Reviews

[Locutus]

GamePro: Smartest Game Ever

George Jones of GamePro reviewed Civilization: Revolution. He describes the game as possibly the smartest video game ever created, as an intelligent translation of the PC version with enjoyable, satisfying and above all addictive gameplay. His biggest criticism is that the game isn't open-ended enough:

Unfortunately, one of Civilization's biggest shortcomings is that it fails to embrace the promise of truly open-ended strategy and decision-making. Open warfare is too convenient an option, no doubt a byproduct of the game world's small size and an overly aggressive artificial intelligence that continuously threatens and attempts to extort the player. This really cut into the flexibility that the game seemed to promise.

Overall, Jones rates the game as a 4.25 out of 5. Read the full one-page review on GamePro.

[Locutus]

Gamer.nl: Limited But Fun (8/10)

Gamer.nl's Erwin Bergervoet posted his review of the latest console version of Civilization. The article describes the gameplay and mentions that the console version is as addictive as the PC game. The writer lauds the in-game tutorial and fresh-if-not-fully-next-gen graphics and crisp user interface that looks as good on SD as on HD.

The [gameplay] simplification [compared to the PC games] usually works out well, but in some areas they shaved off a little too much. There are barely any customization options at the start of the game, or during it. If you get tired of the combat animations, you can't accelerate or disable them. You also can't change any map settings or the number of opponents. You only pick the difficulty level and your own civilization, or one of the pre-existing scenarios, and the game starts. A pity, because once you have a feel for the game you want to have more control.

Bergervoet also criticises the performance of the game: the game is laggy when advisors are on-screen and shows an annoying load screen when someone launches a space ship. This, along with the limited customisation options, keep him from giving the game more than an 8 out of 10. You can read the full review (in Dutch) on Gamer.nl.

[Locutus]

OXM: 8 in UK, 9 in US

The US and UK editions of the Official XBox Magazine published their reviews of Civilization: Revolution. UK editor Ryan King calls the game aptly named, as it tear[s] down unnecessary and needless conventions until you reach the absolute bare essentials of a strategy game. While he says the game is stripped down to its most basic form, it's very diverse, dynamic and delicately balanced, with riotous multiplayer.

The game mechanics do dictate some of your decisions. There's a heavy slant towards those defending their towns against invaders, for example, meaning those charging off at the start of the game with little more than spears in the air and hope in their hearts are likely to end up a crumpled heap riddled with the arrows of their enemies (or of outrageous fortune, ho hum). Yet finding these biases simply makes you more determined to overcome them and makes triumph even sweeter when you raise a flag of your nation's colours in a rival's town. He who dares...

While King likes the controls for the most part, towards the end game he did find that the map becomes too cluttered which makes it difficult to select the right destination for units. Overall, he does consider CivRev to be the best strategy game available on a console and gives it an 8 out of 10.

Editor Cameron Lewis of the US edition of the magazine considers the game truly excellent. He calls the gameplay diverse and addictive, and if that's not enough the game offers plenty more to keep you entertained:

When no two campaigns play out the same way, settling into a mundane routine is hardly a risk, but 10 scenarios add some piquant variations anyway. In these, you can start out with every technology, or contend with a drastically increased barbarian presence, for example — and Game of the Week events let you compete under controlled, save-free conditions for a spot on the world leaderboards.

Lewis's main beefs consist of the lack of a radar map and camera controls and that you can't always save the game whenever you want (or at all during multiplayer), but he loves just about everything else about the game and gives it a 9 out of 10.

[Locutus]

EuroGamer: Best Strategy But Too Small

EuroGamer posted their review of Civilization: Revolution, giving the game an 8 out of 10. Reviewer Alec Meer provides a detailed description of the gameplay, which he describes as being very strongly focused on warfare and as being very fast-paced. While he considers the inability to play peacefully and the simplification of the gameplay a loss, he concedes that it's necessary to allow games to be completed faster and to appeal to a console audience.

