblivion or gnawing hunger calls an abrupt end to things. While alliances are possible, really you're playing it like a boardgame - you want to win, and so do the people you're playing with. You'll be in each other's faces all the time, and so Civ Rev's slimness simply won't matter - you'll want to make immediate response to their threats/lies/vulnerabilities, not to lose the sense of clear and present danger because you're lost in a sub-sub-sub-menu about city hygiene or something.

'Sid Meier's Civilization Revolution' Screenshot 4

Each different Civ has different bonus abilities, like super-catapults or, uh, half-price roads.

And so I reach the big number at the bottom, and it's one I don't enjoy putting there. This is easily one of the best strategy games on the current console generation, and much of that is specifically because it is a strategy game for console, not simply a PC strategy game on a console. I'd love for a great many people to play it, including those who've immediately decided they won't because it's about history and numbers. If I stuck a 9 on the bottom, perhaps some of them would.

Unfortunately, I'd be lying, as the many punches Civ Rev pulls means its exhilaration is so often followed by slight dissatisfaction. An 8 may not be enough to convince cynical minds to suck it and see, which is a terrible shame. This slick new Civilization may be more reduction than Revolution, but it's easily one of the most distinctive games on 360 and PS3. I can't see myself playing much more of the single-player, but I genuinely cannot wait to war over landmass with a few like-minded chums.

8 / 10

Read the Eurogamer.net scoring policy
Picture of Alec.

About Alec Meer

A 10-year veteran of scribbling about video games, Alec primarily writes for Rock, Paper, Shotgun, but given any opportunity he will escape his keyboard and mouse ghetto to write about any and all formats.

Read more articles from Alec by visiting the Alec Meer archive page.

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Comments (102) Latest comment 4 years ago

Comments threads automatically close after 30 days, but please feel free to continue chatting on the forum!

  • timeslip #1 4 years ago

    Hey im 1st! lol been looking forward to this for a while - However wheres the DS version that was ment to be out June 6th ?

  • the_dudefather #2 4 years ago

    when is the DS version out?

    edit: what he said
    Edited by 1 at 11/06/08 @ 09:08

  • Beano #3 4 years ago

    Played the demo on both PS3 and 360, liked it a lot and ordered it a few days ago ;)
    Edited by 1 at 11/06/08 @ 09:11

  • symmetry #4 4 years ago

    I'm really liking the demo, but haven't had time to get my teeth into it yet. Think I'll buy this on budget, or full price if all my friends get it.

  • zoch #5 4 years ago

    I played the demo on ps3 and I thought it was good I may get this game

  • crwoody #6 4 years ago

    Nice Score.

    After playing the pc versions for many years now, the demo was a breath of fresh air for me.
    I just dont have the time for a "full" game of civ anymore so this fits my lifestyle perfectly.

    I think a trip to Tesco at lunch time is needed to pick this up :)

    (or i would if it was out yet lol)
    Edited by 1 at 11/06/08 @ 09:25

  • systems #7 4 years ago

    Same here. I've played Civ since the Amiga version and don't have time for a solid weekend of it any more. I want to turn on at 8pm one evening and finish for 11pm. If that's not enough I can always flog it and go back to the PC version.

  • CannonAnBall #8 4 years ago

    Played the demo like the others and loved it. It's pre-ordered and will be a pleasant distraction from the other games in my collection.

  • lennon #9 4 years ago

    Played virtually all the civ games and always enjoy them. Played the 360 demo the other day and was immensely pleased with how well it played. I like others have less time these days so it seems perfect to me. My order is on its way :)

  • Xerx3s #10 4 years ago

    If you are a hardcore civ player, be sure to try the demo first as it might be a massive disappointment as it was with me.

  • Gene #11 4 years ago

    so its basically a civ IV dumbed down for the console 'tards?

  • systems #12 4 years ago

    @Xerx3s - of course it will be disappointing if you treat it like proper Civ - it's designed to be all done and dusted in 3 hour games. You simply can't do that with Civ. So for this version there is no AI diplomacy, a tiny tech tree and everyone attacks the highest scoring player. At least now we have the option and they may consider something more advanced for future years, plus the inevitable expansion packs.

