The perfect game for anyone unfamiliar with the franchise to start from.
With Civilization Revolution (Civ Rev), 2K Games now sets their target at an even more arcade audience by scratching most of the dull and dreary decisions. With this they hope to keep up the fastest pace possible when it comes to creating an entire civilization and conquering the world in 6000 years or less. This more casual title also makes the franchise more accessible to handhelds and thus it celebrates its first portable title on Nintendo DS. And while graphics are a step down from the impressive last 2 iterations, this game has never been about powerful graphics, but powerful gameplay, backed up with an incredible soundtrack. At the very least, Civ Rev still looks and feels like Civilization II, which was a milestone in gaming history. I wouldn't call that bad particularly.
Most of the game mechanics are similar to other installments: You build your cities throughout the globe and from there on the possibilities are virtually endless! Whether you choose to be a scientific pioneer or a military tyrant or overpower others through pure cultural force; every decision sets forth a chain reaction of different tactics. As you can only build one item in your city at the time, this will also keep your head in the game every step of the way, to keep you one step ahead of the enemy at hand. This also creates Civilization's famous "one more turn" effect, where you're so sucked into a game and you just keep playing until your hands drop off.
Where Civ Rev differs from the core, is that instead of a billion possibilities, everything is cut down to size and sped up to create space for all that action everyone loves. There are only a handful of units to build left; building and growing takes considerably less time and the world is shrunk for accessibility. This way you'll always have a foe to topple or one breathing doom in the back of your neck. Before you'll realize it, the ancient times of yore will have rushed you by and you'll have a handful of cities and units in mid-game. It's a lot less decisive than other games, but it does focus you on the 'good' parts a lot more. You don't want to spend time trying to come up with the best tactic to conquer the world in a huge complex scheme anyway; you want to be boots deep in Julius Caesar's extremity now!
Also, a lot of the interface has been cleaned up to offer a more detailed view than ever was before. By optimizing the use of the two screens, you can view and handle the world map or city screen on one end and view all needed statistics in the upper screen. You can even adjust the amount of options you wish to view if you really like to keep it clean. In all, the spacious feel only amplifies the focus on overview to upkeep the fast pace, paired with a structural view. This creates more room for the action part of the game and that means there are people to conquer!
The combat is a bit simpler, but still retains its statistic prowess from other games. In turn-based fashion you pit 2 units against each other with set attack and defense points. After modifiers are applied due to environment, such as a forest cover or a fortified unit, your total scores are tallied and your armies fight to the death. A handy new feature in Civ Rev now makes it available for you to retreat from a fubar battle, at a hefty price of enemy experience. But this again makes the game just a tad simpler, if ever so slightly. A bigger issue is that the simple graphics make battles look too endearing to really give you a kick, even if winning is still as satisfying as it has ever been. Also, like most Civilization games, this mechanic pushes the limits of the system, which is good, but also results in occasional glitches messing up your gameplay. But in general, fighting is one of the most awesome things you can do in Civ Rev and there will be lots of it and it will come in high succession of each other; it's fast-paced, turn-based glory!
Another small new implementation is the discovery of artifacts scattered throughout the globe. These will offer you sizable rewards for finding them to further increase your advantage towards other empires.
All these small aids ultimately bundle up to a lot of help. And that will sometimes keep experienced players lusting for more. There's a ton of possibilities and settings to be played in Civ Rev; from 5 difficulties to different challenges and a lot of different civilizations, each with their own advantages. But only the very toughest of challenge will suddenly spike the difficulty curve up enough for Civilization veterans to break a sweat. Newcomers and less hardcore players needn't worry and even advanced players have plenty to go on, but you can't help but feel that the downsizing did also downsize the grandeur of other Civilization games. Luckily, this is only applicable as a Civilization fanatic and once you push that button off, you'll find yourself immersed into this iteration as with all prior games.
That's really the strength that makes Civilization sparkle in each game it offers. Even on a small device such as DS, it creates such an atmosphere of immersion that the "one more turn" effect swoops down on you to keep you lured in for hours on end. Once you've conquered your first game with one empire, you'll immediately return to change things up. Perhaps this time you'll bring the Greek realm to glory with its historical philosophers or your Zulu nation will sweep away all of the world with its cultural rich environment; you'll try and do it all!
The thing that keeps it fun is that one Civilization game is never the same as the one before. There's a virtually endless amount of possibilities you can choose from, which translates itself into a virtually endless game. There aren't a lot of games that can boast that amount of quality time, but Civilization Revolution delivers! It's the perfect game for anyone unfamiliar with the franchise to start from and offers enough to keep experienced players interested. Get your copy today and feel like the king of the world!