Customer Reviews

Civilization 4: Gold Edition

5 star:		(6)
4 star:		(4)
3 star:		(3)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(3)

 

 

Issues with this game on OSX: 1) graphics glitches: units and terrain will suddenly turn black and you can't see the game. restarting the fixes this for me. 2) it runs very slowly (eg. combat animation) even on a brand new late 2009 macbook pro (the bizarre focus on these graphics aside, given this is a turn-based strategy game). 3) multiplayer simply doesn't work for me. I click "register to play online" and the screen just hangs, doing nothing. 4) I figured maybe patches from the developers would resolve some of these issues, but it seems like they're exclusively focused on the windows users. I found a zip file via developer support pages that might contain an OSX patch but then got a MySQL error from the download server link. I feel these glitches and lack of technical support are a bit ridiculous for the price tag of the game. I was a huge fan of early versions of the game and would recommend that people not buy Civ 4 for OSX and wait for a subsequent version that lacks the glitches and comes with OSX support, if that time will ever come.

I recently purchased Civ 4 Gold and the expansion disc 'Beyond the Sword'. Although I find this version interesting, it just is not up to the playable standards of previous versions. I dearly wish I had not given away my copy of Civ 3 because that version is superior to Civ 4. Aside from the strange feeling of being removed a step from the actual game play which was not a factor in previous versions, Civ 4 has 3 major faults: 1. The 3D map effects add nothing to game play and often gets in the way. This graphic upgrades were unnecessary. 2. The lack of a printed manual is a significant handicap for a game that relies on accessible information. Sorry, the CivEncyclopedia just isn't good enough. 3. The need to have the disk inserted to play is a major drawback. Backup disks do not work. This is especially a handicap for laptop users. Overall, because I like the game's traditional idea of developing a civilization, I have rated this version as '3 stars', but for older fans of the genre consider this a '2 star' game' and keep your older version if your computer can support it.

I didn't do my research, and I didn't realize that you needed the DVD in the drive each time you play the game. What a load of crayola, I should have bought the downloaded version. The game itself is wicked fun, the best of the series (better than Civ 5 too).

After playing Rise of Nations years back I wanted to buy a similar strategy game. I like 2K, so I assumed this would be the one, but after putting a few hours into the tutorial and two hours into the single play, I just couldn't get the game play. After forcing myself to spend a few more hours, the game play is fun and almost similar to Rise of Nations. There are four ways to win, territorial, conquer, time based and another I cant recall. The tutorial is short and not enough to understand each aspect of the game. Do as I did, go through the tutorial once, play one game on a beginner level and then return back to the tutorial to understand it. I have a MAC and games are limited, so as with many games, you have to put some time into it to appreciate it. I'm guilty of judging this game too quickly, but I dont have a lot of time to spend on one particular game. Overall, if you have a MAC and enjoy strategy game, this one will consume your life. The 3D graphics are nice.

I find the game to be interesting and challenging. However, the graphics could be much better. Especially on my mac. Right in the middle of the game the some tiles go black and some of the characters are no longer rendered. Sometimes this can be fixed by zooming out and zooming back in on the map, but I find this tedious and distracting. I also hate how sometimes the narration just gives up and goes away in the middle of the game (though some may consider it a relief from the inane comments). While I enjoyed playing the game, these irritating elements took away from the overall experience. I find it surprising considering how long it has been since the game came out.

B+ for game play.
B- for graphics.

Great game what else is there to say.This is the first civ I have played and it is everything I expected and more.With this version I did experience the graphics issues (black terrain and transparent faces) but once I added civ 4 Beyond the Sword and turned off the anti-aliasing those issues went away COMPLETELY.Now I am free to irradiate my neighboring countries to my hearts content.Don't let reports of bad graphics issues sway you. If you tinker with the graphics options and get civ4 BTS you can play this game and I promise you will not be able to STOP playing either.I cannot count the nights I said I would turn it off at midnight only to glance at the clock and see it was 3 AM. Man, I have GOT to start getting some sleep.........oh well one more turn can't possibly hurt...................

Bought this for my 13 year old son. He plays it all the time, maybe too much. However, he IS also learning leadership styles and names of famous landmarks. The game is a great educational tool to teach basic economics, warfare strategy.

If you need something for you to help pass the time and not even realize it BUY THIS GAME. This game isn't the most fun of games but while you are playing it you won't even realize that all that time has passed.

Sid Meier is by far, one of the best gaming programmers and designers of our time. Civilization IV is just one of an increasingly popular computer games created by the man, and it is definately one of the best games ever created. This game is sure to not disappoint. The Gold Edition of the game comes with the incredible original game "Civilzation IV" and "Civilization IV: Warlords", a pack that let's you play in a number of famous senarios, you could be Alexander the Great on his conquest for domination of the world surrounding Greece, or Genghis Khan in his attempt to take all of Asia for example. You fight out the battles that the legends were really in, dealing with their struggles and learning from their mistakes. It is an amazing addition to the hit game, providing countless hours of fun strategizing in order to obtain victory.

Civilization IV itself will keep you busy for months, years even, allowing you to play as different leaders controlling unique empires and on ever changing landmasses. There are so many things available to do in this amazing game it is incredible. You can fill your days creating wonders in your cities and being the envy of empires, or attempting to create friendships with nations. Wars are begun or ended by you, you can order your workers to create roads to distant lands or build mines for gold and resources that make your nation rich. Travel the seas or send scouts on foot to explore the lands arond you. As ruler, you decide everything that happens in your lands. Slavery or Emancipation? Free Market or Command Economy? Democracy or Monarchy? The decisions are all up to you, Your Highest Majesty.

It's been a while since I had played the other versions of this game.
Runs fine on 10.4, great way to lose hours at a time, sucked me in the same way as the other versions.
A little pricey but if you divide the cost by the number of hours you can play, the cost dwindles quickly.
Looking at the other reviews I recommend knowing what you are buying, a turn based, detailed strategy, rule the world game.