  • barnard666 #13 4 years ago

    I think I'll get this instead of Kanes Wrath.

  • TripSkyway #14 4 years ago

    Nice review covered everything I wanted to know.

  • ccfb #15 4 years ago

    "so its basically a civ IV dumbed down for the console 'tards?"

    You'll be buying it then, I assume.

  • paulf #16 4 years ago

    loved the demo and preordered it just now - i think it's struck the right balance between ease of use, speed of game and complexity, and lounging on my couch playing it on xbox is much more comfy than being hunched over the pc :)

  • Phattso #17 4 years ago

    Seems to be about the going score across most reviews and, based on the demo, right on the money. A nice little community is forming in the forums with a lot of us pre-ordering and planning some multiplayer action. One can't help wondering if this is a toe in the water, with possibly the added depth this reviewer was after coming via DLC and/or an expansion pack/sequel.

    I hope it does well - much as I love Civilization on the PC I just don't have that kinda time any more, so I'm very much looking forward to this.

  • Kingofnothin #18 4 years ago

    Played the Demo and pre-ordered the next day. Great fun and I can't wait to wage war over XBL!

  • Xerx3s #19 4 years ago

    I don't get the "Don't have time for civ" stuff. I play about 2 hours a week. There is a save function you know. :/

  • Kingofnothin #20 4 years ago

    Played the Demo and pre-ordered the next day. Great fun and I can't wait to wage war over XBL!

  • Beano #21 4 years ago

    "i think it's struck the right balance between ease of use, speed of game and complexity, and lounging on my couch playing it on xbox is much more comfy than being hunched over the pc :) "

    Agree completely. Strategy games may be best suited for PCs due to mouse/keyboard controls, but I simply don't like sitting in front of my PC to play games and prefer consoles. Glad there's finally a solid strategy game made for consoles and not just a PC game ported over with half-bad controls :)

  • Sneerk #22 4 years ago

    The demo was fun. ill be getting this.

  • Wash #23 4 years ago

    Thought this would be good, but not MGS4 good. ;)

    Although i like the idea, and the review comes across positive - i kinda feel its a little too toned down for me.

    Hopefully the next en will include some of the more advanced stuff.

  • Phattso #24 4 years ago

    My playtime is sporadic, Xerx3s. What use is a save function if my play sessions are days or weeks apart? :)

    I like to be able to sit down and complete something in a few hours nowadays. I do miss the time when I'd be glued to Total War games, or Rise of Nations, or Civ back in the day... but that's just not how I can game any more. It's a shame, but it's my reality and I suspect I'm far from alone in this.

  • Les #25 4 years ago

    "I don't get the "Don't have time for civ" stuff. I play about 2 hours a week. There is a save function you know. :/"

    True, but, at least in my case, it's hard to put a good game of Civ out of your head. And my experience is that if I do succeed in doing so, it often means I don't return to the save game at all... ;)

    I have the same problem with Rome: TW as well.

  • TafKas #26 4 years ago

    Also pre-ordered, loved the demo, cant wait to get stuck in to this.
    If anyone fancies some online battles add me on Xbox Live - GT = Captain Slog.

  • systems #27 4 years ago

    The save function is for single player only (10 save slots for Xbox, as many as you have space for on PS3).

  • crwoody #28 4 years ago

    "If anyone fancies some online battles add me on Xbox Live - GT = Captain Slog."

    I'm up for that, will add you soon, GT is same as my name on here.

  • Sneerk #29 4 years ago

    Civ is all about singleplayer for me, so the review was a wee bit off putting. But i suppose an 8 isnt at all bad for this game.

  • Xerx3s #30 4 years ago

    "True, but, at least in my case, it's hard to put a good game of Civ out of your head."

    But that makes it so brilliant. You can spend all day thinking out the best strategy.

  • MGG #31 4 years ago

    He didnt mean the console save game........

