Sid Meier’s Civilization: Revolution (Xbox 360) Preview
Posted by John Curry on 06.23.2008
Give us your poor, your tired, and a next generation Civilization.
As a fan of the Civilization series, (it was included in my top 50 games of all time) I could not wait to see what Sid Meier did to his Civilization series to bring it into the next generation of game play. What I discovered based on the demo is a game I truly cannot wait for. The game is scheduled to be released on July 9th.
Gameplay
There isn't really anything to get into great detail about here. If you are familiar with the game controls of the original Civilization series, you will have absolutely no trouble figuring the game out. The premise is simple. Select your country/leader from the traditional groups of people including Caesar, Lincoln, Bismark and the rest of the original groups. Create Settlers, a military, culture and more in a quest to become the dominant country by achieving one of the major advancements first.
The one thing I do like about the new Xbox 360 version of the game is the ability to control all of your cities from one location on the game. The controls are simple and very easy to use and navigate. Again if you have played the original series you should have no transitioning to a next gen system.
Graphics and Sound
The graphics are really where you can see the improvements in the game. The game allows you to focus in on your country, the buildings, the battles and more. The other thing I enjoyed about this game's preview was the actual pop-ups of animated leaders and scientists and religious members with sound opposed to the traditional bubble pop up.
The sound is also a great improvement over the original game series. I actually enjoy the themed music that the countries have. Shaka of the Zula has drums, Alexander has a harp style. It's just great all around.
The 411
While Civilization is not for everyone, if you are a fan of the original series this game will please you in every way possible for a gamer. Mark July 9th on your calendar as you will definitely need to pick this game up for your Xbox 360. When the game is released, I'll be back for a full review of the game. Until then pick up the demo on the Xbox Live Marketplace and begin your sweet dreams waiting for this game.
