Civilization Revolution

When Firaxis Games wanted to port civilization to consoles in 2008, they came up with Civilization Revolution. This franchise has long been a favorite of PC gamers when it comes to civilization-building games. It involves hours of hard work, strategy, and micromanaging to achieve victory. But console games often need to be faster, sharper, more engaging and less grueling.

This game cuts some of the nitty-gritty management seen in other Civ games, but keeps enough strategy and features to make it similar to games like the Age of Wonders series. It’s got enough fast movement to keep console players interested, without sacrificing too much strategy. All in all, it’s a good introduction into the genre of civ management.

Choosing your civilization

The game starts by allowing you to choose one of 16 civilizations to play as. Each of these are real-world civilizations, and each has its own unique benefits. You can choose from many of Earth’s most well-known cultures and societies to pursue victory.

Then, the game starts. You start out with a small settlement, barely able to be called a city. You have to work to grow your settlement, all the while managing technology, diplomacy, cultures, finances, and military conflicts. As your civ grows, you gain more land, more resources, and new perks that help you in gameplay without having to go too deep into strategizing.

Winning your way

To allow the game to adapt to different player’s styles, there are four ways to win: Domination, Technology, Economic, and Cultural. Each requires its own parameters, and involves a different method of managing your civ. Some may prefer to use their military to crush all opposition, while others want to build a thriving cultural hub: whatever your style, you can figure out how to make it work within this game.

Once you’ve won, you can come back again and again, choosing a different starting civ, or a different playstyle each time. Matches will typically only take a few hours, and you have the choice of playing against computer players or other people.

Pros:

• Faster-paced games that can only take a few hours
• Different ways to win so you can bring your own unique playstyle
• Streamlined gameplay to cut out some of the elements of micro-managing a civ

Cons:

• Lacks the depth of many PC civ-building games
• Games are shorter and sometimes less difficult than Civ fans might be used to