Sid Meier's Civilization Revolution
Score: 75% ESRB: Everyone Publisher: 2K Games Developer: Firaxis Media: Download/1 Players: 1 Genre: Turn-Based Strategy
Graphics & Sound: In a world where game franchises have their ups and downs, Sid Meier's venerable Civilization series hasn't seen many downs. While the nature of the game has remained the same throughout the franchise's lifespan, it has gone through a number of facelifts to adapt to the current technology. Last year's Civilization Revolution provided console gamers with a streamlined (not to be confused with dumbed-down) version of the classic 4X strategy game. As the technology progresses forward, so too must the game. Sid Meier's Civilization Revolution has finally made its way to Apple's iPhone, and the results are mixed. Nothing has been butchered beyond recognition, but there is one serious flaw that manages to cripple what could have been an amazing port. The Civilization series has always prided itself on the depth of the gameplay, not visual fidelity. The iPhone port of Civ Rev reflects these priorities, but it retains much of what made the console versions so charming in the first place. The most unfortunate problem with the visuals brings the game down several notches: the interface is simply too cluttered for the iPhone. More on that later. Civ Rev sounds almost identical to what you hear when playing the console versions of the game, save for the differences between whatever ultimate entertainment system you have and the rather tinny-sounding iPhone speakers. If there's one major plus in the audio department, it's that the advisors are almost completely silent. In the console version, the obnoxious gibberish could probably drive someone to swallow his own tongue.
Gameplay: Sid Meier's Civilization Revolution places you in control of a civilization of your choosing and charges you with the task of making yours the best on Earth. This game makes use of the classic 4X spread, which encourages you to explore, expand, exploit, and exterminate. There are four types of victory in Civ Rev, and they can be earned by accruing enough wealth, becoming the world's culture capital, launching your civilization to Alpha Centauri, or participating in some good old-fashioned ethnic cleansing. If any of what I just said makes this game sound simple, know that I've only scratched at the tip of the iceberg. There are plenty of obstacles between you and victory, and the most obvious one is time. You'll have a tech tree (albeit a much smaller one than in the PC games) to work through, and all of your actions take centuries to complete. Civ Rev doesn't limit play modes to the standard "build it from the ground up" mode. There are some specially-designed scenarios that force you to play by a special set of rules. You could be given a bonus ability, or you could start a game to find out that one of your standard abilities has been nerfed. Regardless, it makes you think outside the box, and that's definitely a good thing.
Difficulty: Sid Meier's Civilization Revolution features a variable difficulty level that is identical to its console brethren. Beginners can start out on Chieftain and steamroll the entire world, or more experienced players can try their hand at Deity, which requires serious leadership skills. These difficulty levels dictate how brutal and cunning your opponents are. Playing on a higher difficulty level will help you to become a better player -- if you can figure out exactly what the computer is doing when it's stomping your civilization into the ground. Civ Rev for the iPhone follows a tradition that the Civilization franchise is famous/notorious for: it is addictive. You'll want to play it on the go, especially if it's the only version of the game you have. Even though the game's got a number of crippling quirks, it's by no means boring.
Game Mechanics: When it comes to iPhone games, most of them make use of tilt mechanics and touchscreen controls. Sid Meier's Civilization Revolution needs no silly gyroscopes, so everything is controlled via the touchscreen. Most of it works exactly like it should; tapping a unit will cause a number of option icons to branch away from the unit, each with an illustration that aptly describes the action you will perform by touching the icon. If you want to move a unit, simply drag your finger from the unit to the tile you want to move it to. The whole thing isn't too hard to get used to, but the big problem is that these icons are simply littered all over the screen. The over-cluttered interface makes it way too easy to accidentally give the wrong kinds of orders. The city management screen is by far the worst offender, and since it's one of the most important tools in the game, the whole experience suffers quite a bit as a result. If you are a next-gen console owner, it's hard for me to recommend the iPhone port of Sid Meier's Civilization Revolution to you. It's by far the weakest version of the game, and it's unfortunately the weakest installment I've played in the franchise. However, if you don't own any home consoles and want to try your hand at global domination, go ahead and give it a shot. Just know that it might require a bit of patience.
-FenixDown, GameVortex Communications AKA Jon Carlos
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