Sid Meier's Civilization V - PC Game Previews


	Platform PC Genre Turn-Based Strategy Publisher 2K Games Developer Firaxis Games ETA September 21, 2010
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Civilization V

Civilization V's demo actually exhausted me. With only a 25-minute slot to take it all in... well, the whole thing was overwhelming. For all the other games I saw at E3 I would typically write a single page of notes; Civilization V stretches four pages. I hardly had time to appreciate the small graphical details that make the game "pop." ("Awesome graphics!" I wrote in the margin.)

With all those notes it's hard to pick a starting point so I'll just start from the top. And just in case you haven't experienced the Civilization franchise, here's a quick synopsis from the fact sheet:

In Civilization V, players strive to become Ruler of the World by establishing and leading a civilization from the dawn of man into the space age, waging war, conducting diplomacy, discovering new technologies, going head-to-head with some of history’s greatest leaders and building the most powerful empire the world has ever known.

Here we go!

On the main menu screen, Firaxis has inserted a "Mods" button. As I was to find with other aspects of the game, the developers wanted to provide streamlined

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access to mods (and installation thereof). The game will ship with the tools to create custom scenarios but considering the extra layers of complexity placed on the game, the mod tools might be the exclusive turf of those that are willing to put in a lot of time with them.

Actually the duality of More Complex and More Accessible ran throughout the demo.

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The development team has taken some cues from the console-exclusive Civ Revolution, especially in regard to the implementation of the user interface. It's unobtrusive and mostly relegated to a corner of the screen. The devs are quick to point out that this is a PC game, first and foremost.

The research tree has also been simplified. It seems the entire tree is laid out from Stone Age to Space Age. The player simply clicks on something they want to invent, somewhere in the middle of the tree lets say, and the game takes care of the rest; moving along the chain of other discoveries that will get you to the invention you initially selected. It takes a lot of the guess work out of how to proceed.

However, Civilization V has moved to a hex-based system (from its former square-based system). This simple adjustment opens up the game to a lot more strategy, as does the new combat system, which involves actual tactics. You'll have to really think about high ground, naval forces, and your pieces on the battlefield. (Cavalry on high ground attacking regular foot soldiers or archers... that's a recipe for disaster.) This "thinking" aspect that the developers have implemented, is just another brick in the foundation of what makes a Civ game the ultimate "just one more turn" experience.

Another new feature of Civilization 5 is that leaders will be pictured full screen when you're dealing with them so players will be able to read facial expressions and body language.

Two things that I wrote down and connected with an arrow, noting "bonuses" in the margin, are independent and non-expanding City States and Policies.

City States act like extra pieces of territory to be manipulated to the player's own ends, and offer bonuses and advantages if they fall under the influence of the player. They're "locked", as in you have to actively participate in the map in order to grab them. Policies are less tangible things that offer production bonuses, etc. and can be "bought" by Culture being generated by the player's cities. I imagine that decisions here would be extremely important to an individual strategy because branches of the policy tree can be closed off depending on your choices. (e.g. Freedom and Tyranny cannot co-exist.)

Civilization V is expected to arrive at retail on September 21, 2010 and for the fans of the franchise, that's not soon enough.

- Aaron Simmer

(June 30, 2010)