Review

posted 12/28/2005 by Tyler Sager
other articles by Tyler Sager

The technology tree is similar to previous Civilization outings, but there are enough differences to make things interesting. The game actually begins a little earlier, technologically speaking, than previous titles. Workers no longer begin with the knowledge of how to farm, or build roads or mines. Each of these activities are keyed to a particular Tech, so early research paths are painfully difficult to choose at times. Want to make a try at founding an early religion? You may have to forego the ability to gain access to that valuable Stone quarry for a while. Fielding the very powerful Axeman unit early on could give huge advantages, but while researching Bronze Working your neighbors might be making a run for more culture-friendly technologies, and you may be sorry in the mid-game.

Civilization IV looks and sounds fantastic, better than any turn-based strategy game currently on the market. The map is a fully-zoomable 3D affair, complete with detailed and animated terrain and resources. Zooming in to a city allows one to see each and every building constructed therein, while zooming full out gives an impressive birds-eye view of the world. Each unit is well detailed and nicely animated, and the combat animations are quite fun to watch. On the audio side, the developers have picked some great music to complement each and every aspect of the game. Environmental sound effects are also top-notch. As an added bonus, the opening sequence and the technology advancement screens are narrated (often amusingly) by Leonard Nimoy.

Unfortunately, all this visual and audio flair comes at a price—the hardware requirements for Civilization IV are surprisingly steep for a strategy game. I had no problems running the game on my primary machine, but the game barely chugs along on my 2-year-old laptop. From reading various message boards, I’m not alone in the hardware woes, so unless some major patching is done, it’s well-advised to check out the demo before purchase to ensure your particular machine is up to snuff. There are also still some technical glitches here and there throughout the game, including a few crash-to-desktop problems and what appears to be a memory leak. While these are all annoying, they don’t detract too much from the gameplay itself. I would expect most of the problems to be ironed out in the next few rounds of patches.

In addition to the single-player game, Civilization IV comes with a suite of multiplayer options, including hotseat, LAN, internet, and play-by-email. Aside from a few technical issues common to all multiplayer outings, I had relatively few problems running any of the multiplayer styles. Players can go head-to-head, include computer opponents, or team up against one another or the AI.

As far as game play goes, Civilization IV is fantastic. I was quickly able to jump in and get running, thanks to a slick interface complete with hot-key goodness. In no time I was under the spell of “just one more turn”, and hours melted away in strategic bliss. With three different speed settings, Civilization IV can be tailored to whatever style of game is desired, be it a quick and dirty run of a few hours to an epic-length, 20-hour strategy fest. Civilization IV is not without its problems, of course, many of which will be patched, but in spite of those minor annoyances, I found myself thoroughly enjoying each and every minute of play. Is Civilization IV better than its predecessors? That’s undoubtedly a highly debated issue right now. I believe it’s better than Civ III, and I’ll reserve judgment about Civ II, since that’s wrapped in nostalgia. Regardless, Civilization IV is easily the best strategy game of 2005, and I heartily recommend this title to strategy fans, both Civ veteran and newcomer.