Game Review: Sid Meier's Civilization V

Hello everyone, and on today's post I'll be touching on a game which I highly recommend all Strategy Gamers to pick up: Sid Meier's Civilization V! Although arguably albeit old already (Released in 2010, that's 5 years ago!), this game has been updated, with DLCs released in the past few years (both 2012 and 2013, Gods and Kings & Brave New World respectively) to expand and elaborate on the lore as well as gameplay elements, tweaking the game further and making it increasingly interesting to not just play, but also WATCH others play.

To say that this game isn't an epic and doesn't deserve a typical gamer's attention would be an outright lie, this game has many elements which make it stand out from al the other strategy games (think Starcraft, Age of Empires, Europa Univeralis). But this post isn't just to glorify the greatness which is CIV5, but to also explain WHY Strategy games in general are sometimes underrated by the average gamer like you and me, who refuse to give it a shot.

1) Replay Value 

Much like any other strategy game, RTSes in general bring about a fresh gameplay aspect in where EVERY game in and of itself is unique, the circumstances are different, the AIs you face up against in singleplayer campaigns are different, and the terrain and seed generation in every game is unique. Which means that NO two games are entirely similar. Decisions you make in CIV5, whether to declare war and attack a neighbouring city in an attempt to dominate the early game and shut down to late game, or to turtle your way to victory in the late-game by not interacting with other AIs in the early game have HUGE repercussions. One declaration of war or denouncement against an opponent mean huge ramifications in the long run if you do so decide to adopt a pacifist stance in the later stages of the game. Every decision is different, and that makes games unique.

2) Victory Conditions

Diplomatic Victory 

Cultural Victory

Domination Victory

Science Victory

Now onto the strengths of CIV 5. Other strategy games (most actually) feature ONLY domination and subjugation of your enemies through sheer force of numbers as a victory condition in the game. But CIV and the franchise which is CIV is different. Domination is but one of the possible win conditions. There are many other ways which you can choose to claim your spot in the world. Cultural, Science and Diplomatic Victories are some other ways in which a Civilization can attempt to win. This means that in a game of CIV, everybody is working towards differents ways to win, and not just by destorying your opponents completely. Cultural Victories for example, require you to increase your cultural influence with other cities and CIVs by increasing your tourism and overcoming the other opponent's culture in order to be influential to the point where you 'control' other states just by being such an economic and cultural powerhouse. This adds to the realism aspect of the game in the sense that in the real world, not all conflicts and not all world leaders were borne solely as a result of militray might and domination, which most other strategy games might have you think that way,

3) Realism

Well, that saves History teachers a lot of time explaining the rise and fall of Rome

I mentioned realism earlier in my second point, but why is realism such a big draw in CIV (And the franchise)? Basically we bring into the equation historical monuments and historical units, technologies and the such. This adds to the realism aspect of the game, and yet still injecting a sense of fantasy and imagination. Just think- you can control your civilization and their advancements through the basic ages where even Writing, Mining is unknown to your civilization and through the ages, progress to explore and discover technologies like refrigeration, radioes, ships, and even atomic theories. Although albiet simplified in the discovery process, the fact that there is this technological tree and milestones in terms of eras reinforces the idea of a History lesson, a much more interesting and engaging History class. Where else can you birth great people like Galileo, Mozart and Einstein all in one game? I'd say that's pushing the limits of human discoveries and uncovering (as well as teaching) kids and adults alike of the wonders and advancements which we as a human race have gone through. This serves as a constant reminder that games can be more than just one-dimensional, hack-and-shoot platforms.

