Game Review: Civilization V

  I’ve decided that the time has indeed come that I review a game that has absorbed countless hours of my life. That game is the 2010 strategy classic, Sid Meier’s Civilization V. Civ V was developed by Firaxis Games the creators behind XCOM: Enemy Unknown and many other Sid Meier games. Despite the game’s age, it still stands strong as a fantastic example of an empire building game done right. For another note, I am reviewing this with all DLC thanks to an absolutely wonderful steam sale I encountered ages ago. So, without further delay let's dive into Civ V.

Civilization V

In Civilization V, you take control of a historically significant leader. With all the expansions of the game, there are 43 Civs, or Civilizations, you can take control of. Now there's no real story mode to speak of, Unless you play through different scenarios the game offers. In The American Civil War scenario you pick a side and fight an opponent trying to turn the tide in your favor, or perhaps The Fall of Rome scenario where it's the dawn of the dark ages and you play as one of three groups, The Eastern Empire in Constantinople, The Western Empire in Rome, or the barbarians trying to take down Rome. These scenarios are just examples of what the game has pre-generated and ready to go. However, the main game mode is what I find to be Civ V’s main draw. The single player game mode lets you set the parameters of the game, you decide what the victory conditions are, what kind of world the civilizations will populate, and even what era of technology everyone will begin with from the classical era to the distant future. For example when I play, I play typically on an accurate map of the world, but I randomise just about every civ in the game, except for the one I am playing because playing as Kamehameha I of Polynesia is just too much fun, and I start in the pre-classical era. This really does end up making every game different from the last.

Every civilization in in Civ V is different in a lot of different ways. Every leader has certain qualities to consider. These qualities determine what kind of special units they have, if they have any special buildings for their cities, and what their culture is strong at. For example, Oda Nobunaga of Japan has a passive bonus that allows all military units of Japan to fight at full strength even if they are damaged. Another example,is Casimir III of Poland having the unique heavy cavalry unit The Winged Hussars. Now, there are many ways to win the game and each Civ is predisposed to having an easier time achieving certain victory types. Domination, for example, requires you to have captured the capitals of all the other civilizations. For a  science victory,  you have to be the first to send a spaceship to another planet. A cultural victory requires that you win over the world's population with works of art or other creative means. The diplomatic victory requires you to manipulate and hold sway over the other Civs enough so that they elect you willingly as the leader of the world. The last victory condition is time, the game is set to run for a certain amount of time in the world and will end at a certain point if none of the other victories are met before then. Points are tallied and calculated by the game to determine who had the most successful Civ and by the end a winner is named.

I’ve had a huge amount of fun with this game and actually have played through every scenario the official game makers had to offer, as well as, countless other single player sessions. That being said, the game isn’t all just about single player experiences, It does offer a decent multiplayer experience.Now, Take this bit with a grain of salt as I have not played the online multiplayer, yes I know I am awful, but I have had some absolutely wonderful experiences with the hot seat games. Getting together a few friends and a couple of cold ones to play a game of world domination casually while just kind of hanging out is fantastic. There is another point with this game, This is a game that you can play in the background. I cannot say how many times I’ve fired up a game of civ and played while checking email, doing some writing, or even studying for exams back while I was in college. This game is a great choice when it comes to casually enjoying oneself while also handling one's responsibilities, and in a day and age like today where your attention is pulled in countless directions it is nice to have a small tool for self enjoyment.  

Now In final thoughts. I have to say that this is the absolute closest to a board game in a video game I’ve ever played. I would caution; this game is absolutely addictive. I have logged days into this game and I can say with certainty that it snuck up on me! Civ V is a must have for those who love strategy games, for those who love a good board game, and for those who have a passion for empire building. My overall rating of this game is a solid 9/10. Civilization V is available on the steam marketplace now. If you enjoyed this little review and would like to see more, stay tuned in. New articles post here on The Wanderer’s Corner every Saturday.