Civilization IV

The world is a big place, and Strategy games have always tried to conquer it, in a way. Ever since the massively popular game “Populous”, strategy games have been the pleasure of the intelligent- the type of game you don't see advertised on MTV. But, unfortunately, strategy games have somewhat split up in the last few years- the “War game” section and the “World Building section”- two so dramatically opposed, that many gamers do not know where to turn. Games like Age of Empires and Warcraft attempt to turn strategy games into skirmishes, wargrounds, and intense battles- whereas one game series, that so adequately fits the “World Building” nomenclature, makes all these games look dumb.

Civilization was originally modeled after a board game, a strategy game in it's own right, that was all about one thing- building an empire. The game, much akin to the board game, taught gamers that there was more to strategy than killing the other team- rather, the conquest of countries based on culture, on monetary assets, on trade, and other things that seem so boring on CSPAN. While the series has generally stayed only popular to hardcore strategy fans, it has also generated a lot of heat in the media- especially on how easily it is to adopt slavery, or to abuse people- and so on. The Civilization series was made to be real- so real, that when it was announced that Civilization IV would be coming out, I almost jumped and hit my head on the ceiling.

Civilization IV the latest version of the Civilization series, is a fully 3D strategy game, keeping up with the other industry leaders such as Age of Empires or Warcraft. By far the most complex strategy game to ever hit the market, Civilization IV breaks everything down into the realistic basics and gives you ultimate control over everything- money, culture, military assets, land- and lets you create the power of your dreams. Starting you off at the very advent of the human existence, you may start off as any powerful leader (From a caricatured George Washington to Queen Elizabeth to even Tokugawa Ieyasu from Japan) and use him/her to overpower the world. With your civilization, you will control everything- from the very land you sit on to the movements of military forces- and utilize all this to conquer the world and become the best of all the countries.



Let me first explain that this is going to be less of a review and more of me trying to convince strategy gamers everywhere to buy this game. Civilization IV is an absolutely perfect strategy game- that is, there is absolutely nothing wrong with it. In fact, it may be one of the best PC games to hit shelves, EVER. I can say this because, after hours and hours of addiction to this game, I can say from experience- every nook, every cranny of this engine can be explored, expanded, experienced, and encountered. One does not ever need to touch the online mode, or even half this game to feel satisfied- every single bit of Civilization 4 is so perfect, so well done, so resoundingly awesome, that I doubt any single gamer can find a substantiated reason to hate this game. It is phenomenal, period.

First off, and by far the biggest update, the graphics are the thing that turns Civilization IV from the older Civ III to something truly new. Rendered in full 3D with no punches held, every single character in the game- from the lowly worker to the opposing politician- is absolutely beautiful. Of course, oldschool gamers will be happy to note the standard overhead view is available- but, at any time, with a flick of the scroll mouse you can zoom into the action and see what's REALLY going on. This time around, if you built a library in a city, you can SEE it there- right beside the Roman Colosseum and the Notre Dame. This alone is fun to watch- to see your old hut-filled location quickly turned into a futuristic trade hub, from stretched leather to metal skyscrapers and huge universities.

How is all of this accomplished? The phenomenal GUI system, which, at least in my opinion, makes Civilization IV the very first Civ game to actually have an innovative and easy to use system. Broken down to the very basics, everything makes sense, and is the exact type of controls I want on an epic game like this. Everything is at hand and easy to find, database tables allow for quick information finding, pop-up windows result in a very clean (or very messy) workspace, and just make me smile with happiness. Clicking on a city pops up an Age-of-Empires style icon menu, which of course can lead to development of soldiers, villagers, or even town features (I managed to make a Buddhist town with the Statue of Liberty. Beat that, reality!). I don't think I can adequately explain just how great these controls are, and through the entire game I was thinking one thing- “I wish all games were this easy”. Any screen shots I provide with this review are proof of this, but one cannot adequately understand just how GREAT this is until you get your hands on it. Ambient sounds generally help your ears coincide with your eyes, and the ironic thing is how, within an hour, I had completely figured this game out- and when I started it, I thought it would take me years to understand the game.

Yes, the game is that self explanatory. Running at virtually any pace you want, with any world size, with any difficulty, with any bonuses you could ever think of, Civilization IV is a great game for anyone, ages 10 to ages 100. Unlike games like Heroes of Might and Magic V, I didn't have to look up how to play the game- playing Civilization IV was like hooking into my computer, it was like an organic way of thinking. This speaks leagues for Sid Meier's studio at Fireaxis, who have really redefined the word “Great”.



