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Reviews for Sid Meier's Civilization® V
Strategy game at its peakdacimvrl | Dec. 2, 2015 | See all dacimvrl's reviews »
This is a good Civ game which improves on most of the aspects of the previous game. There are more diplomatic options and more ways to play - who doesn't like more ways to play? There is a lot of depth and replayability for this game. Not to mention the achievements! Those are real challenges unlike in many other games. Also, the DLCs are actually worth the money since they offer even more ways to play, and it really shows how much the devs poured into them. They do not feel like they were stripped from the original game just to be sold as DLCs at all. They added countless hours to my playthrough, and will surely provide you a ton of engaging entertainment.
Great gamexXPWNZONEXx | Nov. 28, 2015 | See all xXPWNZONEXx's reviews »
Warning: this game is addicting; I have hundreds of hours of gameplay logged on it. Civilization V is a fantastic addition to a great series. The graphics are stunning, the gameplay is intuitive and fun, and the music is amazing. All in all, this game is very good and I highly recommend it.
Very good Civilization gameIcescorcher | Oct. 9, 2015 | See all Icescorcher's reviews »
One thing I could never understand was how people could have 1,000's of hours of playing games like this up until the time I played it. In no sense would I say this is a quick pick up game, as a game on the quickest difficulty playing solo can last around 10hours. If you're with friends, you better clear out the weekend, and the next just in case. The graphics are colorful and vibrant. The game play is very entertaining and pulls you in for the "one more turn" style of game play. Where the real fun comes is when you play with a group of friends. There is no other game that can tear friendships apart as easy as this one. Just hope you're the one with the nukes.
A Fantastic GameMrDragon831 | Sept. 10, 2015 | See all MrDragon831's reviews »
Civ V is an excellent strategy game that is only strengthened by it's DLC, unlike many other games today. It is fairly easy to get into, has a ton of variety, and even has multiplayer. If you're a fan of any strategy games, you should definitely give this game a try.
Same old Civ in a new packagebossmarvinc | Sept. 4, 2015 | See all bossmarvinc's reviews »
When I say the same old Civ I mean that this is a good game. If you like the civilization games of the past you will enjoy this one. The updated and cut down mechanics smooth out the game and nothing that was cut is truly missed. The game plays faster better and just more fun than than the older ones because everything that is there is useful and necessary instead of in the older ones where some mechanics were dead weight. One note is that you need both of the dlc packs (buy the game of the year edition) for it to be this great as without them the game does feel lacking. If you have not played one of the old one Civ games if you think or know that you would like a strategy game this one is for those who want to build a country, if you want to focus on military go to the total war series as it does have better military combat.
An addictive strategy gameheerox328 | Aug. 24, 2015 | See all heerox328's reviews »
Do you love political intrigue? Building countries? Waging wars? Creating industry and building trade? Perhaps creating a religion? This game offers something for everybody. It's very simple yet adds enough depth to keep you coming back. It's a turn-based strategy game so you don't have the constant pressure of rushing to keep things going forward. I've spent hundreds of hours playing this game. Online matches can easily go beyond 7 hours if you play a full game. Only buy this game if you get all the expansions. That is the full experience and how it should be seen. The base game, alone, has a lot to be desired and is just empty. The same applies to Beyond Earth. Great game otherwise.
A 4X standard, and for good reason.thesoundofthing | Aug. 21, 2015 | See all thesoundofthing's reviews »
The Civilization series represents the essential components to make a successful 4X game. It has diplomacy/trade, resource/population management, scientific research, and military power. With the expansions, you also get a developed culture/tourism component as well. In early game, you will need to focus your strategy around one, or a combination, of areas depending on which kind of victory you want to achieve, and this is best chosen based on your nation's strengths/weaknesses. You are not, however, forced into only one strategy in order to achieve a victory with a particular nation, it just affects the speed with which you can win. Mid game is centered around building your technology, growing your population, gaining resources, and developing your military. Which is fun, even if tad repetitive. Once other civs surpass or match you is when the tension builds. Late game, once you have achieved a productive civ, you need to watch your enemies closely and compete with those who are attempting to win via your same victory strategy (culture, military, diplomatic, scientific), while also watching those who are attempting a different strategy (particularly militaristic). Theoretically, this means you are necessarily building a well-rounded civ that is prepared against the strategies of your rivals while also mastering your particular strategy to the extent that you can not only defend yourself, but also excel in an area. To the game's credit, no matter which strategy opponents choose, most games seem to allow for equal chance to win, and this seems to always occur in a fairly paced amount of time for all. Despite this balance, or because of it, once you learn an effective strategy, the only variability is derived from the kinds of civs you are playing against, and whether their strengths/weakness directly affect your own growth. This means that the fun of the game is less about the result (you are going to win) and more about the journey you took to get there.