Offending existing Civ fans (and it will - the angrier, snobbier ones at least) by throwing too many nuance-babies out with the bathwater is one thing. Being perceived as too stuffy, too slow, too turn-based strategy by the mainstream console crowd - now that would be disastrous. [...] This isn't 'dumbed-down', as is the knee-jerk protestation of elitists, but there's no escaping that it's been made for a completely different audience to the usual Civ crowd. My concern is that its audience doesn't in fact exist, that it's an unnatural middle-ground between veteran Civ players and folk who run screaming from the very concept.

The gameplay as it stands does create a greater focus on having a good master plan, says Meer, and it's still sophisticated enough that it takes a while to learn. His biggest failing with the game though is the size of it: it's too small. There aren't enough options and different approaches to the game, after a few games you've seen everything there is to see. It's the pop song that ends after 90 seconds - being an eight-minute epic would surely rob the joy from it, but dancing your heart out to just one more chorus would have made all the difference.

The upside of this is that this makes it the perfect multiplayer Civ game, according to Meer: it allows for fun, quick, cut-throat games against human opponents. He concludes that while CivRev is the best strategy game available for the current generation of consoles, the game leaves you feeling unsatisfied at the end. However, it's worth picking up for those who normally don't play this type of game and for anyone who wants to play some multiplayer. Read the full review on EuroGamer.

[Locutus]

Game Informer: Seminal Console Strategy

Game Informer Magazine joins the ranks of those who have reviewed Civilization: Revolution, and like it. While the game doesn't compare to the PC games in the Civ series, it holds up in its own right according to Game Informer editor Adam Biessener. The interface and controls work very well, the gameplay has been stripped down to focus on the big-picture decisions and it's still extremely addictive.

Rather than use Civ IV’s careful approach to balance, Revolution embraces the overpowered. To the experienced player, every faction’s abilities get a reaction of “how is that possibly fair?” Ultimately, though, since everyone is overpowered, higher-level play involves tailoring your strategy to take better advantage of your ridiculous bonuses than the other players can. I suspect the multiplayer community will quickly gravitate toward a handful of “most-overpowered” civilizations, but that would happen no matter how minor the differences were. As it is, experimenting with different factions and unconventional strategies is a blast – particularly in multiplayer, where the clever approach to time-limited turns speeds the gameplay up to an almost RTS-like hectic pace.

The reviewer's biggest beef is with the sound: Advisor Volume: 0. Leader Volume: 0. There, I just saved you a trip through an aural hell of obnoxious gibberish As the best strategy game available on a console, Biessener gives the game a 9 out of 10, with his colleague Ben Reeves providing a second opinion of 9.25/10. You can read their full opinions on the online edition of this magazine.

[DanQ]

DS Review: Some Lost in Translation

Reviews of the Nintendo DS release of Civilization: Revolution seem few and far between, but one can be found on GameZone. Steve Hopper writes that the game "capitalizes on the DS’s strengths with some great stylus-based controls. Unfortunately, there are some problems, as the gameplay feels a bit scaled down and the maps feel pretty cramped. [..] The game is impressive for bringing the series to the DS in an effective way, but loses a bit in the translation".

'Graphics' and 'Sound' each receive a 7/10 which are "[n]ot dazzling by any means... but [they] get the job done" and "pretty good, but... effects themselves are few and far between" respectively. 'Gameplay', 'Concept' and 'Multiplayer' all receive 7.5/10 scores. "While the game isn’t perfect, with a few flaws and shortcomings that can be attributed to the handheld format itself, it’s still a fun simulation game that plays well and would be a nice addition to any hardcore Sid Meier fan’s library.

[CivRev] is a solid entry to the series, bringing the experience to a whole new audience. [..] [I]t’s still worth a look from hardcore series fans looking for a portable version of their fix."

Twenty new screenshots accompany the review, joining eleven preexisting ones.

[DanQ]

Good for Audience, Lukewaram for Verterans

Probably the first review of any game let alone a Civilization title to be scored out of "Great Wonders", latest series entry Revolution gets 7.5 of them from ITWire's Mike Bantick.

"[Developer Firaxis Games has] managed just enough management to keep the flavour without the bog down of detail that works so much better on a PC. [..] Generally, Civ on a console brings back some great Civilization memories and trepidation of time lost. But in many ways, for veterans it will feel a little lacking when compared with past PC based Civ titles.

