Developer - Firaxis
Publisher - 2K Games
Available On - XBOX 360, PS3, DS/Wii (Later)

I’m not much of a strategist these days but there’s two things that piked my interest in Sid Meier’s Civilization Revolution (Civ Rev).

1. Most console strategy games are horrible.

2. Sid Meier’s strategy games are great.

So with these two conflicts solidly implanted in my mind, it was with much intrigue that I have spent the last few weeks exploring Sid Meier’s Civilization Revolution on the XBOX 360.

The Civilization games are well known for their lengthy and expansive gameplay, with the iconic turn based strategy series extending back a good 17 years into PC gaming history. Creating a Civilization game for consoles was a very ambitious move by Firaxis, one that could have been unfeasibly satiated by a simple port or lackluster spin-off.

It’s fortunate then that Civilization Revolution has been built from the ground up as a console only experience, and it certainly shows.

Civ games have always had a simple premise, and in Revolution this has not changed. “Build An Empire To Stand The Test Of Time”. Players start off by choosing one of 16 civilizations, each with their unique advantages, and building it up into modern times in a competition of conquest against other players across a turn-based global war field.

How this is done is also the strongest point in ensuring an interesting and varying game each time, for players can choose to pursue any of 4 victory conditions – economic, cultural, domination, or technology. With four ways to win all dependent on separate requirements (such as defeating all opponents for a domination victory) this means that in bigger games of multiple players (though a max of 4), you’ll find different people looking for different things. So while the Germans amass an excessive army to push across the globe, the Aztecs may be building up funds to claim an economic victory. Just watch out for the English who are building that space shuttle.

Competitors playing the same game yet striving for unknown victory goals makes each game of Civilization Revolution different and interesting in it’s own way. Ensuring no game the same, the vast variety of in-game units, knowledge to learn, facets to evolve and gameplay elements then further strengthen a solid foundation for turn based strategy gaming.

There’s certainly a lot to learn in Civilization Revolution, despite being quite friendly and inviting to new players. There’s no specific training or campaign mode, and while a small variety of single player modes with scalable AI exist for offline play, the online functionality of Civilization Revolution is definitely another strong point for modern console gamers.

So while the Civilization premise is in-tact and capable as ever, the game itself has certainly had a lot of mechanical and aesthetical alterations to suit consoles. The turn-based block-plot map of Civ Rev makes handling units very easy on a controller’s analogue stick input. The biggest challenge for strategy games on a console has always been with the sluggish analogue stick controls for issuing armies, but this is not the case with Civ Rev. Everything is turn based so if the controls were indecent, there’s no immediate pressure for quick-snap reactions but that’s not a concern anyway. Controlling and navigating Civilization Revolution with an analogue controller is a breeze, placating my biggest concern for this installment to the series.

While the controls are surprisingly suited for the series, the graphics most certainly are not. Some may appreciate the heavy coloured cartoon style for this console iteration but I can’t see why it’s necessary. It looks very kiddy, and considering the depth of this strategy game, it’s a very surprising change. Unit models and armies generally look quite poor, while the world map has a nice sheen to it, it seems most the graphical processing power of the 360 in this case is going into rendering the impressive looking advisors. Advisors are context sensitive helpers who will pop into screen to give you a notice, or advice, and damn they look good. Beautifully rendered, the look even better and make units look even worse when compared. Generally the game looks OK, but certainly nothing noteworthy and many areas shine in need of improvement.

Civ Rev still holds most the content akin to it’s PC counterparts, with a few more limited options here and there such as diplomacy. Diplomacy now only consists of friend or foe, so there’s no way to trek through enemy territory without instigating a war. Diplomacy is definitely a big consideration when aspiring for a victory, as establishing your friends and foes early on allows for many mutual benefits. You can trade technologies and wealth with one another, betray and collapse other civilizations – it’s like an episode of Days Of Our Lives, except with worldwide conquest.

It adds a little social aspect to online games. Online multiplayer games can have up to 4 players including voice and video chat and unfortunately are a little too susceptible to the folleys of other players. You can’t save online games, and in true Civilization style they can often run into the excess of hours. Then consider that you’ll have nearly nothing to do each time your 3 oppositions cycle through their turns, it’s a long time for little action. What action there is, is all very involving, requiring players to keep an eye on every aspect of the battlefield again complementing the multiple victory condition system.

All in all Firaxis have done a truly commendable job at tackling a big feat, successfully bringing the Civilization experience to home consoles. Does this make Civ Rev on-par with the PC titles? Personally, I don’t feel any console strategy game can be compared to it’s likeness on PC. In this case, I’d say no – while Civilization Revolution is a great strategy game, possibly the best console strategy game on the market today, it is still hindered in ways where the PC shines in terms of power, size, space, versatility, customization and connectivity. If you have no PC, or are looking for a more controllable Civilization experience then Civ Rev is definitely a recommendation.

Civilization Revolution

85%

The Good –

* Involving, addictive, expansive.
* Very intuitive for a console strategy game.
* Each game unique and interesting.

The Bad –

* Could stand a visual improvement.
* Multiplayer can be slow and clunky, with no saving.
* “Where did the last 5 hours go?”