In a groundbreaking move, Firaxis’ renowned franchise, Civilization, makes its comeback with Sid Meier’s Civilization VII. For the very first time, this game is being launched concurrently on all platforms, marking its debut on the PlayStation 5 as well.
For those unfamiliar, Civilization, often abbreviated as Civ, represents a classic strategy game series that embodies the 4X (Explore, Expand, Exploit, Exterminate) genre. The goal is to guide your civilization through history, starting from prehistoric times and progressing to modern days, where you compete against AI opponents. Your aim is to achieve victory by excelling in one of three areas: scientific advancement, cultural influence, or military strength.
To evaluate the newest installment of this long-standing series effectively, one cannot avoid drawing frequent comparisons to its previous versions. The most significant and noticeable transformation lies in the introduction of the ‘Ages’ system.
Instead of playing a single faction in Civilization games up until now, which spans from 4000BC to the future, Civilization VII is separated into three unique periods. These are the Antiquity Era (comprising the Bronze Age and Iron Age), the Exploration Era (encompassing the Medieval and Renaissance periods), and the Modern Era (beginning with the Industrial Revolution).
In this game, you’ll find yourself leading a different civilization that thrived during each era. This means your faction evolves throughout the game. Each era offers optional goals to help you reach victory, and you can pick one, multiple, or none at all. This flexibility lets you modify your strategy as the game progresses. Towards the end of the first two eras, a crisis occurs, causing increasing economic instability until the age ends, and your current civilization is reborn as a new faction.
As a gamer, my choice of character for the next round is influenced by my current leader and the accomplishments I’ve made within the game. In the new ages, key elements such as cities and wonders remain, but certain buildings become outdated and can be replaced with more advanced versions. Performing well in earlier ages grants you advantages, known as legacy bonuses, that carry over into the next age. This experience feels like playing three distinct games sequentially, each building upon the last.
Indeed, although this change certainly adds a fresh perspective, it’s quite a significant adjustment to the series’ foundation that has sparked debate among dedicated fans.
One significant alteration is that leaders are no longer confined to leading a single civilization. Your chosen leader remains with you throughout the game, and you can blend their distinct talents with those of the civilizations you decide to play in each era, ensuring each playthrough is unique. Moreover, after each game, your leader gains levels, granting them additional minor abilities, making subsequent games more engaging.
In simpler terms, some of the game leader selections are unconventional and not based on historical facts. When combined with the disputed character swapping feature, it can result in scenarios where Benjamin Franklin leads the Mayans, Mongols, then Germany. Such a sequence might be too jarring for purists who prefer historical accuracy.
Here’s another way of putting it: In this adjustment, only your capital begins as a city. All other settlements start out as towns. As these towns grow and expand, they can be tailored to suit the surrounding terrain. Upgrading towns into cities is an option, but it may not always be the most advantageous choice, providing a pleasant balance between ‘stacking up’ and ‘spreading out’ strategies.
As a devoted strategy enthusiast, I’m thrilled about the upgrades in warfare! The latest army commander units allow for an amazing feature where you can cluster up to eight units of your preference onto a single tile and traverse the battlefield together. When it comes to engaging in combat, you can revert back to the one unit per tile style from Civilization VI by strategically deploying them as needed. It’s also convenient that reinforcements can be swiftly dispatched to the frontlines from friendly cities with just a button press, eliminating the tedious movement micromanagement often associated with prolonged military campaigns.
Diplomatic interactions have undergone a significant transformation, introducing a fresh currency system. This system enables you to make offers and reject proposals to your competitors, as well as manage relationships with barbarian tribes and city-states. Keep in mind that resources are limited, so you’ll need to use them strategically.
In this series, the addition of navigable rivers – a feature long sought by players – significantly enhances the roles of naval units. Now, during gameplay, these units can venture far beyond your borders, offering expanded exploration opportunities in the age of discovery.
Instead of directly comparing vanilla Civilization VII to its previous versions, which have numerous expansions and additional content, it’s more reasonable to evaluate each game on their own merits. As such, certain aspects like the World Congress are understandably absent in this initial release, but may be included in future expansion packs. Additionally, the selection of map types could use some improvement as the current options don’t always create particularly engaging worlds.
In this game, there isn’t a map of Earth, which means fans of authentic starting location games may be disappointed. Additionally, it lacks some user-friendly features like re-rolling the map if you don’t prefer your initial position. What’s more, once the game is over, there’s no option for ‘one more turn’, which seems unjust!
For enthusiasts of multiplayer games, take note: while the game offers cross-play, it’s quite minimalistic in terms of features, lacking team play or hot-seat modes.
What’s surprising, though, is that the third era depicted in this game ends around mid-20th century, meaning advanced units like helicopters and stealth bombers are nowhere to be found. Recent findings suggest that the ‘Atomic Age’, which seems to have been cut content, might be offered as paid DLC later on. Adding to the frustration is the fact that DLC is already available just three weeks after the game’s launch, and only if you didn’t opt for the pricier versions of the game. As a result, some players are understandably upset, feeling they’re buying an incompletely released product.
The graphics of these games are stunningly beautiful, blending the realistic aesthetics of Civilization V with the more playful, cartoonish style of Civilization VI. There’s a wealth of intricate details to appreciate, like watching mechanics repair a tank or a scout perched on a lookout tower. The combat is also well-executed. Cities grow naturally, with each structure appearing on the map as you construct them, although this can sometimes result in excessive detail that makes it hard to discern what’s in each square without zooming in closely or using tooltips.
In this new iteration, composer Christopher Tin contributes outstanding music to the game’s main melody titled “Live Gloriously.” Each civilization has a unique theme that envelops you in the culture you represent. Gwendoline Christie delivers an exceptional narration performance and is added to the prestigious ‘Civ Narrator Hall of Fame,’ alongside Sean Bean and Leonard Nemoy.
The primary challenge with this game at present lies in its user interface (UI). While the radial menu generally functions smoothly, navigating through it to access crucial information about your empire can be problematic. For instance, understanding why specific yields are being received by certain cities, or gaining a comprehensive view of the current situation, can prove challenging.
As the game progresses, it may feel as if events are slipping beyond your grasp, occurring for reasons that remain unclear. The icons above units and cities appear minuscule, necessitating either zooming in or relying on tooltips. Crucial unit commands are tucked away in sub-menus, while the interface, dominated by shades of grey, can make it difficult to discern what’s selected. Often, you may accidentally select the wrong option due to the subtle dim glow effect used to highlight selections, making it challenging to see what has been chosen.
In a console game of this genre, the controls might not be top-notch, occasionally feeling somewhat slow. Adding the occasional UI glitches, it can sometimes make the gameplay feel tedious. However, with practice, you’ll get quicker. On the positive side, performance appears solid and offers swift load times, particularly in the early stages of the game.
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2025-02-17 21:37