Civilization IV

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Fortunately there are some problems with Civ IV otherwise we would be looking at the perfect game and such an achievement is the precursor to the end of the world, so many would have you believe. The new advisor screens are inexplicably a major step backward offering less information in a more confusing format then before. For example, the new military advisor only lists the total number of units that you have and where they all are on the map whereas previously you could cycle through each unit and demote or upgrade them at leisure or send them off to new garrisons. Monitoring the trade routes you have active takes more effort and you can't jump to a city by double clicking its name in the city overview screen. Quite how Firaxis managed to get so much else so right and then stumble at such a seemingly simple aspect of the overall game is a mystery worthy of Nancy Drew on five grams of cocaine. Civ IV is also technically unstable. It caused a few BSODs, which are a very rare occurrence in these days of Windows XP and as mentioned later I suffered numerous disconnection problems playing the multiplayer game. The endgame also suffers from icons that slowly become less responsive and a general winding down of the game's performance. A super-fast CPU would help to alleviate the slowdown and even as it is on my machine it never becomes unbearable, especially when you appreciate the amount of number crunching going on. The UI works well although I found its aesthetic to be the least pleasing visual element of the game.

Diplomacy is another area that hasn't progressed very much although it is a slight improvement over number three. You can now enter into permanent alliances and the AI seems less willing to wage war at the drop of a hat then before. Until you creep up the difficulty levels that is. Figuring out how well you get on or otherwise with the other Civs is again made easier by the inclusion of a pop-up box that gives you the numerical reasoning behind the Roman's hatred of you; for example having a different religion or poor trade relations will all hurt your chances of being the guest of honour at the next state dinner. The AI will still make ridiculous demands even when they are well and truly under you heel and it seems unwilling to ever be magnanimous or gracious.

If you find yourself wanting human like behaviour from your foes then Civ IV has it all covered in the form of its superior multiplayer component. Featuring all the options that one could possibly want, from play-by-email to hot-seat, direct IP and with a matchmaking service, there's a whole other universe out there to conquer. Thanks to the streamlining of the gameplay and reduction of micromanagement it's possible to finish a game in a single evening (as long as you get started early on and select quick turns- it's faster but it's still Civ!). Playing against some friends and guild mates from WoW I experienced some of the most enjoyable and refreshing multiplayer gaming I've had in many a moon. Play was generally quick and smooth and the challenge of defeating other people in such a deep and encompassing game as Civ is one that gamers across the world find themselves relishing even more than the sublime single player game. All is not hanging gardens though as we experienced a worryingly high number of disconnects and some minor latency issues. Fortunately the game autosaves every four turns so a borked connection does not spell the end of any burgeoning empires.

First making an appearance in Civ III, the role of great people has been massively extended to the point where they are now an interesting way of directing the growth of your civilisation, to the extent where a strategy which relies exclusively on producing large numbers of great people is potentially a game wining one. Depending on their type these historical figures can create science academies to boost a cities research, go on long distance trade missions to foreign lands for the promise of hefty bounty in gold or create their great work of art which gives a city an instant and massive culture boost. Having Elvis cut some tracks is a great way to quickly expand a civilisation's borders. Great people can also join a city as a super specialist, adding a permanent boost to a city's output. Normal specialists are also greater in scope and usefulness. For example, a poorly fed city with a decent population can easily be turned into a city focused on a particular theme. The player who wisely manages their people will find their society performs a lot better than a player who ignores the capabilities of their citizens...

A brand new feature in Civ IV is that great unifier and divider of men, religion. There are seven religions in the game and while each one corresponds to a real world faith system the differences are only cosmetic with each religion offering exactly the same bonuses as any other. These bonuses range from bringing happiness through the construction of temples and academies to giving a player line of sight in any city that has been converted to one of their religions. Yes, in a nice touch Firaxis have made it possible for different religions to co-exist happily in any city to the extent that a city with five religions in it can build five temples, each with their own happiness bonus. Great prophets can be used to create a special holy temple in cities which are the home to a particular religion which will give bonuses to all cities that fall under that belief system. In short, religion is yet another way of guiding your civ to world domination. There's even a civic that can be researched in later times that allows for free-religion where cities can get bonuses from following no particular creed.

In Civs of old you could choose from a pool of different government types, each of which carried their own plus and minuses. These have been replaced with civics; different systems which once researched can be adopted by your entire society. Split into five categories with five different civics in each the scope for fine tuning your military, scientific, religious and commercial parameters has never been greater. As an added bonus it only takes one turn of anarchy to implement a new set of civics although there's a limit on how often you can force a revolution in a period of time.

The introduction of these new features and the refinement and improvement of older ones has been handled with a deftness that is mightily impressive. Civ IV is a radical departure from what came before yet never at any point do you feel like you are playing anything but the Civilisation you know and love. For example, while combat has moved away from separate attack and defence stats to a unified strength rating the development of the unit experience feature has led to combat which retains the simplicity of yore while adding in new toys which alter the ways a player will approach warfare. Unfortunately it is still possible for a knight to take down a helicopter but this is far less likely to happen than ever before. Something that disappointed me more was to see that the spectre of cheating AI has not totally dispersed as civs that could spit out hundreds of units while seemingly having little in the way of resources have been a constant thorn in my soul. The barbarians are as ornery as ever and the fact that they can now realistically develop their own civilisations which will harass players until they have the arms to destroy them means that many players will still elect to switch them off when creating a new game.

One thing that was noticeable by its absence was the farce of seeing 60 enemy units skid one way across the map only to make the return leg on the following turn. The shift in focus away from creating as many cities as fast as possible - a change that may take veteran players a few games to get used to - towards a game that concentrates on properly developing a smaller number of cities limits the capacity for zerging. Combat can still be frustrating but that frustration is rarely the fault of the game mechanics and is rather more likely to be down the player's over confidence or lack of planning. Carrying a unit from the dawn of your civilisation right through to the final assessment screen is a rare feat and one of the many different achievements that combine together to fill Civilisation IV's deep rewards chest.

As I've been writing this review two things have become apparent. The first is that I could bash out an extremely long winded and eulogising review for this game. The second concerns my conviction that this is one of the most finely balanced and well implemented games of all time. I tend to shy away from using such superlatives yet every once in a while a game comes along that requires the reviewer to reach into his bag of phrases marked "caution - explosive" and Civilisation IV is just such a game. Firaxis have managed to thoroughly overhaul one of the classic games of all time and drag it up from its dark ages into the renaissance era. Even with its speedier gameplay Civ IV will be the cause of many sleepless nights and damaged relationships. But when you're having this much fun waiting to unleash a nuke on the holy city of the hated Incas or are a few points away from having a culture the likes of which the globe has never seen then many real world issues have little choice but to take a back seat down this journey through the ages.

96%

By Sam Gibson