Games for Lunch: Civilization Revolution
In a nutshell: Conquer the World, simply.
9/23/2008 6:43 PM | 2 Comments | Page 1 of 3
Developer: Firaxis
Publisher: 2K Games
Release Date: July 8, 2008
Systems: Xbox 360 (reviewed), PS3, Nintendo DS
ESRB Rating: E10+
Official Web site
0:00 Believe it or not, I have never played a single Civilization game. I've heard this one is a bit simpler and tuned for a console gamer's sensibilities, though, so away we go.
0:01 The little disc tray icon on the Xbox Dashboard abbreviates the name as "Civilization Revolut'n," which I find completely hilarious for some reason. Probably lack of sleep.
0:02 A primitive person in a loincloth draws the 2K/Firaxis logos in ash on a cave wall. He draws a woman; then he becomes Caesar, pumping his fists to a crowd of cheering Romans. The ancient man continues to draw as the camera cuts to a knight in a hall and horsemen riding through fire. A man with a gold ring gestures towards the sea, over a map with dragons. In the distance, a green land. A scientist discusses a new spaceship, while a general clenches a fist. A politician makes a decision and the shuttle lifts off to a massive space station. Back in pre-history, the caveman walks out to a fireside gathering outside his mountain cave. The music swells. Pretty touching, for a game intro...
0:05 I could probably spend the whole hour reading the Civopedia, which describes types of governments, land, military units, resources, rewards, leaders, etc. I hope I'll learn as I go.
0:07 I jump in to play now and can choose from a variety of leaders throughout the world and history -- Caesar, Cleopatra, Ghandi, Alexander the Great, Bismarck, Mao, etc. I choose Random and leave my fate up to, uh, fate. I get Caesar. "Great people such as Plato will increase your culture," says the loading screen. Well, duh!
0:08 "My liege, we stand at the beginning of a new age." No longer nomadic, our people live in a city now. "We must make our city strong and prosperous" and then settle across the land. Then we can create armies to defend ourselves and defeat our foes. Will we be warlike or peaceful? Will we stay put, or expand into space? "My liege, our people await your orders." THE POWER!
0:10 A tweed-jacketed professor comes on to tell me how to play. He speaks in that Simlish gibberish I find so annoying. My first city is Rome ... the citizens are already hunting and gathering.
0:11 "Each turn represents up to 100 years of historical time." Wow. Those are some time compressions, there!
0:12 My Warriors venture out into the fog of the unknown lands and find Brennos of the Mighty Barbarians. "Your finely tempered blades will be no match for my magic amulet and serious negative attitude." Heh.
0:14 I send my front flank of Warriors in to attack the barbarians. The attackers rank a "2" because they're civilized, while the unorganized barbarians are only a ".5." A thrilling, tiny battle animation takes place and I'm victorious, though one of my three Warriors goes down. I took 30 gold pieces from him. Shiny! The villagers tell me about a castle to the south, across the water.
0:17 The controls are a little annoying, until I figure out that my units are selected automatically, in order. Not a fan of the way the camera moves with the cursor, and of the relatively small demarcation between turns.
