The civilizations collide (Civilization IV (PC))

Member Name: existtoinspire

Product:	Civilization IV (PC)
Date:	23/09/07 (115 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: graphics, multiplayer, soundtrack, civilizations

Disadvantages: takes some time and patience

Civilization 4 happens to be one of my all-time favourite strategy games. This game seems to be the closest to realistic city building and related activities. The game also have two pretty good expansions - Warlords and Beyond the Sword. There has already been lots of games related to empire building, like Caesar, Zeus, Pharaoh and Cleopatra, but none of them were as addictive as Civilization 4. This game seems to give the same importance to the combat aspects unlike the other games mentioned. This turn-based game can be termed as an all-round strategy game which has covered lots of aspects of various civilizations.

MINIMUM SYSTEM REQUIREMENTS
Operating System: Windows 2000/XP
Processor: 1.2 GHz Intel Pentium 4 or AMD Athlon processor or equivalent
Memory: 256 MB RAM (Windows 2000) / 512 MB RAM (Windows XP)
Hard Disk Space: 1.7 GB of Free uncompressed space
CD-ROM Drive: 4X Speed CD/DVD Drive
Video: DirectX 9.0c-compatible 64 MB video card with Hardware T&L support
GeForce 2/Radeon 7500 or better required
Sound: DirectX 9.0c-compatible sound card
DirectX: DirectX version 9.0c (included) or higher
Input: Keyboard and Mouse

GOING THROUGH THE CIVILIZATIONS
Civilization 4 leads the player through ages, from 4000 BC to 2050 AD or until one of the victory conditions is satisfied. These victory conditions can vary from defeating all the opponents to controlling a major part of the map as well the world population or by being the first to construct a space ship to colonize a distant star, or three of the player's cities having legendary culture ratings and ofcourse there is the United Nations election. If these victory conditions are not met even after the time gets over, the civilization with the maximum score will win the game even if its a close game.

The player will usually start with a Settler who builds a city. We have to make sure that the city is built on the right area, or it won't develop fast. The resources in the nearby tiles should be looked upon, and the Workers helps in increasing the yield in each of the tile by building farms, cottages, plantations, quarries, windmills, pastures, camps and more. There will also be Scouts who can be used to explore land faster, but they won't be able to conqer a city. Scouts will later be replaced Explorers.

Then comes the basic combat unit of all civilizations, the Warrior followed by the Archers. The Axemen and spearmen follows them and then will come the Rifleman, Infantry and also tanks, helicopters, fighter planes, bombers and also very powerful nuclear weapons. Each will depend on some resources, like bombers needing oil and also the airport so that they can land after each attacks. There will be large number of naval units to be created, starting from the fragile Workship and Galleys to Battleships, Carriers and even Submarines. Some of the units may be only available to some civilizations.

VARIETY OF CIVILIZATIONS
Coming to the civilizations, there are eighteen of them to choose from, each having their own advantages and disadvantages. The selection of leader also affects the game, as we have some of the most famous leaders in the history, like Julius Caesar, Alexander the Great, Asoka, Queen Isabella, Mahatma Gandhi, Genghis Khan, Montezuma, Augustus Caesar and more. The special units of civilizations vary like Phalanx for the Greece, Praetorian for Rome, Immortal for Arabs and Fast Worker for India. There seems to have been lots of research before making this game, as they have even got the various old and new city names accurate in the game.

There are also lots of technologies in the game, and by researching some of them, we can enter the next era or discover a religion, like researching Theology discovers Christiany while researching Divine Right discovers Islam. The main religions in the game will be Buddhism, Christianity, Hinduism, Islam, Judaism, Confucianism and Taoism, but religions like Roman and Greek mythology will be available in some scenarios. The city where the religion has been found out will be the holy city for that religion and we will be able to build a religious wonder there. Religion also plays a major role in diplomacy of the CPU as the players of your religion will like you more, and if you convert to their religion, they may admire you. We can not only convert to a religion, but also send missionaries to spread a religion in a city.

The selection of civics is another major part of the game as they can change the way you play due to the various differences each civic system can make. They can lead to low upkeep, happiness and also higher productivity in cities. These civic options are also related to the researches. Selling the researched the technologies is also a good option for making cash or just for earning the trust of opponents. Some opponents may not be friendly whatever we do, thus making it different in the case of every scenario and its settings. We can research a technology by building the Oracle or using a great person who appears at times in a city.

AN AMAZING EXERIENCE
The most interesting thing in the game may be the number of buildings which can be constructed. There are also some wonders like Hollywood, Statue of Liberty, The Broadway, Taj Mahal, The Pyramids, Eiffel Tower and more. The construction of a wonder can be time consuming which may leave your city useless until it is complete. The special resources in the game like iron, rice, uranium, ivory, stone, marble, oil etc also plays a mjor role in the game as some units needs it and some of them can speed up processes. Each city needs to be connected to eachother to make the most out of these resources, and for some extra resources we can always trade.

The game also got some great graphics as we zoom in to see the units from very close without any blurring and we can also zoom out a lot. The zoom out feature is very effective as we can zoom out to see the whole planet earth which gives us the feeling that we are in some upper layer of atmosphere. The game looks great right from the main menu itself and the music and sound effects are just too good. They have even detailed the world leaders well, even if they look a bit funny, may be done like that intentionallly.

Tha game also got a world builder which can be used to edit the map as we wish, and the game's multiplayer option means that this one can never be too boring. Even if the huge map can take lots of time to load in the less powerful systems, the loading time is worth it. If any one is looking a turn-based strategy game, this is the perfect choice. We can also get to know something about the ancient civilizations from these types of games :-)

THANKS FOR READING THE REVIEW :-)

Summary: This one may be the best city building game