Civilisation: Beyond Earth - The potential next big flop?

Since consoles can't catch a break with a legion of poor games this year, will Civ: BE be the first big flop for hermits in a while? taking a big risk by going against its loveable ties with history? into a new theme and gameplay to match. could it be the first big miss?

Will its charm disappear? or is there evidence to suggest it's going to be a fantastic new direction in its own right?

This is actually a genuine question from me, since I'm finding it hard to get hyped! HYPE ME UP BROTHERS!

Depends on how realistic our expectations are.

But I could very much see it being a blunder, it looks like a dumbed down alpha centauri. And I genuinely doubt they can achieve the philosophical depth that game had. Civilization 5 was a mess at launch as well.

The potential for a big flop definitely is there. These games almost always get scored higher than they deserve at launch for some reason, though. I think Civ 5 deserves a solid 9 today after the patches and expansions, but at launch, I wouldn't have scored it higher than a 5 or maybe a 6.

GS doesn't really seem to like strategy games that much. It's an AAA hype for me but I've a fairly strong feeling GS will AA it.

Nah, its Civilization, and Civilization is amazing.

Alpha Centauri was a cool fucking game and this is basically a sequel to that type of game, but under the Civ umbrella.

Civ has been legit for how long?

Firaxis in general has been actual legit for how long?

If by flop you mean 8/10? Eh, yeah totally could happen. Straight up work of lameness like Destiny or Driveclub? Nah, an actual good developer is making the game.

Civilization don't flop.

its a re-skinned civ 5. kind of hard for it to flop if you like civ games.

"Civilization"

Name me the worst Civ game, please.

Well I can't see it being very good, but a flop? Idk

Revolutions, I know it scored well here, but that game was ****ing awful.

b-bu but bungie no good developer??

Nah,big flops are exclusive to the PS4.

already damage controlling another great/amazing PC game. The gap widens.

@blue_hazy_basic: Wasn't their primary strategy reviewer maxwell was sacked? Now only freelancers review most of the tbs and rts games.

If Firaxis can make a game with network play that does not crap out after 300 turns on a huge map it will be good.

Point for you. I forgot that game even existed. Though I wouldn't count that among the Civ games.

But yeah, GameSpot did enjoy it.

I think Project Cars will the next big flop.

its not gonna flop... but for me anyways, it won't be as good as a typical civilization game, cause i always like starting from the beginning of time to modern times and eventually taking over earth. Beyond Earth will be a lot different since you don't even play as a nation... and you only have i think 4 different factions to choose from so thats much different then a normal civ game. With any luck though this game may be something different that'll be a nice change to the normal civ games.

I'm not sure why console fanboys want this to flop, they jealous no good civilization games ever made it to consoles?

It would be the biggest shock ever because civ games don't flop. Can't think of one that scored lower than an 8 off the top of my head

I look at this game as a sequel to Alpha Centauri so I have high hopes for it being great. Going by how much fun the last CIV games where, I dont have much doubt that Beyond Earth will be equally good.

Play the World expansion for Civ III wasn't very fondly reviewed, but I can't think of anything for any main games.

Civilization 4: Colonization was pretty good if memory serves. If the gameplay footage is anything to go by, this game looks like it will be just as good if not better.

that was the first one i played that got me into the series :(

I could see the game not getting a 9 on Gamespot, but being that it's made by Sid Meier, Firaxis, and is a Civilization game...

If history serves me correctly, this game will be one of the best games of this gen.

while i agree it didnt deserve a 9 at launch a 5 is a bit harsh. For me it was more of a 7 at launch ( good game but alot was missing ) but nowdays is definitely a 9. I only hope we wont have to wait a year for Civ BE to become substantially better

I haven't played Civ games yet but reading this makes me think how similar Total War and Civ series are in that respect.

Maybe it is unfair to compare the game at launch to Civ 4 + expansions, but it was just such a huge step back. The list of playable Civs was small and winning wars was just ridiculously easy due to the poor AI. I played through a campaign and went back to Civ 4 until Gods and Kings released. I still think 4 is the better game, but 5 is a terrific game for what it is at this point. I am mostly going off of memory, and time has a way of distorting things, but I really don't think I would have scored Civ 5 higher than a 6 and probably would have given it a 5 at launch. It just was not a good strategy game at that point.

Yeah, a lot of strategy games are either buggy or in need of gameplay tweaks at launch. Paradox games, the Civ series, and Total War come to mind. These games almost always end up being fantastic, but sometimes get lackluster reviews at launch for good reason.

Nooblar

:P

It's not new territory. They made Alpha Centauri some 15 years ago, and that game was fucking awesome.

This is a spiritual successor, since EA owns the Alpha Centauri name

Looks like they've played around with the old formula a bit more than they did with Civ. 5, the only major shake up there was no more 'stacks of death'.

• They've changed the tech tree, so your unlikely to research everything in a single play through, in my view this is a good thing that'll add interest over multiple games.
• Aliens seem to be a lot more dynamic than barbarians which is another good change. Of course there are the city killers as well, we'll need to see just how dangerous those beasties are.
• The extra satellite layer will mix things up a bit. Offensively, defensively and production/environment, all good.
• A.I. factions that change how they develop in different plays and aren't as regulated as classic civ's are.

That's just the major points that I'm aware of from the top of my head, I'm sure there's plenty more that I've missed. In the end, it'll all come down to the reviewer and if they like it or not and not if the game is good and plays well, is balanced and not bugged to hell and back. (That seems to be the fashion with GS freelance reviewers these days)

No doubt we'll end up with someone who only ever plays FPS and TPS with a controller, has never gone near a real TBS game in their life and will mark it down for being too complicated!

Champ knows.

Hmmm this makes me more optimistic overall, got nothing more to add! 8-9 territory probably, could be alot worse!

Champ knows all!

Truest thing you ever said speedfreak.

Gotta put this moment on your fridge my dude.

Depends on people's expectations. For me it would seem that it's basically Civ V with a different theme and a few balance changes here and there, so I wouldn't expect much more.

For me the next possible major flop could be PCars.

nah. i doubt they could screw up a strategy game. They're pros.

Havent seen much, because watching a preview of a Turn Based Grand Strategy game is hella boring.

But I did catch how things unfold and the Tech tree looks nice. But I've already got my Grand Strategy fix with Endless Legend (It's really great) if Civ: BE doesnt turn out well.

Not really. Alpha Centauri had a very similar theme.

Has Sid Meier's ever received a great deal of hype? The games never seem to disappoint critically. According to MetaCritic, Civilization III caries a 90/100, Civilization IV a 94/100, Civilization V a 90/100, Civilization Revolutions a 85/100... I imagine this game will do well.

I'm not particularly appealed by the concept they're putting in the game, however I trust they know what they're doing. Not a day one buy, but will definitely look into it when the reviews hit.

I think itll be fine as long as it has enough content and ways to play. That was the big issue with vanilla Civ5. But, now it has even surpassed 4. Beyond Earth has a number of major changes. The biggest in my mind being the tech tree which is no longer linear. Looks intimidating.


Also, as far as Ive seen this game isnt being hyped on SW, so it cant really flop.

I think it'll be a success.

So, how's that 72 on MC FlopClub going?