Firaxis/2K Games Sid Meier's Civilization IV Review

Overall 4.56 of 5 view all 9 reviews

kid-kansas
Clearwater, KS

Build your civilization and see if you can conquer the world!

long-time Civ fan, a PC user, Simulations fan, Long time Sid Meir fan, Like learning history

Pros

Narrated by Leonard Nimoy, able to Download additional scenerios, Great Graphics, Fun and educational, A fun way to learn History, Makes you think

DEC

2007

Ever since Sid Meir created the first Civilization game I have been hooked on this game. Although the first in the series was small and took very little computer power to play, as it evolved it has taken more computer memory to play. You start by picking the civilization you wish to develop and begin creating your empire.

The Game

You start with a settler and a warrior, the settler creates your first city while the warrior guards the city from the roaming barbarians. You then choose your first upgrade you want to build. Be it technology, religion, military or buildings. Each different choice you make takes a certain amount of turns to come to life. Your first decision should be a worker to build your roads, farms and to mine the minerals scattered throughout the territory. You also choose your government, tax rate and military that you feel will help you conquer the other players.

You also need to create more settlers and workers to help your empire grow and prosper and build your commerce which creates income to manage your empire as it grows. Your choices will determine how fast and large your civilization gets in the game. Each new building, road or entertainment venue costs money to maintain. As well as the tax rate you choose to employ on your people. You must decide how much farming to do, remember your people need to eat. When food runs low they either leave your empire or die and a good ruler wants his people happy.

You will either have a happy civilization or turn them against you and cause them to become a part of someone else's civilization. You have to create a balance between making money and making your civilization grow. Sometimes it seems impossible to please your people and at other times they will praise you for your efforts.Other times you will find a happy medium and your wealth and population will soar.

The game will try to out think, out build and out maneuver you throughout the game. Your worst enemies are the barbarians as they will constantly destroy your roads, crops as well as taking over your cities. When you build on a square next to water you are also able to build a navy. Not only to protect your cities but also attack others. You can build a transport ship to carry you civilization to other far away lands and continue your growth and power.

Each civilization has its good and bad points, you can be the Americans, Russians, Aztecs, Germans, French, English, Roman and so on. There are many leaders with each you can be George Washington, Julius Caesar, Genghis Khan and so on. You discover minerals in order to build weapons, buildings and other technologies. From coal and oil to cotton, seafood and even uranium.

Religion and political choices are critical in building your empire. It also determines how much it will cost per turn to keep your cities and military running strong and smooth. You also build the wonders of the world. From the Statue of Liberty and The Eiffel Tower, to Hoover Dam and the Manhattan Project. Your navy will start out with oar powered small boats, to the gigantic Aircraft Carrier. Your military starts with a caveman and a club and can advance to Navy Seals and machine guns.

All the while when you discover each new technology Leonard Nimoy Narrates and tells you about each new discovery. You learn to be either diplomatic in your quest to dominate or build powerful armies to take over an opponents cities. You eventually get to a point where you learn to build a spaceship to conquer the heavens.

If your are successful you will conquer the world, if not you are left in shame at losing to other civilizations. There is even the ability to play over the Internet against other Civ IV fanatics, which can be a lot of fun. This game can be very addicting but at the same time teach you many things you either never knew or have forgotten since you got out of school.

It is a game for young as well as old and can provide hours of intense gameplay with awesome graphics. There are videos that pop up on some discoveries as well as actual photographs of buildings and leaders from all the available civilizations in the game.

Upgrading the game

There are many mods that you can download that are created by software programmers around the world. You can download scenarios such as Pearl Harbor or the Revolutionary War. There are Green Mods that allow you to turn desert into farm land and turn ocean squares into land. Fireaxis also has fixes for keeping up with changes in computers or fixing a glitch that may be found by players of the game. You can even get a mod to allow you to play with Aliens from other worlds.

I have about 75 mods I have downloaded and played, some create more factual weapons, others different terrains to play on. Some create new soldiers to use along with different colors that change the look and feel of the game.

My thoughts

Any game that can teach you not only history and all the great leaders throughout time, but also how to make each culture thrive and become powerful is a good game to have. Your child or even you can learn history and how each choice of path will play out in the game. It keeps your mind working and entertains at the same time. Since the first Civilization came out I bet I have played 2500 games or more. Being disabled by Fibromylagia I have been able to keep my mind off of pain but I have also kept my mind very active. This game makes you think and stratigize which keeps your brain working.

Bottom Line

Sid Meir created an empire with this game in 1991 with his first in the series. Over the years he has added more Civilizations and more graphics to his already great simulation game. First released by Microprose and later by Fireaxis 2k this has been one of the most popular games ever created. As Civilization has evolved so has my computer, so I could keep playing this wonderful game. I now have a 3.2 gig Processor with 2 gigs of memory and a fantastic graphics card. Although I don't need that much to play this game I figure I am 1 step ahead of Sid Meir. I am ready for whatever he adds to future releases.

If you enjoy thinking and learning then Sid Meir's Civilization IV can become your getaway from reality, while learning your history. I like being able to play the underdog and building that civilization into a futuristic empire with spaceships. This is a game that allows you to create, to Learn and to Think!

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