Demo Impressions: Civilization Revolution

Within a few rounds, it's easy for a Civ veteran to notice what Firaxis sacrificed to make the game console-ready. The interface has been stripped bare, refactored, and made manageable with nothing more than a few buttons, which might sound positive until you realize how much information you lose.

[Masta_Killa]

Ive owned every Civilization since 1, including the PS1 version. All I can say is this game is AWESOME.

[Relin]

It's fun, but it's not nearly as fun as a full Civ game.

[Bolts]

If this is your first Civ game then, yes. Its awesome.

If this is your fifth (after Civ 4 & expansion packs) then its only ok. I do not like the idea of paying for a $60 game with less depth and content than a game that cost $30. I also do not like the idea of dumbing down a game just because it's on the console. When the devs take some gameplay elements out for suitability, they should add new content and depth to make up for it. In this case annoying advisors and leaders speaking gibberish does not qualify as content.

But since a lot of console fans are new to the Civ franchise they'll prolly eat it up. Carefull, Civ can be addictive as hell, you can easily lose hours playing it.

[PoSTedUP]

i moved my men 2 spaces and then hit the PS button and went to quit game. i didnt like it at all, it was so bad i had to play a whole game of Age of empires right after just to shake off the badness it had inflicted upon me. Age Of Empires is still the kind of rts* games.

[Masta_Killa]

If thats all you did you should give it another try, your missing out on a great game.

[PoSTedUP]

ima take your word for it and download it again. it didnt seem like my kind of rts but if you say so.. ill give it another shot and tell you what i thought about it.

[Varsarus]

I personally like the Total War series, they're very good.

[StuffRokz]

may very well be the king of RTS's. Fortunately, Civilization isn't an RTS, it's a turn-based strategy game, and the king of turn-based strategy games. comparing age of empires to civilization is like comparing Halo to Gears of War, or Resistance to Uncharted, based on your console of preference. They're similar, but not similar enough to make a direct comparison.

[aubradley]

I actually really enjoyed the demo and can't wait for the full release. I've played the last two Civ games, and always felt they'd be even more fun if streamlined. Now it's like a dream come true! :)

[skynidas]

This game is awesome!!!! Definitely buying it when it releases on July

[AllseeingEye]

This game plays sooo good. I was pleasantly surprised. I wasnt expecting such a rich gameplay experience on consule. Theres also an encyclopedia-ish interface so you can see facts about people and places throughout history. Learning made fun kids!

[ps3FTW]

The demo was awesome imo.

[Timesplitter14]

It definatly feels shallow compared to Civ 4, but it's still fun and I might buy it. Sometimes it feels good to play simpler games.

[TheBarExam_2]

I wish that I would not have played it because it makes the wait even harder..

[Erasmus]

hmm can't say im really into the civ games. Did the console cross over go well though?

[Silogon]

I'll probably get it cause it is a casual game experience but anyone who wants the full experience should get the PC version for sure. The ps3 and xbox 360 just can't match the computers power at the end of the day. Again, I really loved the demo and will no doubt get the game when it finally comes out but it still isn't as deep as the computer counter parts.

It's different, how about that? Different is always good but it'd be even better if this was a downloadable game for the PSN & XBL if you ask me.

[mistertwoturbo]

The power of the consoles is not an issue. It's the sheer fact that you can only fit a certain amount of commands with a controller opposed to a keyboard. And Civ games aren't even about graphics anyway.

[Bolts]

I do not mind the streamlined gameplay as long as they add new gameplay concepts in place of what they took out to make the Civ work on the console. It's difficult to judge unless you play the full game, the demo is rather short.

[Chubear]

not only that but also it's a totally different demographic on consoles to PCs. No console gamer wants to play one single play thorough at over 200hrs. This game would flop heavily if they didn't tailor make it for the appropriate consumer.

This is meant for console gamers and one complete game can be done in 20hrs instead of 200hrs. Plus you get to play even more games with other civilizations that can take you over 200hrs instead of 2,000hrs on PCs.

I'm sorry but that insane meticulous options on PC versions is jsut too overwhelming nowadays for me and kinda takes the fun out of it. I want my expereinces in large chunks of quick gameplay and CIV:rev delievers this sweetly.

If I wanted to PC game I would and I don't.. anymore.

[adalwolfe]

You can custom manage your population, and it does offer additional features. The only thing I could see that it does not offer is the ability to build workers, instead you just pay for what they would normally build like a road or what have you, but trading, focusing output, changing from science to gold production.. its all there.. all in all the game is a pretty decent console port. The reviewer obviously didn't spend enough time looking at the various options.. because practically everything he said "was not there" is.. you just have to look..

I just wish the civ games would try making themselves look more realistic, as its fanbase ages, going for a more childish look isn't the right idea, because it is very indepth gameplay, an not meant so much for children.. imho, they need to change the art direction..

