XBOX 360 Game Review: Civilisation Revolution aka my final purchase from Woolworths

Game Details

• Title: Sid Meiers Civilization Revolution
• Developer: Firaxis Games
• Released (UK): 13/06/2008
• Typical Price (UK) : £20
• Age Rating: PG
• Game Type: Turn Based Strategy 
• Online Multiplayer: Up to 4 players

One Sentence Summary

An enjoyable turn based strategy game but lacking in customisation options

Game Overview

Graphics

I thought the graphics were adequate but unspectacular and there is obvious potential for graphical improvement in later games, however graphics are relatively unimportant in turn based strategy games

Sound

Again merely adequate, I also found it annoying how all the ingame characters spouted non sensical gibberish accompanied by text rather than having proper voice acting.

Gameplay

Turn based strategy and the game mechanics will be familiar to anyone who has played previous Civilisation titles

Learning Curve

I found that it was fairly easy to get to grips with the interface and learning how to play the game having previous played earlier Civilization games on the PC, and did not find the control pad to be too inferior to mouse and keyboard controls. If you have never played any of the Civilization games then it may take a bit longer.

Difficulty

There are several difficulty levels available so you should be able to tailor the game to your desired level of difficulty

Lifespan

Potential for a long lifespan given the dearth of turn based strategy games on the Xbox 360 and given it is a good game in itself, for me personally this will be a game I play occasionally when I want a change of pace or desire a game that requires some more thinking about.

Achievement Design

Overall I think the achievements for Civilization Revolution are well designed, with a wide range of difficulties present from very easy to achieve to more difficult challenges. 

Overall

I found Civilization Revolution to be a game that does what it does very well BUT to be lacking certain respects. Firstly on the positive side it translates the civilization game to the Xbox 360 very well and effectively with only a few minor flaws. Specifically not being able to have a build list for a city but being limited to one unit at a time, and not being able to set ALL your cities to concentrate on one thing e.g. growth, production, science etc. I also did not find the xbox 360 controller that much inferior to a keyboard and mouse. In my opinion the main flaw aside from relatively average if not poor graphics and sound is that you cant customise the map and number of civilizations at the beggining of the game but are always put into a game on a set size map with 5 random civilizations present where in versions of Civilization I have played on the PC, both of these things (and other factors) can be changed/selected. Despite these flaws I would still say that Civilization Revolutions is an enjoyable game and a good game in its own right.

Rating

4/5 – It is one of only a handful of turn based strategy games on the XBOX 360 and is a good game despite it flaws and would recommend it to anyone who is looking for a turn based strategy game for the Xbox 360.