Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #775 in Computer & Video Games
• Brand: Take 2
• Released on: 2005-11-04
• ESRB Rating: Teen
• Platform: Windows XP
• Number of items: 1
• Dimensions: 1.00 pounds

Amazon.co.uk Preview
Civilization is one of those games that had the unfortunate luck of being pretty much perfect the first time around. Unfortunate because it means that the developers didn't really have much else to do for any of the sequels. Not until number three anyway, at which point they almost ruined everything by overcomplicating it.

In a nod to the graphical ability of modern day PCs the graphics have been upgraded all the way from rubbish to okay-ish. Actually, the 3D effect as you zoom out to a view of the whole globe is quite nice but otherwise this is not going to be giving Doom 3 any sleepless nights.

The far more important changes are to the gameplay which has had all the overcomplicated elements from Civ III ripped out and, most interestingly, many of the features from the original that had been considered sacrosanct. City riots and rebellions are now extremely rare and other tedious elements such as pollution have been removed. This all adds up to a tighter, faster paced game that doesn't get bogged down once you get a lot of cities up and running.

A new team-based online modes attempts to add a similar injection of speed to the multiplayer - although whether that will prove as successful remains to be seen. More promising is a greater emphasis on religion in the game, as well as great people from history that can help morale, combat or research and sometimes all three. With strategy games becoming ever rarer Civ IV looks like it could finally make them, if not fashionable, at least popular again. -- Harrison Dent

This preview is based on an incomplete version of the game; features or problems mentioned above may not appear in the finished game.

Manufacturer's Description
Civilization IV will come to life like never before in a beautifully detailed, living 3D world that will elevate the gameplay experience to a whole new level. Civilization IV has already been heralded as one of the top ten games of 2005, and a must-have for gamers around the globe.

Customer Reviews

Ignore the gentleman below me
...who should really have read the description of the game before buying it. Civilisation's always been turn based strategy and it really seems more your problem if you've bought something in a genre that you don't like.

The game itself is fantastic, the very epitomy of 'just one more turn' and begs the question of whether there will be a Civ V. Firaxis have got it right and I can't see how, barring minor tinkering, they can improve this.

In short, if you like turn-based strategy, this game is up there with Football Manager in eating your life. If you don't like turn-based strategy, read the product description.

PJW

Avoid at all Costs
Boring, Boring, Boring. If I wanted to play a board game, I'd have bought a game of risk. Over-hyped and misleading looking at the packaging. I was expecting a RTS game, similar to C&C but this is simply 'move this unit here, look at this statistic, move that there, have a turn, click this. etc... no action, and nothing to get exited about. If I'd seen 'Turn Based' game anywhere I would not have even bothered, but this was not apparent. I've had more enjoyment from a Sinclair ZX80 than this heap of hooley. I installed this and removed it within 20 minutes and threw the whole thing in the bin! Save your money for something worthwhile!

Unless You Patch It, You Will Not Play More Than The Demo...
As a CIVILIZATION fan since the first DOS-version, I cannot begin to express my OUTRAGE towards FIRAXIS!!!

Sure, the graphics are nice; however, CIV games were always about large map overviews. This one trades off size for walking and rolling units. Apparently for a reason...

Spyware installation issues apart, CIVILIZATION IV was so prematurely released, it is hardly a beta version! Once you reach the 20-city limit this premature contraption crashes to the Desktop. Sometimes even sooner...
Unless you are willing to download the 78MB Patch (which only partially corrects all the shortcomings) play the Demo, that's all you are gonna play anyway!

Let's not encourage the lazy corporate cats make a bundle in our expense.
Replay CivIII and its expansions OR wait until the release of the..."Expansion Bundle". By then, hopefully, the game will have been finished!