Civilization IV, worth getting?

[MraK]

I have always been intrigued by the game style of the Civilization series, I played part II back in the day, for a short while, didnt really get into it that much, dunno why.

But seeing that part IV came out sometime ago and that its cheaper now, I was thinking of getting it (i'm a war/strategy pc gamer) but I love country building games such as this, its just I forgot what Civilization was all about.

Is this installment worth getting now along with its expansions? Who has this game or has played it before, what are your thoughts about it?

(I'm hear at work, thinking of swinging by to gamestop and FINALLY buying it):laugh:

anyone care to share?

 

[Schadenfroh]

I put a significant chunk of my elementary school life into Civilization 2. Civilization IV when combined with the Beyond the Sword expansion pack (I believe you can get them bundled these days) is nearly an equal to Civ 2. Strongly suggest that you purchase Civ IV + Beyond The Sword.

If you have not played it, Sid Meier Alpha Centauri is another good game, it has some features that Civ IV lacks (like extensive unit customization). Both Alpha Centauri and Civilization 2 were designed by Brian Reynolds, so if you liked Civ 2, you will most likely like SMAC as well. Shame Brian Reynolds does not work for Firaxis anymore. I know I will catch hell for this, but I think he was a better designer than Sid Meier.

 

[Rike]

I really enjoyed Alpha Centauri. I must have play through it at least a dozen times or more on the various difficulty levels.

Civ IV just wasn't for me. I don't know what it was, but I felt like it never clicked for me. No idea why.

 

[Piuc2020]

Sid Meier doesn't do much of the game design anyway nowadays (basically only Civ I was his work), he is mostly a creative director now (think Ken Levine), he has the good creative ideas and then some other guy actually make the game and decides the gameplay decisions so I agree with you.

Civilization IV is awesome, it lacks some things Civ II lacks but also has some stuff that makes it better, it's also more accesible, like Schadenfroh said, you have to get it with the BTS expansion and also the Warlords expansion if you have the cash (it has some nice gameplay additions but very minor unlike BTS). I recently pulled an all-nighter with my brother, each game is so different from the last, it's pretty great.

The Civilopedia is also great when you are starting, you can pretty much get any info you want at any time just by pressing F12, it also has a lot of non-game essential content that's really fun to read. Baba Yetu and the spinning world are one of the greatest theme song/screen, I was so glad when BTS gave me the option of switching to Baba Yetu after many many time of having to see that sweaty guy with the sword and the depressing music from the Warlords main screen.

I say get it, it's an excellent game, hopefully you'll be able to get into it.

 

[MraK]

How long does it take to finish a campaign in conquest mode (where you actually take over the whole world) basically before 2050AD???

 

[Piuc2020]

Originally posted by: MrAK
How long does it take to finish a campaign in conquest mode (where you actually take over the whole world) basically before 2050AD???

Depends on the speed you select but it normally takes me around 6 to 12 hours give or take, though many times I just start a new game without finishing the last, it depends a lot on your settings as well, with the right settings, you can either have epic multi-week affairs or stuff you can complete in a single sitting without a big time investment so yeah it depends how you want.

My shortest time ever was a cultural victory on Prince with 8 opponents and a large map, it only took me 2 hours but my score wasn't too good.

Conquest is a bit of a drag since just when you think you wiped out a civilization they spawn another city somewhere, it's best to aim for the domination victory if you want an aggressive win though even if you aim for a space, cultural or diplo victory you'll still be waging war constantly if war is your kind of thing.

 

[CottonRabbit]

Civ 2 and 4 are the best in the series IMO. BtS is definitely necessary. I've recently played a few games with the Revolution modpack and its been a lot of fun. 20+ hour 24 player epic speed games on a huge maps for domination victories are the best .

 

[minmaster]

civ4 is okay, not all that great though. firaxis has been pretty horrible with their patching of the series with the latest expansion set "beyond the sword". i'd recommend getting this latest expansion set because it updates a lot of things from the vanilla game and adds some new features. however, the official patch is total crap, so go to civfanatics and get the unofficial solver's patch which fixes a lot of things that the official patch breaks.

 

[NoWhereM]

I've got them all, from the original Civ through Civ IV with both expansions. There are some things I don't like, but it is a worthwhile game if you can get it cheap.

Look around and see if they have Civilization Chronicles when you go to buy, that will give you everything through Civ IV, and you can buy the two Civ IV expansions seperately. Warlords came before Beyond the Sword, and I actually liked that expansion better myself. Just make sure you get a good deal on Chronicles if you buy it, I waited because I already had everything (though I can't find my original Civ), but I bought Chronicles last year when it went down to $24 for a while. I expected more from it as far as charts and maps, but it is certainly worthwhile if you can buy it at a good price.