4) Interactivity/Multi-player content

The main thing that sustains any game is always the Multi-player aspect of the game, whether be it Warcraft, Halo or CIV. Usually single-player, story-driven games are great, with immersive plots and great graphics. But the issue is- what of the game after you finish the Single-player story mode? Surely there HAS to be more than just the story. Sadly, not all games have a great multiplayer option (I'm looking at you Uncharted) and most of the time the games dies down in popularity due to the plot just being finished by most players, who move on to something else. But what gets player HOOKED is the multi-player, which CIV does not fail to deliver. Yes, there could be a better platform to engage and allow unknown people to match each other, but CIV is a great game to play if you have like-minded friends who love to participate in 5-6 hour drawn out games full of intrigue, fighting and discovery. Backstab your friends, make allies with them or choose to even tough it out solo against a group. CIV allows all that and YET does not compromise on the fun gameplay aspect of the game. One thing that leaves much to be desired, though, is the laggyness of the servers. Sometimes it just frustrates me to no end that the servers are not as well maintained as lets' say - DOTA2 for example. But sometimes that's just something you can't change. After all, it IS a pretty old game, and to be featured by me in the year 2015 when it was released a whole 5 years ago is pretty astonishing in and of itself!

5) Graphics

< BEYOND EARTH 

< CIV 5

Lets talk about something all 21st century gamers talk about- is the game pretty? Now, of course if you compare this game to lets' say-  the recently released Sid Meier's Civilization: Beyond Earth, then of course you are going to be disappointed with the graphics quality of this game. But if you think about it, in 2010 this game was honestly one of the best games in terms of graphics, especially are a strategy game. Comparing this game to current games, it still manages to hold up. But if you are playing a game like CIV for the graphics, I suggest you look someplace else. Maybe play something like Grand Theft Auto or Metal Gear Solid: The Phantom Pain. (That's another review for another day)

Moving on...

Things that I don't exactly like about CIV:

1) 'OH MY GOD' length of the game

The realization when you sank in over 4-5 hours and you're not close to winning....yet

Most of the time, you won't be winning in the first 200-300 turns or so, unless you choose to beeline for a domination victory and crush your enemies very quickly. Otherwise, if you are aiming for a late-game domination victory or other victories in particular, then you gotta wait for a good 500 turns or so before even standing a chance to win. This equates to roughly 5-6 hours of gameplay, or even MORE depending on how slowly the game progresses (how slowly your friends or AI chooses to play as well). This is compounded with the fact that if you play Multiplayer, you're going to have to wait for other players to select their units and techs, to move them, to queue production as well as to end their turn. This takes AGES sometimes, especially if your friends are attempting to trade, fight in wars and move units etc. This is literally the most frustrating part about the game. Having to wait for others. This problem isn't as evident when you play with the AI or in the early stages of the match, mainly because people simply have little/no units to move and items to select and choose from.

2) The lack of a dedicated matchmaking server accessible to all players

Unlike games like DOTA2 or Destiny, or in fact any other online multiplayer game, CIV in general lacks a matchmaking server, meaning to say there's no MMR/tiers of gamers and the extreme length of the games (mentioned in the previous paragraph) basically mean that it is difficult or close to impossible to go online and match with some random dude who will be willing to sink in 6-7 hours in an effort to complete the game in one sitting. I have never completed a CIV game in one sitting, just because it honestly takes a SHITLOAD of time just to complete one game, and you may not even end up winning (even on AI if you play harder difficulties). This, coupled with the steep learning curve this game has, with so many aspects of the game to juggle, from diplomacy to city growth, honestly having to finish ONE game of CIV really takes a whole lot of effort...from all parties if you are playing a multiplayer game especially.


To conclude...

Civ5 ( and all CIV games in fact) are great creations by Sid Meier and his company, the long playtime and steep learning curve aside, if you are into strategy gaming this is truly a masterpiece. Even if you aren't, I'd advise you to go grab it right now, G2A.com (click on the link to direct to the website) is selling CIV 5 the COMPLETE EDITION with all DLCs at about 11USD! A worthy buy even if you only play it once in a while. Do note if you do purchase from there, get the Steam version for GLOBAL, there are multiple servers which makes it tricky, don;t purchase a version which is region locked!

Comment on the section below on what you think about CIV games and Strategy games in general, and what YOU think is the future of strategy-based games (in the next 5-10 years). And until next time,

Endblade