In conclusion Bantick erroneously refers to CivRev's pending availability on the Nintendo Wii: in late January, Firaxis announced that this port was on indefinite hold.

[DanQ]

The Revolution Came as Expected

Luke Mitchell sets out to answer the question [i]s it the revolution we were expecting?" in his review of Civilization Revolution for Australia's PAL Gaming Network. The categorical breakdown of 'Graphics' 7, 'Sound' 7, 'Gameplay' 8.5 and 'Lifespan 8.5' led to an 8.0/10 overall score.

"Although there can be a lot of detail on screen at once, the game occasionally stutters and doesn't look as good as it should on current generation consoles. [..] Appropriate soundtrack and sound effects kick in at many right moments, but sometimes we're left wondering if more could have been added to further enhance the experience. [..] [Yet there is o]ne word [to describe this game]: Addictive. This game is a lot of fun to play and successfully translates the core PC concept of [Civ] onto consoles with excellent results."

Playing the Xbox360 version, Mitchell concludes that "[t]here are flaws, sure; the combat is basic, veterans might not be happy with the simplified gameplay and despite all the helpful hints, some people will still be concerned about the mere fact that the game requires some serious thought to progress, rather than just an itchy trigger finger. Make no mistake, though... it continues the Civilization tradition of being one of the most addictive games we've experienced".

[Locutus]

Hexus: Dumbed Down But Addictive

Steven Williamson has reviewed Civilization: Revolution for lifestyle site Hexus. Pointing out previous attempts to port Civ to the console have failed, he cuts right to the chase:

It’s a dumbed-down version of the PC game, which has been simplified to make use of the game-pad control. It also sports a stream-lined interface making navigation through the menus more manageable.

Williamson says that the simplified gameplay along with the advisors make it easy for new players to get into the franchise. He compliments the controls and notes that all the core components of Civ are represented in this game, giving the game enough depth to have a high replay value.

Most things have been simplified from the PC version of the game, with resource gathering handled almost entirely by the AI, a simplified build-queue and most noticeably a much smaller game-world, which makes the campaign far shortly than its predecessors. Nevertheless, this does mean that you don’t get bogged down with what arguably could be deemed as the ‘boring stuff’ and generally the games feel more accessible and fast-paced, possibly something that will appeal to gamers new to the franchise. Whether hardened fans of the franchise will enjoy the changes so much, however, is questionable.

Overall though, the reviewer likes this incarnation of Civ, calling it challenging and addictive, and easier to pick up than the PC version of the game. As an 8 out of 10, the game receives an Hexus Gaming Recommended award. Read the full two-page review on Hexus.

[Locutus]

MS XBox World: Charming And Fun (8/10)

Gaming site MSXBox World has posted a review of Civilization: Revolution. Clearly new to the Civ franchise himself, author Robert Cram provides a very detailed description of the gameplay, pointing out that while the game may seem daunting at first to newcomers, it's easy enough to get into.

I had great fun nuking Berlin in one game, although surprisingly this action didn't win me the game. In another game the same stunt failed against the Chinese, as they were more technologically advanced than I was and had built nuke defences to counter any intercontinental attacks. There seems to be a lot of mathematical equations behind a lot of the actions in the game, and to a degree you'll sometimes be left scratching your head when your army of tanks gets defeated by 17th Century riflemen or cannons. Luckily you are able to prepare yourself by either saving frequently or using the in game tools such as spies and such like to avoid getting beaten too often.

Cram Likes the cartoony graphics, the helpful interface, the amusing advisors and the intuitive controls and he encountered no performance issues. The sound doesn't particularly stand out to him. While the author loves the game's longevity, he does point out that it's not for those with little patience due to the relatively steep learning curve. What the game lacks in high production value it makes up in charm and addictiveness. In the end the writer lands on an 8 out of 10 score. Read the full review on MSXBox World.

[Locutus]

ConsoleMonster Review: 89%

ConsoleMonster's Chris Taylor has published his review of Civilization: Revolution. Taylor applauds the game's efforts to guide new players through the eras and the easy interface. He does point out the capricious and unreliable nature of the AI, although it does provide players with a good challenge.