    I know what everyone means about having less time, but I still feel like its a bit too dumbed down for me. I am determined to find the time for a proper crack at civ4 - its just been sitting there for months now.

    And Rise of Nations - hah, I bought that thinking as its real-time I would spend less time playing it than civ - wrong! What a time-sink that thing was! Bloody loved it though ;)

  • Phattso #32 4 years ago

    Actually, talking here has made me want to go and install Rise of Nations again. That was another game that fit perfectly into my available gaming time. Overview strategy in the Risk style, then down to RTS to resolve all the barnies. Awesome game that.

  • Les #33 4 years ago

    "But that makes it so brilliant. You can spend all day thinking out the best strategy."

    Totally agree (must be a first! ;) ). But it's a shame if you can't try out your well thought-out strategy at night, or even the next couple of nights. It's not a criticism of the game series, which I think is brilliant (though I typically am one game behind in the series (now still playing III) because since II it happened that I had only played a couple of games on the current version before the next version was released).

  • asphaltcowboy #34 4 years ago

    so its basically a civ IV dumbed down for the console 'tards?

    So someone absoutely didn't read the review then? Idiot.
    Anyway, enough pandering to the trolls - looks nice, will play the demo!

  • convercide #35 4 years ago

    I liked the demo. It's a lot like Civ 2 which I played the most.

  • Jimbob89 #36 4 years ago

    Had my eye on this for awhile, and just ordered mine from play after reading the review. Hope i've made the right decision, never played a civ game before, and haven't had time to play the demo because of uni exams. But hey, it looks awesome!

  • Zelos #37 4 years ago

    @Xerx3s

    Sure, but there's a lot of state you have to keep in your mind when playing a game like this so if you stop and start you can end up feeling lost. Also, I have a lot of other games to play, using up all my precious gaming time playing 1 campaign of CivIV would be kind of boring: with a 1-3 hour game you have a beginning, middle and end and I can go back to GTAIV or whatever.

    From the sound of it, the scale of this is just right. I always played militaristic anyway.

  • Xerx3s #38 4 years ago

    I think my biggest problem with the demo is that it more or less abandons the way you look on the world. It felt very tiny and I had no sense of control.

  • Mr_Brown #39 4 years ago

    Played the demo and loved it. I was worried that it would be too cut down and simple, but thats definatly not the case. I enjoy the full games, but its nice to be able to enjoy a more stream lined version without all the hassle. Secretly knew I'd like this with how much I enjoyed the PSone version of Civ II :-)

  • HardTimesUK #40 4 years ago

    I enjoyed the demo a lot, think I'll pick this up from play or shopto, only around 27 quid! :)

    Bargain!

  • koji_m #41 4 years ago

    so, should I pick this one up for 360 or the PS3...

    (and no this is not to start fanboi rantings, this is a "honest" question)

    anyone hear anything about differences between the versions?

  • systems #42 4 years ago

    @koji_m - get the version your friends are getting. I have both consoles but the mates haven't so 360 it is for me.

    PS3 version has more save slots and will be quieter of course, but I've not heard of any other differences yet. Have a look on the official forums and you might find further gossip.

  • Beano #43 4 years ago

    "So someone absoutely didn't read the review then? Idiot.
    Anyway, enough pandering to the trolls - looks nice, will play the demo! "

    So you are calling someone else a idiot for not reading the review but have not even tried the demo yourself? Nice!

  • Wendelius #44 4 years ago

    Alec,

    Your review doesn't seem to mention an intriguing option I noticed on the single player menu of the demo: "Game of the week". If Firaxis can throw interesting scenarios for players the world over to try and excel at, it could keep things fresh for longer.

    Do you know any more about that option?

    Wendelius

  • ghearoid #45 4 years ago

    Um, just wondering.. is the PS3 demo available on the PSN? I didn't notice it at the weekend when I was having a mooch.

  • Stoatboy #46 4 years ago

    @ghearoid - it's only on the US PSN.

  • Beano #47 4 years ago

    "is the PS3 demo available on the PSN? "

    Only on the US store currently.

