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Civilization Revolution [Official Site]

Civilization Revolution [Official Site]

Trying to shoehorn an RTS like Command & Conquer onto a console is one thing, but Civilization? The fanciest bottle of good booze on PC strategy gaming's top shelf? It's an impossible task, some will say. Or one that even if it is possible, just shouldn't be done. Under any circumstances. Lest the ensuing offspring (see Civ II on the PS1) be such a crime of nature, such an abomination, that the good Lord himself descend from the heavens and strike down all involved in its creation.

That's what die-hard, myopic fans of the PC series will tell you, at any rate. And as one of those myself - having lost what must be thousands of hours to the series over the years – when a copy of Civilization Revolution for the PlayStation 3 turned up at my door, I greeted it with not just a signature, but a healthy dose of scepticism.

Loved:

It Works: Yes. Civilization on a console works. Nearly everything about the game – from controls to tech tree progression to unit and building production has seen radical changes (more on that to come), but at its heart, this is still Civilization. It still feels like Civilization, it still plays like Civilization.

Charm: This is a charming game. Not since the full-screen portraits of the very first Civilization has the game managed to present your opponents and advisors as actual, in-game characters as opposed to AI mouthpieces. Makes for a pleasant break from all the menu-clicking and world-gazing.

Streamlining: Many aspects of the game have been trimmed to work better on console, but turn out to be beneficial to the series as a whole. The tech tree and city building options have both been shrunk to more sensible, manageable sizes, while certain technologies and rewards are offered via in-game achievements (amassing a certain amount of gold, etc) instead of having to research/build them.

Controls/Menus: Wisely, 2K decided against simply mapping keyboard commands to the control pad. Instead, the game's menu and command system have been completely overhauled, and while it'll take a few hours for Civ veterans to come to grips with it, it suits the simplified, pared-down tone of the game well.

Hated:

Whoops: Some minor, yet necessary elements of the game seem to have been overlooked during the overhaul, such as the ability to auto-assign building orders in a city (meaning an endless crawl through build screens at the beginning of each turn towards the end of a game). Other parts seem downright wrong, particularly progression through the eras, which can have you entering modernity without having discovered the printing press.

Too Small: Concessions obviously had to be made considering the control scheme. One of the biggest is that the size of the world is locked. The map is tiny, and you only ever compete against five civilizations. Obviously this decision was made with the simpler control scheme (and console gaming habits) in mind, but at least some map customisation options would have been nice.

Too Fast: Because the map is so small, games are played out very quickly. Expect to play a full game in around 2-3 hours. It's great having that option, but I think a lot of people (and this goes back to "Too Small") would have preferred the option of a longer, more drawn-out experience.

Little Rough: Maybe the framerate's better on 360, but the PS3 version I played often slows to a crawl, something I would not expect of a game that looks worse than Civ IV (a game from 2005). As such, some of the most important parts of the game – like navigating the camera around the globe – are a lot slower than it should be.

Successfully porting the Civilization experience from the PC to consoles was always going to be an exercise in compromise. The entire package was never going to make the jump, so Firaxis' development has basically boiled down to the unenviable task of deciding which parts of the PC game got to stay, and which parts of the game had to either be modified or be thrown out entirely.

For the most part, they've made the right calls. Sure, the game can be too short, and too small, and in some cases a little rough, but what Firaxis needed to do if this game was to ultimately succeed was take that core Civilization experience – the discovery, the advancement, the combat, the diplomacy – and ensure that even a streamlined version of the game still had you up at 3 in the morning, telling yourself you'll just have "one more turn". Which it does.

Civilization Revolution was developed by Firaxis, published by 2K. Available on July 8 on PlayStation 3 (version played), Xbox 360, Nintendo DS. Played 5 single player games to completion (one on each difficulty). Unable to test multiplayer due to connection issues/lack of players.

Civ Revolution demo upends XBLA, PSN [GameSpot]

The first thing I noticed is the graphical overhaul the entire game has gone through in it's trip from PC to home console. Armies are no longer small collections of little dots, but now are fully fleshed out characters that actually engage enemies in animated battles. It sounds like a small thing but is actually a huge improvement and really draws you into the game a bit more. The closer camera angles help with this as well. Also completely revamped are the character models for all the various nation's leaders and advisers. They are much more detailed and while they are still technically rather cartoony, they still seem much more realistic than the ones in previous games of the series.

We launched right away into a multiplayer game against Wired's Chris Kholer. Now before you go skipping all the way to the end just to see if I kicked his butt, no I did not. Nor did he kick mine. Unfortunately we did not have the forty five minutes to an hour it takes to play a full vs game, but we got enough in to get a feeling for it. There are three different multi-player modes in the game: Free For All, Head to Head and Teams. We played the head to head version but I am sure the other modes play similarly in their basic play.

There are sixteen different civilizations to choose from at the top of the game, each civ having it's strengths and weaknesses. An interesting addition to this version of the game is the ability to apply an handicap to your team. So if you are a new player going up against a more experienced one, you can choose from one of four different levels of handicap that will speed up your building and production speeds and the like. Of course choosing to handicap will stick you with one of the impressive list of names for the handicaps: Noobish, Noobasauraus, Noobatronic or Noobalicious.