The matches themselves are never too long. The PC games always had matches that could last for hours upon hours upon hours, which turned some players off. Here, the matches can last quite a long time (I had one that last for around 3 hours), but there are different scenarios in which some gameplay elements are changed to make the game faster or slower. Civ Rev is not really a game where you can pick it up before going to work and having a quick match. It's one of those games where you need a good chunk of time off to really get settled and focused on the task at hand.

Complimenting the multiplayer aspect as well as the controls and graphics, the reviewer does note that the game suffers from some performance hiccups especially when advisors are on-screen or nukes are being launched. All in all though, Taylor recommends the game as something that will appeal even to non-strategy gamers, giving it a 89% score. Read the full review on ConsoleMonster.

[Locutus]

Gamestyle: Great Package

UK-based gaming site Gamestyle reviewed Civilization: Revolution, giving the game a 9 out of 10. Adam Gulliver explains:

Civilization is a rarity on the Xbox 360. For a start it’s a game that doesn’t involve murky colours, space marines and unnecessary cursing. But it’s also a turn based strategy title that’s been built from the ground up for consoles, so control wise it’s as perfect as a game in the genre can be.

The article mentions that war in the version of Civ is almost inevitable and comments that the Game of the Week feature is best left to hard-core Civers with a lot of free time. Overall Gulliver considers the game a great package that all console players should give a try.

[Locutus]

XBox360Achievements.org: A Bit Empty

XBox fansite XBox360Achievements posted their review of Civilization: Revolution by ways of Joe Robinson. He explains that the gameplay has been streamlined a lot, but that this comes at a price:

Whilst all of this goes a long way towards making the game more accessible to console players, it’s this very accessibility that appears to have nearly stripped the game of its heart and soul. Things like trade with other nations feel almost like afterthoughts, with limited options - the only thing you really can trade is technology. Diplomacy is virtually non existent, with no real depth. Whilst you can do some things with people you are friends with, eventually you’ll be at war with everyone because the AI doesn’t want you to win. Still, this game has an almost addictive quality to it, which is also a result of the scaling down.

Robinson laments the combat system's classic Spearman vs Tank issues and finds the differences between the unique civilization powers to be almost negligible, which he says hurts the longevity of the game as they're no incentive to play with all the different civs. This is aggrevated by the maps being too small and similar. Multiplayer however spices things up nicely, although that does suffer from the fact that games last too long.

In the end the reviewer concludes that while the game is fun in itself, it really suffers from its lack of complexity and variety. Without the PC version's depth the game feels a bit empty. Tated 85/100, you can read the full review here.

[Locutus]

VideoGamer: Refreshing Change of Pace

Wesley Yin-Poole of VideoGamer posted his review of the latest incarnation in the Civilization franchise, calling it a refreshing change of pace from XBox's usual line-up of first-person shooters. Pointing out that games last at least 90 minutes, the author finds that it's still very fast-paced:

But that doesn't prevent Civ Rev from being the quickest, most action packed Civilisation game ever. Because the world map is so small contact with other civilisations, whether they be controlled by the computer or real people, is almost instantaneous. The luxurious time afforded to early decisions in previous versions of the game has been stripped away for a more arcadey and streamlined experience.

Yin-Poole compliments the game's controls as well as the more streamlined gameplay, although he does note that the performance can be laggy, the camera controls are limited and the world is too small. He's also not happy about the cartooney graphics and the mumbo jumbo Telletubbies-esque speech of advisors and rival civilisation leaders. Overall, according to the reviewer the game is still very addictive though and something that every console player should give a try. Rating it 8 out of 10, you can read the full review on VideoGamer.com.

[Locutus]

CVG/XBox World: 8.5/10

British magazine XBox World 360 published their review of Civilization: Revolution, which can be accessed online through the CVG website. XBox World editor Nick Ellis likes the cheerful graphics, smooth controls and the automated workers that cut down on micromanagement. He does lament the lack of depth compared to the PC version but overall is quite happy with the game:

While far from as deep as the PC games, Revolution is a fine achievement, extremely accessible and great fun to play. With Halo Wars and World In Conflict to follow, perhaps this is the start of a new era for console strategy. How civilised.

Rated 8.5/10, you can read the full one-page review on CVG.