doctorfrog on 24/9/2010 at 20:06
I played the Civ V demo, and maybe I just wasn't in the mood, but it didn't grab me like I'd hoped. The polish of it, though, is fantastic, and the map is gorgeous. The whole bloody game is gorgeous. Civ 4 feels like Windows 95 by comparison.
I bought and played Civ 4 Complete a little over a year ago, so maybe I'm not tired enough of it yet, and as a full game with two expansions and tons of content, maybe Civ V feels a little flat by comparison. It feels ripe and ready for some good addons.
I'll be waiting for a "Gold" edition packaged with that first expansion pack.
(Then watch me recant a week from now.)
Stitch on 24/9/2010 at 21:06
Yeah, I don't really feel the need for a new Civ game, as I thought Civ 4 was damn close to perfect and I'm not really in a turn based strategy place lately.
but I'm well aware that I'll be a goner once I open up my heart to love
Mingan on 24/9/2010 at 21:53
Like some reviewers said, there are expansion-pack-sized holes in the game.
Renzatic on 24/9/2010 at 22:41
Quote Posted by Stitch
Yeah, I don't really feel the need for a new Civ game, as I thought Civ 4 was damn close to perfect and I'm not really in a turn based strategy place lately.
Damn close, but it lacked in one aspect Civ V excels in. COMBAT! Even if it doesn't make sense from the perspective (srsly only one army per 100 sq. miles and archers can fire from like 300 miles away those r teh rulz), the gamey changes end up making for much more interesting and entertaining battles.
I hated combat in Civ IV. The stacks of doom suck, and I'm glad they're dead. Now I can surround cities, blockade like a straight up motherfucker, and set up tactical formations. Back in Civ IV, I almost always ended up playing the peaceful negotiator. Now, I'm a flat out warlord who's a prick to all my friends and neighbors. And why? Cuz it's so much damn fun now.
Other than that though, Civ V is really just IV with a goofy UI and prettier graphics. Not that I can fault it for that. Like you said, Civ IV was about perfect. All Civ V does is address the one weakness the old games had, and tightens the screws on the rest.
These are my impressions from the demo anyway. I could get into the modern age and hate it...so...we'll see.
Stitch on 27/9/2010 at 15:11
Quote Posted by Renzatic
All Civ V does is address the one weakness the old games had, and tightens the screws on the rest.
I couldn't disagree more. I've spent about five hours now with Civ 5 and I'd argue that it's a completely different game that happens to exist in the same genre as its predecessors. The look and feel and overarching goals are carried over, yeah, but how it plays on a turn-to-turn basis is completely new.
This isn't a necessarily a bad thing, of course--Civ 4 pretty much perfected the series as it was, so a little reinvention makes sense. It's just difficult for me to judge Civ 5 on its own merits at this point as I've only had enough time to notice the new gameplay and basically suck at it.
Matthew on 27/9/2010 at 15:53
I would agree that there is a marked difference in the new game as to how it plays out - I've been impressed by the demo so I'll pick up the full version soon.
Just out of interest, would demo savegames be compatible with the full version?
Mingan on 28/9/2010 at 02:54
Right now, the only thing I would like to be able to do is being able to make a military unit pass through a city. With the new maintenance cost associated with roads/rails, you don't quite go road-happy everywhere, so you only have a road between each city. And then you try to move your units by road, only to realise you can't bloody move it through the city because of your posted defender, you have to go around it, wasting precious turns. Methinks it wouldn't be game-breaking to allow pass-thoughs, as long as you don't end up a turn stacked inside the ciy.
Matthew on 28/9/2010 at 09:06
Oh, I thought you could pass through any unit as long as you didn't end the turn in the same hex. Does that not apply to city hexes?
Ulukai on 29/9/2010 at 14:00
I've been trying to play the demo on minimum graphic settings and it runs like a two legged arthritic dog chained to an anchor.
Core 2 Duo E7600 (3.06 GHz), 4Gb RAM, 8800 GTS 320Mb.
Graphics card is getting on a bit but christ, I'd expect it to be playable.
Stitch on 29/9/2010 at 15:31
So far my review is this: if you want to tear shit up with your military, Civ V is your game. If not, stick to Civ IV.