[Relin]

He only mentioned two things that are missing from CivRev: the ability to manage a city's population manually (aside from that over-simplified dropdown menu) and the ability to use workers to manipulate the surrounding land. Neither of those two things are in the demo... so what is wrong? The fact that he didn't think it lived up to Civ 4?

[Chubear]

...

[adalwolfe]

I know thats what he said, but he is wrong. The option is there, as per my previous comment.. it always has been there the last option on that drop down list you mentioned is "custom" and when you select it, you can choose where your workers work moving them between resource points the exact same way you would on a pc in any previous version.. i can't believe i have more disagrees then agrees on this, am i the only person that has noticed??

[AllseeingEye]

the streamlined interface. I know its dumbed down from the pc version but thats the point. If it were more complex I wouldnt want to play it. Period. I dont play my pc anymore because I cant stand sitting in front of a computer screen after doing it at work. This was made perfectly for the consule gamer and I hope people buy it up so they make more...or an expandion.

[Chubear]

I think the only people that have an issue with strategy games like CIV on consoles are those PC elitist types that are getting rather insecure when seeing consoles are now equiped like high end PC rigs and now those games that were traditionally done on PCs are now on consoles too.

PC elitists will try and say consoles can't match PCs but they know they're BSing and that's why they're getting very irritated and insecure.

Though they also try to flaunt their specs and games like Crysis in these moments, a vast majority of PC gamer's rigs can't render games like the PS3 or 360 can. Only those Super high end rigs in the $4000 range can show significant differences (watch some PC nerd come talking about how he can make a $4000 PC with only $200 from stores that only the nrediest of our society will ever know exsists)

Consoles can do anything high end PC games can do but that doesn't mean developers can go make PC oriented games on consoles cause, in not catering to the proper demographic, those games would flop hard.

I'm sorry but a I'd take a $400 machine over a $4000 one any day.

[PoSTedUP]

ohh... i see, some one told me if i like AOE then i would like CIVILIVTON, so i automatically assumed it was an rst game. i still think age of empires is better than it in my own opinion no matter what kind of game it is.

[StuffRokz]

is a great game in it's own merit, and i will not attack your opinion, since it is, after all, your personal opinion and you have all right to it regardless of mine. i'm just merely trying to be a neutral informative voice in this jungle we N4G-ers call the open zone. in the end it's a matter of preference, and what many people on this site can't understand is that not everyone has the same preferences. some like RTS's like AoE because it's faster paced and is more action oriented while others like turn based games for the ability to plan out more in depth strategies, and micro-management options that can be found in Civ IV (on pc, not consoles). in the end, i prefer the style that Civ brings to the table, though i also enjoy RTS's very much. i think we can both say, however, that AoE 4 can't come soon enough :)

[PoSTedUP]

yea i think civ would be better and more fast pace if i played it on pc, it looks fun but the whole rts on a console idea is just inconvenient in my own opinion.

i didnt play AoE 3, or empire earth, but im going to start getting into them again. peace and god bless.

[thenickel]

I've never liked or been into these type of games but after playing this demo I have totally changed my view. Very fun and nice indeed.

[Strife Lives]

It took hours and hours and hours to play.and I was a little kid back then.the graphics werent much. .nothing my big white gameboy couldnt handle lol.but the gameplay. .start with nothing. .end in space.how awesome was that? Ok. .I had my heart ready and in place to buy this. .what gets in the way. . .is the devs said the map is now really small. . .and a game lasts 2-3 hours.not cool. . Really.game length. .adds to deapth. .and they just ripped that out.

[Snarko]

No gamespeed option or map selection is a big failure for this game.

[Jdoki]

Civ:Rev is pretty much perfect for me. I want to love the full Civ games, but I generally find that after a few hours of play I got beat. By distilling the game down in to shorter campaigns at least I'm not wasting hours of time before I get beat!! :)

Sure, many PC veterans of the Civ series will complain about Civ:Rev, but what's the point??? Civ 4 is still an amazing game. If you like Civ but don't like the 'dumbed down' version - then go back to your Civ on PC.

[Chubear]

It's like PC gamers don't want to understand -stubornly - that PC gaming is very different from console gaming and that a vast majority of console gamers (tens of millions) don't want to PC game cause of that fact.

If you dont like console renditions of certain games then play them on your prefered PC platform. There's no need to make it seem as if these games are "inferior" thus inplying they are no good.

Everytime a strategy game like this, Endwars or C&C comes out for consoles, PC gamers act like their panties are all in a knot or something.

[Lord_Ash]

This demo is really fun, I didn't even notice the time fly while I was playing it, I was going to give Lego Indiana Jones a try but that money is going for this game.