Civilization IV

Ah, the classic series of Civilization games. Always fun, always addicting, always frustrating; but in a good way. Civilization IV (Civ4 for all of you with problems with Roman numerals) is a fun open-ended approach to the empire-building genre. You control nearly every aspect of your civilization (without the downside of getting too far into micromanagement) and your job is to make an empire that will stand the test of time, from 4000 B.C. to 2050 A.D. And for the most part it's good fun.

Gameplay wise, this is where Civ4 shines with the brightness of a supernova. The game is completely open-ended. Don't like where your civilization starts? Move to a different area. Hell, move to the other side of the continent. It's all good, man! It's also important to strategize, gaining control of vital resources (copper, iron, oil, uranium, etc), and picking your fights VEEEEEEERY carefully. Going to war with a smaller nation is always a smart idea, but keep an eye on your troop levels. And absorb their empire into your own! This will give you more cities to play with, and after you modernize their 15^th century asses, they'll be useful assets to your empire. Monitoring your money levels and adjusting your research levels accordingly is also important. Relations with diplomatic leaders is also important unless you want to be fighting a war with everyone on all sides, which will surely end in you getting raped, although the world leaders in this game are quite fickle and are quick to anger at the drop of a hat. War in this game, much like in real life, is a hell of a lot more difficult than it sounds. Units however are oddly balanced against each other. Why can an 18^th-century era rifleman kill off one of my main battle tanks when .50-caliber anti-material bullets can't do so? Before going to war with any country, I would recommend a massive troop buildup, because you aren't getting far with a small force. At all.

Sound is nothing impressive, although I did enjoy the ambient music that reflects the period of the time you're in and also shifts around to suit whatever nation's leader you're conversing with. I also really liked the Celtic civilization's music, probably because I like Celtic music. The occasional sounds of battle are okay, but nothing to write home about. Probably the highlight of the game is LEONARD FUCKING NIMOY, MOTHERFUCKER. They took away Leonard in the subsequent expansion packs, which is kind of sad, but I guess he didn't feel like making more quotations. Every time you finish a new technology Leonard would show up and in his awesome authoritarian voice give you a quote related to the technology you just got done discovering.

Graphics are a bit "meh" as well, but the sheer size of the world (considering what sized earth you picked) more than makes up for it once you've gotten satellites, which keeps you in the know for EVERYTHING goings-on in the world. Models are nothing special (most units are kind of blocky and textures are kind of smudged) but the game supports a LOT of units on screen at any given time. Plus, you're looking at it with a birds-eye view anyway. If you want detail in people go play an FPS or The Sims. But really, if you're playing Civilization for the graphics instead of the amazing gameplay I'm going to have to ask you to find a section of rope and hang yourself for being such an idiot.

Sticky's Final Grade: A-

+ Immersive

+ Tons of civilizations/leaders

+ Lots of stuff to research/build

+ Leonard F'in Nimoy

+ As a history major, is admirable in its presentation of the human race and it's achievements and advancement as a whole, although me completing a nuclear weapon in the 1700s was hilarious.

- Unit balancing issues

- Diplomatic relations could use tweaking