Of course, the big thing about Civilization IV is what you can do. Starting out in a normal game, as I mentioned above, is all about the rudimentary- building some huts, hunting some food. Unlike major competitor Age of Empires, Civilization IV doesn't stay for years in this mode, and with a “Research” system implemented in your game, you can quickly go from some sticks in the dirt to fully brick buildings in only a handful of turns. Naturally, this compounds on itself- as you build cities, build workers, build roads, build forts, make walls, connect everyone, expand your empire, you will eventually learn more, and in a very timely fashion- the second the Renaissance era hits, you will be right at the power that the Renaissance powers were- that's not called cheap game mechanics, that's called realistic gaming. By the time I hit the industrial era, I truly felt my city WAS ready for it. Don't get confused- unlike Age of Empires, Civilization IV does not result to cheap limitations on time periods- you just keep going and time strolls along naturally.

New to the game are some truly innovative features- the biggest of which seems to be Religion. Based off real life, Religion is developed, spread, and learned quite naturally- and a country that works it's Religion obviously benefits from it. For example, in one of my bigger games, I quickly unilaterally adopted Buddhism, and began to build Buddhist temples everywhere- then decided it was time to force everyone else to believe it. By doing so, my surrounding allies now believed in my developed religion, and I had some pseudo-control over them.

Another addition that plays a part is the Civics system. In what I expect to be a very controversial aspect of this game, Civilization IV allows the adoption of any form of government you want- be it slavery, Mercantilism, or good old American Democracy. Every single system has it's advantages, so there is no blatant weighting of the balance, and any country- be it communist or a theocracy- has an equal chance of winning. I really like this, because it's basically a textbook lesson to gamers that they have to look at this whole game in a balanced way, instead of going patriotic and making a “Pure American Democratic society with no religion whatsoever”.

Along with Religion comes the “Great People” system. So, let's say you have 1,000,000 people- generally, one of them is going to stand up, be he Issac Newton or Michaelangelo. With their own unique set of abilities (Such as Homer's wisdom or Zoroaster's devout belief), they can assist your culture in growing- be it by constructing a temple/building, creating breakthrough technology, or simply making your country more powerful. Naturally, some of these do not fit (Since when was Albert Einstein born in Tokyo?), but it all seems to somewhat “fit” in the imaginary world of Civilization IV- and I wouldn't have it any other way. On a side note, very powerful civilizations (Like my 300+ million population filled country of Japan) can develop many of these, and the ability “Golden Age” can appear- by sacrificing three genius men/women, you can go into a state of extreme civil power. Think of it like Mario's mushroom, only giving it to a whole country.

There is one issue that has sprung out with the new Civ 4, which I was about to rant on- until I figured out what it was. Because Civilization IV uses many ports, many gamers have reported problems connecting in the game- but apparently can't realize the fact that demilitarizing or port forwarding would fix it. Look- if you're THAT stupid, you are not allowed to complain about this game in the first place. Online games are as great as ever- backstabbing, overpowering, exploiting, and fighting- and that's a lot of fun. Naturally, big map online games can take almost a whole day, but even small skirmishes seem epic on this game. And, to my delight, because it isn't completely war oriented, not only are the players very polite (and very hard), but there is no cheating or infamous “Zerg Rush” Tactics. Superb.



One thing I have to mention that, while it may be insignificant to many, is very cool- the sound. Built on the all-too-famous Miles Sound System, every bit of sound in the game is stuff that was created right around the time it is featured- from Bach to Mozart to Brahms. In fact, I'm listening to it right now (all of the music is in .mp3 format, and it's going straight to my iPod). Of course, the music changes depending on the situation, but there is something really fascinating about this- and it just adds to the realism. But, of course, that's only scraping the surface- a new ambient sound system allows you to both visually and audially “zoom in” on map features, both getting a more detailed look at them, but also hearing them- hearing your people working for you.

Oh, and on a really quick note, this is just somewhat humorous- Leonard Nimoy- known to most of you as Spock from Star Trek- voices this game. With every technology and bit of info, he reads a pertinent quote, which not only is very interesting, but will also mean that you end up memorizing some really cool quotes. Who said gaming can't be educational when it's taught by the guy who did the Vulcan Mind Meld.

As I said above, Civilization IV is perfect. 100% so. Five stars out of five. Ten stars out of ten. There is nothing wrong with this game at all whatsoever. Sure, the online mode is experiencing problems- but believe it or not, it's, yet again, user error. Civilization IV is one of those games I pick up as a reviewer and never want to put down, but to simply spend a month writing a really long review on. There is so much to this game, I actually have had to cut down my review multiple times, just trying to explain how much there is to Civ 4, and how much fun I had playing it. When I was out today, I noticed the price on Civ 4 has now leveled at something like $30- and you can't go wrong for that. When games like this are so perfect, there is no reason to not purchase this game at all- in fact, I think I may beat you up if you don't.

Or maybe build a really big army and make you pay me tribute. It's called politics.

5 star(s) out of 5

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