Review: Sid Meier's Civilization: Revolution

Mike Bantick
Monday, 30 June 2008 16:07

Opinion and Analysis

Coming to consoles has seen a synthesis of the Civilization experience.  No longer do players need to micromanage cities to keep people happy, avoid pollution, or rely on roads and rail for trade routes.  Instead Firaxis have managed just enough management to keep the flavour without the bog down of detail that works so much better on a PC.

Likewise unit stacking and battles are handled at a simplified level, requiring the most basic of decisions when off to war.  Globally the map is kept nice and tight to keep the interaction of civs maximised. 

Along with set periods of time – ranging from the Ancient through to the Modern Era - The overall result is a controlled experience – less epic than on the PC platform, but still including a complex range of options, and level of ‘one more turn’ addiction which is the hallmark of Civilization games.

Multiplayer has a number of modes, from head to head through to a free-for-all 4 player plus 1 AI mode.  On the PlayStation Network you can download the Game of the Week scenario, providing an identical starting position for those wishing to compete to see who can win the fastest or with the best score.

Generally, Civ on a console brings back some great Civilization memories and trepidation of time lost.  But in many ways, for veterans it will feel a little lacking when compared with past PC based Civ titles.

When Civilization: Revolution arrives for Nintendo Wii and more importantly the Nintendo DS, I think this iteration of the franchise will find its true home away from PC.

7.5 Great Wonders out of 10