Civilization V Reviews Reference List

Thanks Melboz99, great job! I've promoted your post/thread to the front page!

You should put the scores next to the links for those of us who can't be arsed to read each one.

Thanks for the thread promotion Robert!

If we normalize these scores (IE, 5/5 becomes 100%) and we can safely call an 'A' a 100%, then the average thus far (not counting ShackNews who chose not to leave a rating), would be 96.07% with Wired Magazine's low score of 80% being the lowest value.

Dan O.

The Wired score seems based only on the idea that the game might not be exciting enough for people used to action/shooter games. Otherwise, the review is glowing, so it's a really bizarre score...

I like it.

New video review here:
http://www.gametrailers.com/video/re...ation-v/704829

Score: 94

Nice! I really like the gametrailer reviews

Yeah, I thought it was pretty good. I really like video reviews. A knowledgeable reviewer talking about the game, with supporting images, really helps.

So, what is the reason for them to knock off couple tenths from the perfect 10? Is it clear what they are complaining about?

Originally Posted by MxM

So, what is the reason for them to knock off couple tenths from the perfect 10? Is it clear what they are complaining about?

Most of them really don't give any reasoning behind the non-perfect score. Heck, CVG gave it a 9.3 /10 because of "a few niggles with the unit movement and AI" or such. Which, IMO, is a huge dent in a score for "niggles".

But this has been a problem with game ratings for decades. When's the last time you saw an honest review give a game a 1/10? Or how about a 2.3?

Effectively, 90% of reviews fall into the 80-95% range (8.0 - 9.5) and getting anything above (or below actually) seems rare. In this sense, getting as high an average as CIV is, especially for a game in a genre that's not typically thought of as main-stream (FPS, RPG, maybe RTS would all be more main-stream genres), is exceptional, and should be thought of as nothing short of an Ace, a perfect, as perfect gets in an imperfect world.


One slight gripe I have btw is that the spotlight says 9.7 for GameTrailers, that's the User Rating for the Video, in the video itself at the very end the Reviewer gives the game a 9.4. Sorry, I like to keep my facts straight. :P

Dan O.

Originally Posted by Melboz99

But this has been a problem with game ratings for decades. When's the last time you saw an honest review give a game a 1/10? Or how about a 2.3?

Effectively, 90% of reviews fall into the 80-95% range (8.0 - 9.5) and getting anything above (or below actually) seems rare. In this sense, getting as high an average as CIV is, especially for a game in a genre that's not typically thought of as main-stream (FPS, RPG, maybe RTS would all be more main-stream genres), is exceptional, and should be thought of as nothing short of an Ace, a perfect, as perfect gets in an imperfect world.

There is indeed a "Garrison Keillor" effect to reviews--most reviews are "above average". This is true of many things. Take a look at how many Amazon reviews of books, games, etc are 4 and 5 star?

Melbox99: One slight gripe I have btw is that the spotlight says 9.7 for GameTrailers, that's the User Rating for the Video, in the video itself at the very end the Reviewer gives the game a 9.4. Sorry, I like to keep my facts straight. :P

Fixed!

Originally Posted by Jvstin

There is indeed a "Garrison Keillor" effect to reviews--most reviews are "above average". This is true of many things. Take a look at how many Amazon reviews of books, games, etc are 4 and 5 star?

Right, that's exactly what I'm referring to.

The thing to note though is that while most reviews are above average, almost nothing nets a perfect score in the end. Even Games like StarCraft II didn't get 100/100 on every review site, or even most that I'm aware of, and much of the high scores were from personal impressions, rather than objective ratings.

Ergo, getting as high of a score as Civilization V has is difficult to say the least, even for the big dogs with deep pockets. In this way I'm very happy with Civilization V scoring well above 90%.


Oh, and thanks Robert!

I'm not even sure how you can accurately review this game so soon. The real beauty of all Civ games has been the depth and layers of intricate strategy involved. A game this complex (even without religion, tax/science/culture slider, etc) surely takes more than just a few play-throughs to form a solid opinion. Considering that a lot of the reviews use the same language and promote the same new features, it is hard to really take them at their word.

All indicators point to a 10/10 game, but in a couple of weeks I think we'll all know for ourselves.

Please add IGN review 9/10 The guy complained about absence of religion and government polices of Civ IV (which is not is issue for me, I did not find them entertaining). But he also said that AI is overly aggressive. Which may be a problem for me, because I do not like military path for victory - too many civs to conquer.

pcgamer gave it a 93 in the magazine and an editors choice award...best quote "the painterly art style of the randomly generated maps when starting a new game feel like Monet meets google maps" the art director should have just pissed himself with glee.

http://www.pcgamer.com/2010/09/20/civilisation-v-review/

Originally Posted by MxM

The guy complained about absence of religion and government polices of Civ IV.

I find this one of the more amusing complaints about the game. While I'll miss religion, I'm really excited about the new social policies. The idea that we're missing out on government seems silly... I mean, we went from 25 government settings to what appears to be 40 or so government settings. Or more accurately, IV's ability to apply five buffs to our government (1 in each category) to V's being able to accumulate, what, 30 buffs over the course of the game with social policies?

full Ars Technica review
http://arstechnica.com/gaming/news/2...lization-v.ars

The Good

* The revamped interface allows both new and old players to spend less time figuring out how to manage their empire and more time getting stuff done
* Fewer, more robust units make per-turn unit management quicker
* The changes implemented in the combat system present interesting new challenges and advantages to both offense and defense
* City-states are a great addition to the game in terms of resources, combat, and diplomacy. For Civ4 vets, they are vassals writ large
* The graphics are very pretty and not terribly demanding on the system; the settings have a good deal of flexibility
* The "quests" lend some micro-structure to the game, something to do between wars or when no one likes you enough to trade
* I have not yet seen them, but I've heard that in the modern era you can build Tiny Death Robots
* It's still addictive as hell, and sweeps you into the action immediately, every time, without overwhelming you

The Bad

* The AI has been reworked, but diplomatic relations with them occasionally have an overtone of "if you don't know what's wrong, I'm not going to tell you"
* Some parts are a little goofy. I had no problem with the lists when they were "The Happiest Civilizations," as opposed to now, where it's "People that Smile the Most"
* Social policies and culture are almost forgettable if you're more into domination/conquest/diplomatic victories
* No technology trading, which was marginally more realistic than a "research agreement," at least in the BC years, and less expensive
* Alerts can stack up and it can be tiresome to dismiss a huge pile of them just make sure you've dealt with them all

The Ugly

* Hardcore fans may not agree with some of the editing choices made in the streamlining of the game, and may feel that victory doesn't require exactly the same grueling tenacity
* The purchasing aspects of the game (units, buildings, tiles, influence, research agreements) may come to feel like or be perceived as cheesy strategy, especially in multiplayer games, since you mostly just have to know how to generate money

Verdict: Buy

hmmm... may be worth a thread itself. but leave it to Cyber to decide...

Originally Posted by Melboz99

The Escapist (With Video Segment) Posted Sept 17th... Rating: 5/5

That shitbag said in the video that "Civ5 is the best Civilization game to date except CivRev." **** him. He should be drawn and quartered for garbage like that.