Spacehamster’s Blog

Of course, like 99% of the gaming world I’d heard about Civilization - the original Empire-building Turn-Based Strategy game, but I’d never really taken an interest in it. About four years ago, I gave Alpha Centauri a try, and found it was far too complicated for me to get into. As I’ve gotten older, my interest in twitch-reflex games (like Doom 3 and Half-Life 2) has waned. I’ve been looking for more contemplative strategically-fulfilling games to play. Rome: Total War is an excellent example of a game that bestrides two genres - RTS and Turn-Based Empire Building. With that in mind, I decided to give Civilization 4 a punt.

And I’ve been playing it non-stop for the last two weeks.

Being a complete and total newbie to the Civ genre, I was apprehensive about the high difficulty level. My concerns were allayed once I started playing the tutorial - which is the best I’ve ever seen for any game in any genre. It lays out all the basics in a friendly and simple manner - just enough to get you started, and pique your interest. Another major surprise was seeing and hearing Sid Meier in the tutorial. With the addition of the creator of Civ to the tutorial, it also becomes an opportunity to sell the charms of Civ to sceptical newbie gamers like myself. Sid, you can consider me sold.

The amazing paradox of Civ is that the user interface to this game is incredibly simple to use -

anyone who’s played an RTS (especially Sid Meier’s Pirates) will have no trouble with the controls.

But the underlying game rules and features add an infinite amount of breathtaking strategic complexity to this game. There are so many different tactics you can use to build your empire, but

in the end they boil down to effectively manipulating three important resources:

Productivity (Hammer icon)
Culture (Musical Note icon)
Gold (Gold coin icon)

Each civilization you choose will have the ability to maximise any two out of the three resources

listed above. For instance, Queen Elizabeth (England) has the Financial/Philosophical

characteristics. Meaning she can maximize her Culture/Gold output. The result being that this civ will have access to plenty of gold, produce Great People (ie. Historically important leaders), and expand cities borders at a very high rate. The downside to this particular Civ is that the benefits only arrive when you have access to more advanced technologies very late in the game, and your military is absolutely pitiful until you access gunpowder/rifling and get the Redcoat soldier. This perfectly reflects English history, as it was the Redcoats that allowed England to build its empire so successfully. What this shows is that the game implements civilizations brilliantly - every civ has its advantages and disadvantages.

The other aspect of the game, which I haven’t quite mastered yet, is how you interact with competing civilizations - and this is where the real challenge lies (at least for me). For instance, you’ll get along better with another civ if you have a common religion (eg. Judaism). But if you use a missionary to spread Judaism in a competing civ, you’re also giving them access to more temples which they can use to generate more culture - thereby expanding their own borders more quickly and potentially swamping your own cities. A lesson which I learned much to my own cost in a recent game.

As you can see, playing Civilization is a strategically complex affair - and I haven’t even
scratched the surface yet! This game has already won critical acclaim from many different quarters, and I’m more than happy to add my praise (not to mention plunk down my hard-earned cash) and support this game. Here’s hoping Firaxis (and Sid Meier) produce more games like it.

Thanks Sid!

PS. Some recommended links for the Civ 4 newbie -

Wounded Knight’s Strategy Guide - Everything a newbie needs to know. A great read.
Gamespot’s Strategy Guide - Not as complex, but still a good introductory look.