    EDIT: Slow
    Edited by 1 at 11/06/08 @ 10:53

  • asphaltcowboy #48 4 years ago

    @Beano: Where did I say the game was good/rubbish/dumbed-down? I didn't. I said, based on the review, that it looks nice. Gene was clearly trolling as the review explicitly says, and I quote, "This isn't 'dumbed-down'". So next time, please read what I actually wrote and don't be a silly-billy.

  • Beano #49 4 years ago

    @asphaltcowboy : I'm not getting into the good-or-bad-game debate (I like the demo though) but you called someone else an idiot for having another opinion while in the same post, admitting not having tried the game yourself and basing your opinion on the review which I find very ironic.
    Edited by 2 at 11/06/08 @ 10:59

  • ghearoid #50 4 years ago

    Thanks @ Stoatboy & Beano

    I keep forgetting to set up the US PSN account

  • asphaltcowboy #51 4 years ago

    I said the game looks good (this is undeniably the feeling the review and score put across). Gene said it's 'civ IV dumbed down', which the review expressly says it isn't.

    Is so hard for you to grasp?
    Edited by 1 at 11/06/08 @ 11:04

  • Beano #52 4 years ago

    @asphaltcowboy: "Is so hard for you to grasp? "

    No, I get your point... but doesn't excuse you for calling him and idiot for having a different opinion while not have tried the demo yourself. Is THAT so hard to grasp?

    Besides... having played the demo, Civ. Rev. seems somewhat simplified (could be called "dumbed down" I quess) to me also compared to the PC games. Its just not a bad thing in my opinion since I do like the demo a lot and have ordered the game.
    Edited by 1 at 11/06/08 @ 11:13

  • Bonzrat #53 4 years ago

    Wendelius: while I haven't seen the Game of the Week thing in action, and won't until servers are up, I've played with the other scenarios that ship with the game - it's stuff like more barbarians, victory only by conquest and accelerated research. There's nothing like new unit types or significantly changed mechanics - just largely exactly the same singleplayer game with a few rule tweaks and increased stakes. It's possible Game of the Week will be bolder, but I don't think we'll see genuinely different scenarios/units until DLC or an expansion.
    -Alec

  • ghearoid #54 4 years ago

    Jeez, you bitches still arguing about reviews for games that you haven't played yet?

    I *heart* Eurogamer ;o)

  • asphaltcowboy #55 4 years ago

    I called him an idiot for trolling. Which he clearly was. The end.

  • GamerG #56 4 years ago

    The PS3 version has screen tearing in the demo and the frame rate is slightly worse, howeevr this may have been sorted by the time the full game comes out

  • Beano #57 4 years ago

    I tried both the 360 and PS3 demo and didn't spot any tearing in either version. Both versions have a few framedrops when scrolling though. Seems VERY identical to me (both running in 1080p thru HDMI on the same HDTV).

  • schachmatt #58 4 years ago

    Playing Civ with a gamepad is like watching Lord of the Rings on a mobile.

  • Beano #59 4 years ago

    Now THAT'S trolling ;)

  • GamerG #60 4 years ago

    @ Beano, your experience appears to be different to the general consensus on other forums, the Gaf one for example has many reports by PS3 users experiencing screen tearing on the demo

  • TheRealBadabing #61 4 years ago

    Sounds like it will fit in my collection nicely.

    Not clear on one thing though: is there an option to pause or save during a MP game? Could get a bit uncomfortable going 3 hours with a belly full of beer and no comfort breaks. I would also feel a bit annoyed if someone (or I) had to quit after an hour because of family etc.

  • Beano #62 4 years ago

    @GamerG : Ok, I haven't read forums posts on this .. just tried both demoes (once each) and found them to be identical :)

    I usually spot these things - for example I got the 360 version of GRID since I spotted tearing and framerate issues in the PS3 demo, so it's not like I'm blind to tearing etc. ;)

  • systems #63 4 years ago

    @TheRealBadabing - no MP save, only SP.

  • GamerG #64 4 years ago

    @ Beano, fair enough!

