Most Helpful Customer Reviews
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673 of 750 people found the following review helpful:
2.0 out of 5 stars
Released as a beta version, but now works (mostly) fine, October 29, 2005
Fun:4.0 out of 5 stars
[5th version of my review - March 1]
While I can edit this review, I can't updating the ratings above; if I could, then I'd change them to 5 stars for 'fun' and 4 stars for 'overall' with the 1.52 patch installed.
I stand by my earlier contention that 2K Games pushed Civ4 out the door a few months too early. Civ4 should never have gotten through SQA (software quality assurance) and been declared 'golden' (ready for commercial release) with these kinds of defects. I suspect this was done to increase Christmas sales, but the net-wide flap over the Civ4 problems likely had just the opposite effect.
Since then, 2KGames had released patches to fix most of the technical problems. Because of that, I've deleted the section I originally had in this review regarding installation and graphics driver problems; just be sure to download and install the current Civ4 patch (version 1.52, as of this updated posting) from the 2kgames.com web site before playing.
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That said, I am quite happy with the changes and expansions made to Civ4. My highest praise goes to the actual game design changes, to wit:
--Faster gameplay. I typically play with a huge world, but I finish a game a lot faster than I could in Civ3. (That's not saying too much; I've still had a few all-nighters.)
--Reduction or elimination of a lot of the micromanagement. I am _so_ happy not to be dealing with riots; in virtually every game that I've played, I've never had to open up a city and reallocate who was working where. Also, automated workers are a lot smarter (and have more options).
--The improved terrain modeling and the increased improvements options; again, it makes things more interesting.
--The combat unit "promotion" track. I tend to go for non-military victories, but this feature may make me play around more with actually conquering my neighbors. It also makes barracks more valuable.
--The "civics" and "religion" aspect. Both are interesting and fun, and both appear to be well-balanced.
--The "culture borders" concept. This allowed me to stake out territory while minimizing incursion by other nations. However, be aware that keeping your borders closed irritates the AIs after a while.
--The "great leaders" concept. There was a little of this in Civ3, but this new implementation makes it a far more vital part of the game. I managed to trigger two (2) golden ages for myself in one game (one by building the Taj Majal, the other by using several great leaders), and I also kept a few Great Engineers on hand to hurry some major wonder projects towards the end of the game. And Great Artists are very useful for 'culture bombing' neighboring cities or pre-emptively staking out large amounts of unclaimed territory.
Most of the complaints I had (UI response, lack of right-click menu features, raging barbarians) appear to have been fixed or, at least, improved by the 1.52 patch. Here are a few that remain:
--The "Show Friendly Moves" option does _not_ include units that are automaticly exploring (scouts, galleys, etc.)--which is where I used it the most in Civ3. Indeed, there appears to be some overall flakiness in both the "Show Friendly Moves" and "Show Enemy Moves" options--it's hard to tell at times whether Civ4 is paying any attention to those options.
-- Even with the 1.52 patch installed, when you complete a game, it's best to exit Civ4 before starting a new game. I've had one or two abrupt crashes when I've tried to go from completing one game to starting a new one.
All this said, Civ4 is a major improvement (in game design and graphics) over Civ3. It is very addictive, and I've spent far more time playing it over the past several months than I should have. ..bruce..
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41 of 44 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Strategy-gamers' heaven, July 25, 2006
Fun:5.0 out of 5 stars
Why the ridiculously low three-star average rating for this fantastic game? Only because of angry one-star reviews from a minority of customers who have encountered technological problems, which have since been patched. I play Civ IV on a laptop and have had no technological problems whatsoever. Civilization is the greatest strategy series ever invented, and Civ IV has improved by leaps and bounds over its predecessors. Result: a gaming sensation, which is easily the best strategy game ever made.
The game is so good it is hard to know where to begin. The dynamic 3D graphics, soundtrack, presentation, interface etc are all absolutely AAA. You can zoom in and out at will, and the graphical detail is absolutely astonishing. The music is also great and atmospheric. It changes to match the era, catching the mood nicely. All that is absolutely top-notch, yet it isn't even the major reason why I would recommend this game.
Of course, strategy games stand and fall by their gameplay, and here too Civilization IV does not disappoint. If you've played any of the Civilization series, then you'll know just what an addictive, "one-more-turn" experience it is. And I mean addictive. It's all too easy for me to skip meals and sleep because I am so completely engrossed in planning my next strategic move.
This much is familiar from the days of Civilization II (which I spent literally hundreds of hours playing in the old days). I'm pleased to say that the latest installment has successfully captured all of the old feel of the classic Civilization. I say this, by the way, as someone who never got into Civilization III, which meant that I certainly had my doubts before getting Civ IV. These doubts were quickly dispelled. The new features which have been included in Civ IV, such as religion and great people, add whole new layers of strategy to the game. At the same time, they all combine elegantly with the basic game system of old.