Once the game started I could tell it was moving at a faster pace than previous titles. According to the developers, this is the best multiplayer functionality yet seen in a Civilization game. The controls and functions from the PC version have all been retrofitted to suit the controllers for the PS3 and Xbox 360. (The version I saw was the 360) The controls were comfortable and intuitive and within a few turns I was playing pretty smoothly. Civilization is kind of like riding a bike, once you find your balance your gliding along like you've been playing your whole life. I started off by building a couple cities and then sending my men out to start exploring the land. Several turns later I had acquired enough units to create an army. The armies area is a great addition since you essentially combine any three matching units together and you instantly have a nine person force. The is great for those ground skirmishes where you get to steal land from lowly barbarians. The game is still turn based and you have to wait for your opponent to finish his move before you can start yours. This can be boring at times, but it does afford you a little time to try and think ahead about your next move. The battle animations are done using the Havok engine and it was cool to watch the little guys fall off a mountain or die face down in the ocean. I did manage to get in a scuffle with the fine Mr. Kholer's army but in the time allotted I only managed to steal his camels. Not a great prize, but I enjoyed my feeling of accomplishment.

Before leaving, I got to check out a little of the DS version of the game albeit briefly. The handheld version is almost an exact replication of the console game with the exception of the graphics which of course had to changed to accommodate the DS screens and resolution. The controls and gameplay however are exactly the same. The developers explained that they didn't want to present a stripped down version just because it was on a handheld. From what I could tell in the short amount of time I had with it, they did an admirable job.

I enjoyed my time with Civilization Revolution and will definitely be picking up a copy when it comes out on June 3rd. It has made the jump from PC to console nicely and the graphical improvements will make it an interesting play for long time Civ players. For new players just getting interested in the title or those who just don't care for PC gaming, it will be a great introduction into the city building, wonder erecting, micromanaging world of Civilization.

I enjoy the idea of doing something I haven't done before, so a MMO would fit perfectly, but I really can't say if that would be the next game we do or if it's still a couple of games down the road before we come to that. Because I have new single player games I want to do, as well.

2K Games and 2K Sports Showcase Strong Video Game Line-up at Games Convention 2007

Hotly-anticipated titles such as Sid Meier's Civilization® Revolution™ and NBA® 2K8 will be on display at Games Convention 2007

NEW YORK—(BUSINESS WIRE)—2K Games and 2K Sports, publishing labels of Take-Two Interactive Software, Inc. (NASDAQ: TTWO), today announced an exciting line-up for Games Convention 2007 in Leipzig, Germany. The 2K Games line-up features several of next year's most anticipated titles including Sid Meier's Civilization® Revolution™, the first console installment in the legendary Civilization® franchise, and Borderlands™ from legendary developer Gearbox Software. Games Convention 2007 also marks the premiere of 2K Sports' latest installments in the top-rated sports games franchises, NBA® 2K8 and Top Spin 3.

In addition to the stellar line-up, two new and unannounced games from established and popular brands will be revealed for the first time at Games Convention 2007.

2K Games' Line-up Includes:

Borderlands™

Borderlands is the new franchise from award-winning developer Gearbox Software that will raise the bar for sci-fi action. Blending frenetic action with character customization and randomly generated items and enemies, Borderlands offers an entirely new gaming experience.

Developer: Gearbox Software

Platforms: Xbox 360™ video game and entertainment system from Microsoft, PLAYSTATION®3 computer entertainment system, and Games for Windows

Available: Holiday 2008

Sid Meier's Civilization® Revolution™

Sid Meier's Civilization Revolution is the first offering in the legendary Civilization® series to appear exclusively on consoles and handheld systems. Developed by legendary designer Sid Meier and Firaxis Games™, this game will deliver revolutionary features like real-time interaction between leaders, multi-player capabilities and integrated video and voice chat, which completely transports the Civilization series to a level of gameplay that fans have never experienced before.

Developer: Firaxis Games, a 2K studio

Platform: Xbox 360™ video game and entertainment system from Microsoft and PLAYSTATION®3 computer entertainment system, Wii™ home video game system from Nintendo, and the Nintendo DS™

Available: Spring 2008 (Fall 2008 for the Wii)

2K Sports' Line-up Includes:

Top Spin 3

Top Spin 3 is the most realistic tennis simulation series ever. Featuring 20 of the top-ranked tennis pros from the ATP and WTA, a new ball physics engine offering improved precision and realism, the most comprehensive online play modes, and the return of the improved Player Creator feature, Top Spin 3 is the pinnacle of the tennis simulation games.

Developer: PAM Development, a 2K studio

Platforms: Xbox 360™ video game and entertainment system from Microsoft and PLAYSTATION®3 computer entertainment system

Available: Spring 2008

NBA® 2K8

Voted best current and next generation NBA hoops franchise by both press and gamers, NBA 2K8 will continue its legacy of basketball excellence. Featuring exciting all-new play modes, defensive controls, off-ball controls, an improved franchise mode and an impressive set of other updated features, NBA 2K8 is poised for another run as the #1 rated NBA simulation.

Developer: Visual Concepts, a 2K studio

Platforms: Xbox 360™ video game and entertainment system from Microsoft, and PLAYSTATION®3 and PlayStation®2 computer entertainment systems

Available: Fall 2007

NHL® 2K8

NHL 2K8 reigns supreme as the category leader in innovation, design and critical acclaim with five straight years as the #1 rated* NHL video game. In addition to intensely realistic gameplay, all new player models, and spectacular graphics, NHL 2K8 will feature an unprecedented level of player customization with accurate body styles for each marquee player, providing the most authentic representation of your favorite NHL stars.

Developer: Visual Concepts/Kush Games, 2K studios

Platforms: Xbox 360™ video game and entertainment system from Microsoft, and PLAYSTATION®3 and PlayStation®2computer entertainment systems

Available: September 2007

For more information, please visit www.2Kgames.com and www.2Ksports.com