For those who still haven’t heard about Civilization or don't understand what the fuss is all about, the game can shortly be described as: "A turn-based strategy game where you as a leader are responsible for the creation and evolution of an entire civilization." For those who DO know what the fuss is all about, you already know that the game is much more complex than that.

One of the key elements of success for the Civilization series has always been the longevity of the game. No matter how many times you've played, every game turns out different. All the choices you make, and all the goals set forth to accomplish for yourself results in a unique experience every session. While it's hard to judge whenever this is still intact with Civ4 after just a couple of days playing it, I do however see no reason that this key element have changed at all.

And of course, there's the famous 'Just ONE more turn' phrase. Civilization can with a turn, turn both your social, professional and biological life on a complete halt if you don't have the self control to be able to save and quit the game before you push 'End turn'. Firaxis thought about this, and actually built in an alarm clock in case you need a reminder to go to work, visit your mom or go to the bathroom.

I found that one very useful…

The graphical changes might be the first difference you’ll notice. But once you get into the game you’ll soon learn that it’s not just the looks that have changed for the better. Sid Meier and the rest of the team has really dug into the heart of the game to try and make it more enjoyable, easier for new users, and more advanced for the experienced ones. Impossible task? Obviously not!

Don’t worry; it’s still Civilization by heart and soul. You start with a settler; you build a city, research technologies, expand your empire and finally blow the whole thing off in an apocalyptical Nuclear War. In short, the main concept of the game is still intact at its very finest.

Rome was built in one day

One of the most important changes in gameplay is the new way governments are controlled. No longer are you choosing between Democracy or Communism. Now, you literally have thousands of different governments to choose from, called Civics. There are five different Civics (Government, Legal, Labour, Economy and Religion), each containing five options to choose. These options open up and allow the player to decide how he wants to control his Empire in terms of a variety of political issues. You want a strong religious state with a liberal economy? No problem, it's all up to you.

Religion is also an improved and welcomed addition. You have seven different religions too select from. These are all bound up to the discovery of a new tech. The first to discover a religion can adopt it to its empire, which makes your nation the birth nation of the religion. Your religion will spread throughout the nation and to your neighboring countries. This can have a great impact of your relations to the other civs. A whole continent with nations of the same religious beliefs can be a very friendly group of people. While a continent of nations with different types of religions can easily end up in a nuclear cocktail party. Firaxis has stepped very carefully on this subject, so no religion has any advantages or disadvantages over the other. In fact, they are all the same, just with different names. I don't see how Firaxis could have done this any different, without stepping on any spiritual toes.

Gone also are the micro-management parts of the game. No longer do you have to worry about cleaning up pollution from your factories or ticking off a food icon in the City view to stop a riot and get the production back up. Workers have also been improved, and with all the different new ways of improving the land, automation, which now works, is a good way to get the job done. It feels like you're doing more important and strategic work, instead of focusing on the minor details of the game.


London as we know it, overcrowded, polluted and the Hanging Gardens
Did I mention multiplayer? Civ4 is a whole lot easier and faster to play online then Civ3. Even though it's a turn-based game, it almost feels like it's real-time. I believe Civilization can be a very interesting multiplayer game; it opens up for some deep strategic decisions to be made, not just militaristic, but also diplomatic and cultural.

To list ALL the changes and new features would take all day. But it's also worth mentioning that besides what's already mentioned you're going to find several new technologies to discover, new units, an enormous amount of new leaders, new resources, buildings and a whole lot more. Diplomacy with other leaders has also been greatly improved as well as the combat system.

If you're familiar with the Civilization series, you probably know that Graphics have never been the game's strongest side. This has never really been an issue at all, since Civ is a game that relies completely on the gameplay. That doesn't mean that any graphical improvement isn't welcomed. In fact, it was about time they did something to the visuals. And they finally did just that!

This time the game has gone through a complete renovation. No longer are you looking at a flat, lifeless world that looks like an old dusty Risk board. Now you've got the whole globe in full 3D at your disposal, filled with rich details, animations, roaring lions and all the colors of the rainbow. You can zoom all the way from the Moon down to some pig on the ground. It actually feels a bit like Google Earth. After watching the intro, using the menus and starting the game up for the very first time I constantly kept repeating to my self: 'Is this really Civilization?'

Who's your daddy?!

While the Civ series has been known to offer less than thrilling state-of-the-art graphics, music however, has always been high priority. Civ4 is no exception. The intro music, for starters, is particulary great. So is the in-game music which changes respectably to what era you are in. Every Civilization has its own tune which is played every time you meet the leader of the nation. If you're familiar with previous Sid Meier games you're also going to recognize a few of the tunes. While you may not notice the music that much while playing, it's still there and fills the game with a certain atmosphere.

Sound and voices are also greatly improved. Every Civilization has its own language. This means that the German Civilizations actually speaks German, and the Chinese speaks Chinese.

Another addition is that every time you discover a new technology, the voice of Leonard Nimoy speaks a few words of wisdom regarding the new discovery. All of this really gives the game a lot more life.

People that are new to the game will find Civ4 a whole lot easier to manage. You have a much better overview of your Empire, what it produces, researches etc. The city screen is what has changed the most from past versions. Basically, you don't have to go to city mode at all throughout the game, since everything is more automated and just about everything can be controlled outside the city, such as what to build next.

In short, moving around, using the menus, and reading info has been greatly improved. Even if Civ4 presents a lot more info and eye-candy on your screen it still feels easier to control the game and every aspect of it.

Civilization 4 feels very different from its predecessors, even though it's very much the same (in a good way). The game has become a lot easier to learn for the casual gamer, and yet even more complex for the experienced Civ-player. They've kept what really makes Civilization such a great series, made some key features a whole lot better, and introduced some new and exiting concepts that will make sure the game will live on for many more years. And yes, it's still as addictive as it was back in 1991 when Civilization was born. If not even more!

Civilization IV is in short, game design at it's very finest. If this is not a 10, no game can be.

Now if you'll excuse me I have a nation to wipe out.

The Apex:

• Gameplay is just as addictive as previous Civ titles.
• Greatly improved graphics.
• Longlivety.