If you're just looking to play Civ IV I know there is a combo that includes both Civ IV and Warlords, I don't know if they have a release out yet that has both expansions included.

 

[BigJ]

Terrific game, but expect to invest heavily into research and strategies if you expect to win on the higher difficulties. The higher you go, the more difference even a single turn can make in deciding if you will win or lose.

 

[SKC]

I read something about how Civ4 wasn't working properly in Vista - can anyone confirm/oppose? Also http://www.garath.net/Sullla/civ4.html has a lot of good info on Civ4. The author has a great narrative style.

 

[Daverino]

I have Civ IV but not any of the expansions. I'm wondering what's in BTS that makes it so important. I didn't see it adding a lot of the game, but maybe I'm missing something.

 

[lozina]

I highly recommend it.

Been a fan of the series since Civilization first came out on floppy disk.

I think Civ 4 is the best title in the series. I just never seem to get bored of it and everything is so smooth and polished. Then the mod community is amazing and makes the game unlimited. Best of all is they are currently working on an official add-on which makes the game like Colonization.

 

[acheron]

Last I heard, the Colonization thing is a standalone game, not a Civ 4 addon (though it uses the same engine). Either way, should be awesome.

Civ 4 does rock, and I love the BTS expansion too. That, and Alien Crossfire for SMAC, are the only two expansions for Civ games that I've really liked. BTS also includes Warlords, so you don't have to buy both, just BTS.

 

[Zap Brannigan]

Originally posted by: Rike
I really enjoyed Alpha Centauri. I must have play through it at least a dozen times or more on the various difficulty levels.

Civ IV just wasn't for me. I don't know what it was, but I felt like it never clicked for me. No idea why.

Alpha Centauri was a well crafted game. Excellent!

Civ IV is basically Civ 1.0 in my opinion. It improves upon all the other Civs which could be considered betas leading up to this one. If you're not burnt out on Civ, than by all means, buy with confidence and enjoy the hell out of this one! Great music as well.

 

[WhipperSnapper]

I just wish we could get a bona-fide, worthy Alpha Centauri 2.

 

[NoWhereM]

Originally posted by: acheron2112
BTS also includes Warlords, so you don't have to buy both, just BTS.

Nevermind, you responded before I edited.

Warlords has some game features that I really like, like Vassal states. That's why I like it better than Beyond the Sword.

 

[acheron]

Originally posted by: NoWhereM

Originally posted by: acheron2112
BTS also includes Warlords, so you don't have to buy both, just BTS.

I didn't know that, but then I had Warlords installed already when I purchased BTS. That's a pretty good tip for anyone looking to buy.

To clarify myself, the scenarios that come with Warlords are not included in BTS, but the core game features (new civs and leaders, wonders, buildings, etc.) are all there. If you still want all the scenarios, you need both packs.

 

[NoWhereM]

If Beyond the Sword gives you all the core game features from Warlords as well, like Vassel States, then I would agree you really don't need to buy Warlords. But if it does it seems like a bit of a ripoff that they are advertising the Warlords expansion on the back of the Beyond the Sword manual.

 

[Bateluer]

Originally posted by: NoWhereM
If Beyond the Sword gives you all the core game features from Warlords as well, like Vassel States, then I would agree you really don't need to buy Warlords. But if it does it seems like a bit of a ripoff that they are advertising the Warlords expansion on the back of the Beyond the Sword manual.

BTS includes the features of Warlords, but not the campaign content.

 

[Dorkenstein]

Rhye's and Fall mod any good? Was looking at this a week or so ago.

 

[NoWhereM]

I've never played any of the campaign content, either from the expansions or the original Civ IV. I prefer to just play the actual game.

 

[Sylvanas]

Beware: Playing Civ4 may cause user to lose track of time and become addicted

 

[Eeezee]

The end game of Civ 4 (including Beyond the Sword) gets a little lame, Civ 3 had that problem as well. Alpha Centauri, however, is fun right up until the end because of the transcendence victory condition. There really needs to be a satisfying story-driven victory condition like what they had in Alpha Centauri.

The space race is just not as satisfying as transcendence

 

[Abel007]

Originally posted by: SKC
I read something about how Civ4 wasn't working properly in Vista - can anyone confirm/oppose? Also http://www.garath.net/Sullla/civ4.html has a lot of good info on Civ4. The author has a great narrative style.

Civ4 works fine under Vista 64.