    A lot of it can come down to what cables people are using and in the Ps3's case what resolution you have it set at I guess, but on the forums there are people saying they wont purchase the game until its fixed which indicates to me it must be quite bad for some people. Are you playing in non HD?


    Back on track I for one love the demo and cant wait to play it.

    Also I really love the conclusion to the review, it really shows what goes through the mind of a reviewer, they know what the difference between an 8 and a 9 means.

  • kangarootoo #65 4 years ago

    "so its basically a civ IV dumbed down for the console 'tards?"

    SMACK

  • bobshirunkel #66 4 years ago

    Anyone else get really bad slowdown on the 360 demo? Towards the end, about 1000AD I guess, it would take much longer to switch between units and even register button presses. I loved it otherwise, but this is the only thing stopping me ordering it. Could be my Xbox, or the hard drive, I suppose.

  • kangarootoo #67 4 years ago

    @Beano

    "So you are calling someone else a idiot for not reading the review but have not even tried the demo yourself? Nice!"

    How are the two connected? asphaltcowboy wasn't commentin on the demo, he was commenting on Gene's comment, which he did read.

  • Beano #68 4 years ago

    @kangarootoo : Read my posts - no need to further explain what I meant. Shoud be pretty clear.

  • Beano #69 4 years ago

    @GamerG : So true. A lot of people (and sites) compare games on different video connection (HDMI vs. component) and resolutions which often will cause games to look different req. contrast and colors. Games should ideally only be compared on the same type of connection, input (different inputs can be set up completely different on some TV's) and TV (of course). ;)

  • Razz #70 4 years ago

    \o/

    8/10! Perfect! I'll be picking this up then. Sid Meier you wonderful man you, you've done it again! ^__^

  • miiiguel #71 4 years ago

    I was hoping this would suck. Damn.

    (I need to go play outside!)
    Edited by 1 at 11/06/08 @ 12:31

  • Emth #72 4 years ago

    As a (mostly casual fan) of PC strategy games, I can't put my finger on what doesn't feel right about this game (based on the demo) but there is definately something.

  • kangarootoo #73 4 years ago

    @Beano

    Fair enough. I hadn't got through all the posts before posting myself. My bad.

    Though frankly, such a pointless trolling post by Gene was asking for some equally mindless responses.

  • Charlie_Miso #74 4 years ago

    Fuck this.

    Civ2 on DS. Everyone's a winner.

  • MisterFalseName #75 4 years ago

    I'm sorely tempted, because I love the concept of Civ on PC, but inevitably colapse as soon as I try starting on another nation.

    That said, did anyone find the "Simglish" the advisors spoke in the demo to be truly, truly awful?

  • sirtacos #76 4 years ago

    Shooby Doo Waah

  • TheJuriel #77 4 years ago

    I really liked the demo, but had concerns about the smallness of the game world...

    I'm disappointed to hear this goes for the final product as well. I want a streamlined Civ, not a tiny bite-sized Civ.

  • systems #78 4 years ago

    ^I turned the Simglish speech off after about 5 minutes. It's like being in a room full of retards (the game, not this forum).

  • Beano #79 4 years ago

    Yearh.. the sim-speak is a bit annoying and cheap... full english voices would have been much nicer :)

  • brn #80 4 years ago

    About the screen tearing/framerate in the PS3-version: I like beano played the demo in 1080p and there is no screen tearing whatsoever. But I thought the framerate was a bit so so. So I tried 720p by checking off the 1080p and i boxes in the display settings and it looks like they put vsync off for 720p because it was indeed a little smoother, not too much though (and I think I'd rather have the slightly crispier interface than framerate), and there was screen tearing when scrolling.

    So there you have it!

    I'll be picking this up when I've finished MGS4 :)

  • GamerG #81 4 years ago

    Does civ 4 really have that much PC system requirements? I bet you could buy a PC that would run it thats less than a ps3

  • Dodgymat #82 4 years ago

    koji_m : "so, should I pick this one up for 360 or the PS3...anyone hear anything about differences between the versions?"