What's even more important is the radical effort that has been made to streamline the amount of micromanagement. This was always the Achilles' heal of the previous versions of the game. I could find myself spending an hour on every move, painstakingly moving grains of corn from one tile to another in city after city, in order to avoid the waste that would otherwise occur. The great news is that the designers have at last woken up to the pointlessness and tediousness of most of this micromanagement.
For example, now surplus production points do not go to waste (as they used to in previous versions) but instead go towards the production of the next item you want to build. This "roll over" of production (which also applies to food, scientific research, etc) means that you can concentrate on managing your empire, instead of managing every single tile every single turn. At the same time, the cities have also become much smarter at managing their resources, and there is a nice array of options (all very easily accessible in the city display) which enable you to guide a city's production priorities. Whether you choose to automate, or pursue a more hands-on approach, it is all very easy to manage.
As a result of these changes, the game now moves along much faster, while still containing a more-than-satisfying amount of thinking and strategizing every turn. This means I can sit down to start a game and reasonably expect to finish it within a week or two of intermittent playing. Sadly, the same cannot be said for many other strategy games on the market, which are often so long and complex that they are essentially unplayable.
What else? As a veteran of Civ II, I was pleasantly surprised to see what a challenge the game has become. Now, an effective military is just as important for defence as it is for attack. If you are weak, the AI will show you no mercy, and it can mount remarkably effective invasions. In general, warfare is now much more challenging and realistic. Pillaging has become a far more effective strategy than in the past, which means that fighting no longer revolves entirely around the capture of cities as it used to. The added emphasis on combined arms means that much more thought has to be given to the composition and deployment of your armed forces.
Really I could go on and on lavishing praise on this lavish game. But what am I doing? Why am a wasting time writing this review when I could be getting on with my next move?
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17 of 17 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Turn based strategy at its best, May 21, 2007
Fun:5.0 out of 5 stars
Like previous Civilization games, Civ 4 is a turn based strategy game that gives you control over the development of your civilization. Without going into all the features, I will point out the strengths and weaknesses.
Strengths:
While some will complain about this, the overall game has been redesigned. Unlike previous games which encouraged the building of as many cities as you could in the early part of the game, Civ 4 goes to a more strategic approach, but also gives you something to do each turn(instead of setting production and waiting several turns for what you want to build to finish). The game now eliminates the "corruption" system of previous games, and goes to a system where there is an expense that the city places on your government. So, you start with one city, and you need to build a bit slower, at least in the early game.
The graphics engine is now 3D, and with a decently powerful video card, you can see all your city improvements from the main map. You can zoom in and out as well.
Cultural boundaries are based on the culture output of your cities, and you can use culture as a way to expand your borders and capture border cities.
Religion is a system that allows the founder(s) of the different religions certain extras. If you are the founder of a religion, and you accept that religion as your "state religion", you can see all the cities that contain that religion. Religion can spread on it's own, or you can help it by sending out missionaries.
The game is open for mods, and there are many out there that you can download to tweak the game in different ways.
Replay value is high due to multi-player, as well as the random factor in map generation. There are some static maps, but there are also a number of random maps that can be adjusted based on your preferred play style. If you prefer there being only one continent, or higher or lower ocean levels, or a larger or smaller map, you can start the game with the settings YOU prefer.
There are also different game "speeds", which decide how long each game will take. A marathon game on a huge map can take over six hours, but you don't need to play on marathon.
Each of the AI civ leaders have their own personalities, with some being more warlike than others.
With the Warlords expansion, you have both unique units for each civilization, as well as unique buildings. These unique buildings and units replace a "standard" building or unit.
There are many more positives, but no game is without it's negatives, even though I don't really consider many of these to be real flaws.
If your video card does not support directX 9 in hardware, the game won't look as good, and you will need to turn off certain graphics options. That is due to the video card not being able to handle certain graphics features. Even with DirectX 9, if you have a low end video card, including integrated video in most laptops, you may encounter some graphics issues. Intel video tends to be the source of many problems, but older laptops with DirectX 8.1 or earlier graphics chips tend to be the source of many display problems.
Even with a reasonably fast machine, video, CPU, etc, if you play on a huge world with 17 computer controlled civilizations, you will find that you need to wait a bit between turns(as the AI civs get their turn). This can make it a little annoying, but again, the choice of playing on a huge world with an older/slower computer is yours.
The AI at times can be a bit...slow. This is why multi-player is a good thing, because you can play against other humans. There are some mods out there that help with this. The next expansion(Beyond the Sword) has improved AI as a feature.
If you prefer a game that lets you win or lose based on thinking, and less on reflexes, then Civ 4 should be seen as a great game. If reflexes and fast gameplay are what you look for, then Civ 4 is NOT for you. Warlords and the second expansion(due out in July of 2007) add(and will add) to the base game. There are also a lot of elements in Civ 4 that will appeal to those interested in history, since there are references in the game to real life leaders, cultures, and world wonders.
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