If you like the Civilization series, you will like this game. If you don’t like the Civilization series, you need to try this game. Civilization Revolution has been streamlined for the consoles but not necessarily simplified. It is still a Civilization game at its heart but there is not so much micro-management. Read on for the full scoop.

This game offers tons of fun for a little bit of work. it can seem tedious at times but I assure you it is great fun. Most of the games you play will only take you a few hours to complete but it is a lot of fun to play as the different leaders as they each have their own benefits. The Aztecs, for instance, automatically heal their units after a victorious battle. The Zulu tribe has a better chance of “overrunning” their opponent by only needing a 3:1 ratio of attack versus defense where all other nations need a 7:1 ratio for an overrun. I found this game very addictive and fun and I am still playing the heck out of it even after two weeks.

Overall: 9.2

Presentation: 10

Firaxis and 2K Games have done a wonderful job on putting together a Civ game for the consoles. For a console strategy game, it came out looking and feeling a lot better than I expected. The control scheme is simple and easy to understand.

Graphics: 9

The graphics in the game are very rich and detailed but they are not realistic. This game just goes to show that graphics can be done in a less realistic way but still look amazing. The cities change their building style with each era that you enter and the wonders are displayed as part of the city after being built. The character designs are well done and the animations interesting. Well, at least they are interesting the first few times you see them but they begin to get repetitive very quickly. Unlike Civ games for the PC, the world is always randomly generated so there are not preset worlds. In regular Civ games you can change the world to eliminate deep oceans or make it so every civ is on its own island but in this game it is completely random. The terraing is very well done as well with mountains and plains and rivers and forests and all kinds of other areas.

Sound: 8

There are sounds associated with almost every action in Civ Rev. Whether a boat is moving through the water or a plane flying through the air, there are great sounds to go along with it. The one minor gripe I have with the Civ games is that fact that there are no real voices in the game. All the characters talk in gibberish. The only lines of dialog in the game are found in the opening sequence of every new game. It can be amusing however to hear the mock languages though.

Gameplay: 9

For a Civ game, it is very simple but it is still deep enough to keep you glued to the TV for hours. Games take roughly 3-5 hours depending on how familiar you are with the game and how lucky or unlucky you are. Speaking of luck, I think that cards are stacked against you in this game. One thing that frustrates me is the fact that I could have a defense rating of 70 and the computer has an attack rating of 50 and I lose. I have yet to understand that and my PS3 controller has just about gone through the window a few times because of it. Even though it seems like 4 hours is a long time to play one game, I think you will find yourself getting addicted to it and not realizing how long you have been sitting there.

Replay Value: 10

This game is built on replayability. The game is always the same but yet it is different every time due to the randomly generated worlds. I have not tried the multiplayer aspect of it but it seems like it would be well balanced. There are no PSN Trophies associated with this game but it has an in game “trophy room” where it displays everything you have unlocked from wonders, to great peole, to all the different leaders you have played against and at what difficulty level you have won the game with each of them.

Tags: Reviews