    PS3 doesn't support the Camera - something to do with Gamespy apparently. The 360 has full vision cam support as you can see your opponents on the Diplomacy screen at any time. PS3 has unlimited save slots, 360 has 10 slots. That's the only differences I've read about whilst lurking the 2K forums since early May.


    I've just had my dispatch confirmation SMS from shopto.net, pre-ordered last week after trying the demo. Hope my Postie isn't sick tomorrow. Like many others it seems, I just haven't got 14hrs to play CIV3 anymore so this is a perfect replacement, having said that I've played the demo at least 10 times in the past week alone.

    Game of The Week uses an algorithm that sends/receives that weeks' map data from a Timestamp on a server. Your best score can then be uploaded to a Leaderboard - everybody's game (360 or PS3) will be exactly the same for the whole week to allow for fair competition across platforms. 2K confirmed yesterday that the demo also uses this method and will be changing the map weekly for the poor Americans who have to wait for the DS version to be ready.

  • koji_m #83 4 years ago

    Dodgymat; ty! to the others who replied, cheers guys

    been checking the official forums and neogaf a bit, versions seem to be more or less the same (which makes it even harder to decide :D)

    was hoping to see some technical issues with one of the versions, that would make it easy..
    Edited by 1 at 11/06/08 @ 13:55

  • alco75 #84 4 years ago

    "The underlying systems are the same, if hugely (and at times brutally) simplified"

    "This slick new Civilization may be more reduction than Revolution"

    "This isn't 'dumbed-down', as is the knee-jerk protestation of elitists"

    'Simplified'.
    'Reduced'.
    'Dumbed down'.

    Three different ways of saying exactly the same thing.

    Heads-in-the-sand games journos refuse to accept the trend of dumbing down (in games) as ardently as, say, universities, examinations awarding bodies and schools refuse to accept the same in qualifications. I never really understand why, though.

  • timeslip #85 4 years ago

    well is you want civ on the run, get yourself a psp and a copy of the PSX version of Civ 2 - Its suprisingly good

  • Trafford #86 4 years ago

    I've got the demo on my hard drive ,really need to find the time to play it.
    Going to happily trade GTA4 in for this at the weekend.

  • Scimarad #87 4 years ago

    Wasn't particularly impressed with PS3 demo, though it probably didn't help that I'd been playing Civ4 for most of Sunday.

  • Kua #88 4 years ago

    I haven't played the demo as much as I'd have liked, but I still sense this review is absolutely spot on. I don't think this game could have ever been as superb as PC Civ, but blimey Sid and his team have had a right good go at it. And I would expect nothing less.

  • makeamazing #89 4 years ago

    Its never going to be the same as the PC version (I havent played the demo yet as its not out in the UK), but having played the old Amiga version, there is no way that would translate onto a console without a mouse and keyboard... so yes I'm sure they have had to remove things and change things, but I would suspect that would be for the better... again that is just an assumption.

    Havent played the demo :( was hoping to... but as i have some cred's at blockbuster, will be getting it Friday (it would have been Mass Effect last week but they screwed up my pre-order and when it arrived they sold it)... so that will have to wait abit longer.

  • Stoatboy #90 4 years ago

    @WaxBrazillian: If you haven't already - get hold of the Beyond The Sword expansion. It's really very good.

    Having said that, could people please belt up with the "dumbed down" nonsense? Do you think Civ 4 is the epitome of strategic thinking? Defeating a bunch of barely adequate AI opponents in the kind of rule-heavy game that AI can put up a half-decent fight at?

    How about you fuck off, and come back when you're a chess grandmaster, or better yet, a master of Go? I'll maybe listen to you then (if only to point out afterwards that you'd have mastered games that had much simpler rulesets than Civ Rev, let alone Civ 4).

    Basically, if you want to play the intellectual trump card what the hell are you wasting your time with Civ 4 for when there are more worthwhile and challenging pursuits available?

    Or do you actually just play it because it's - you know - fun?

    Complexity isn't an accurate metric of anything - fun least of all. If you're happy playing Civ 4 that's great. I'm a huge fan myself, and have a game on the go at the moment (Montezuma's hopefully in for a kicking shortly). But I also really enjoyed Civ Rev, and will be giving that a proper seeing to when my pre-order turns up.
    Edited by 1 at 12/06/08 @ 00:57

  • Monkeynuts8 #91 4 years ago

    I really really enjoyed the demo. Civ 1 on the amiga was a killer game and i spent many many hours on it. This is certainly a little simpler but i really enjoy being able to do everything i want to do with the easy controls.

    Remember that article a while ago about companies dumping demos? this is why you need demos

  • schachmatt #92 4 years ago

    Stoatboy: for many people it is fun to overcome a challenge as absurd as that may sound to nowadays console (next-) generation.

  • Stoatboy #93 4 years ago

    Schachmatt: You seem to have missed the points I was making.

    a) simpler doesn't necessarily mean less challenging. Example: Go - incredibly simple ruleset, incredibly challenging game.

    b) If you like the challenge of Civ 4, that's great (as I said, I do too). I just don't see the point in criticising Civ Rev because it's simpler. People play at whatever level they enjoy. Do you diss people who play Civ 4 at a lower difficulty level than you? Because if you're not playing at the hardest setting with all settings on random that could be seen as a bit of a cop out tbh.

  • systems #94 4 years ago

    Good FAQ here:
    http://www.civ fanatics.com/civrev/info

  • charliemouse #95 4 years ago

    I played the PS3 demo for about 4 hours last night so will be picking this up at some point. I've haven't played anything like this since Megalomania and really enjoyed it. I guess Revolution's for the likes of me.

  • bonker #96 4 years ago

    Well I was hard for this until I realised it's just yet-another-dumbed-down-and-you've-got-to-fight-and-kill-thi ngs-all-the-time 360 release.

    My 360 is under an inch of dust since I finished Oblivion - do I need to start gaming on my PC to avoid the chavtastic style of what appears to be all 360 games??

  • Katsumoto #97 4 years ago

    LOL. I can't believe even when discussing CIVILISATION people can pull out the "lol spend 2000 quid on a pc I dont think so" bollocks.

    You could buy a pc that would run Civ 4 for, as someone has already said, less than a ps3.

  • smelly #98 4 years ago

    I just bought a quad core pc with 4 gig of ram.

    Cost me $300 (about 150 quid)

    So har de har har

  • bonker #99 4 years ago

    "I feel so sorry for the PC losers like Gene, Bonker, etc....their beige box is going out of fashion and loosing money, and with this and Endwar, they can't even hold on to RTS as the last bastion that they had. "

    Er, didn't read my post very well did you?

    I'm bemoaning the fact that the 360 catalogue is totally chavved up, i.e. one braindead & competitive game after another such that I haven't booted my 360 up in months.

    I was querying whether I should *start* playing PC games (I've never played a game on a PC) as a way of getting to some intelligent gaming ...

  • makeamazing #100 4 years ago

    PC's are here to stay.. the future (eg 10-15 years) might see a total redesign, but people talking about the PC's death in the next 2-3 years dont know what they are talking about. Its been said many times before and proven wrong every time.

    Anyway back to the game, just picked it up from Blockbuster for the PS3, cant wait to play it, need to do some work first though :)

  • dryden555 #101 4 years ago

    EG's reviews neglects to mention how the endgame fares on the console. Are you micromanging everything as one does in the PC version? And is that fun? Yes we learn that things are speeded up but that's not enough info. Civ is always fun at the beginning when you have 3 cities and 6 troops, but what about later? I didnt think this was an insightful review and it seemed rushed, sorry EG.

  • Davemanz #102 4 years ago

    I don't know if it's been mentioned (or announced) but I'd really expect to see new leaders and (maybe) religion come in DLC packs or (we can hope) free patches. If there's no plans to bring new leaders, why would they have any included at all? Queen Elizabeth doesn't represent GB any more than Churchill would, so why give each civilization a face that really has no specific purpose? I'd like to see new leaders with character-specific bonuses in a DLC pack.