New and Experienced 4X Players Will Love itAralt | Aug. 16, 2015 | See all Aralt's reviews »
At this point in time I have dropped over 150 hours into Civ 5, I have also played it with all the DLC, so keep that in mind when reading my review. Civilization 5 continues being one of the best in the 4X genre of game. For those of you who are new to 4X it stands for eXplore, eXpand, eXploit, and eXterminate. You get to play as a Civilization from history and try and obtain victory, maybe you will do it through taking down all the other Civs in your way, or maybe a more peaceful route is to your liking and you want to win be being the world leader, or getting to space. Its up to you and how you want to play. The game is easy to pick up and very hard to master. It took me one game to start winning on the easiest difficulty and I still have yet to win on the hardest. Despite what other have said, this game runs fine on most computer as long as you have some form of dedicated graphics card. Last note, is multiplayer, if you like playing long bored games with friends, this is a must have to take that experience and make it virtual. You can even play hotseat were everyone plays on your computer and takes turns.
Strategy SandboxValoo321 | Aug. 13, 2015 | See all Valoo321's reviews »
This is just a fantastic game. NOTE: This review is reflecting Civ V including all of the current released expansions, as that is how I have played it, but I will speak mainly to the core mechanics of the game. Also, I have not played the past Civilization games, so this is a review for Civ V as Civ V, not Civ V vs. Civ IV. This is a wonderful, turn based strategy game. You have the opportunity to build your own civilization (hence the name), and increase it from the basic, sort of stone age, into the modern age and a little beyond. This triggers one of the five different types of victories, getting to the end of time, where you build a spaceship and rocket into the stars. Overall, the game is a little complicated to pick up for beginners (like me), but the advisers that are offered to you (like a Strategic Adviser, Economic Adviser, so on) give you good basic information on how to proceed while building and training units. However, this isn't always the best route to take, so learning the buildings, units, and sciences yourself give you a big advantage. The AI plays true to form and as you'd expect, first exploring and expanding, and then trading and trying to gain their own victory. Combat feels relatively simplistic and could be the area where I feel like Civ V falls a little bit. It seems like it's trying to present as strategic, but ultimately it's just whoever has the stronger unit with the better training or longest reach. I highly recommend this game if you're looking for an introduction into 4X strategy games, as it's relatively easy to pick up ans has a relatively steady learning curve.
Great Strategy GameGoldensword | Aug. 8, 2015 | See all Goldensword's reviews »
This game is fantastic. However, it pretty much requires the expansions to be playable. The multiple victory options open up a wide range of strategies that will determine the future of your empire. Play as a warmongering Gandhi, a peaceful and cultured Attila, or a scientific Shaka. Civilization V has infinite replayability. The multiplayer is not optimized well, but plays fine in small groups.
Wonderful Strategy Game!l3tdasinbegin | Aug. 8, 2015 | See all l3tdasinbegin's reviews »
Civilization V, to be honest is one of the greatest strategy games you will every play. The only take away i give to ALL of the civilization series is how interaction with other civilizations ESPECIALLY the ones you are friends with seem to go away if you attack alot. You get warmonger status and even though you have never attacked your ally they turn on you no matter how nice you are to them. Wish this would change and your ally will show you some kind of loyalty( its easier if your ally is a weak chump but if they are close to even with you in military power they will turn on you)
Great but not that complex 4XMurderbot735 | July 28, 2015 | See all Murderbot735's reviews »
Civilization V is really easy to get into, and very fun. Almost every part of the base game is simplistic and easy to understand, which is good for me who isn't the biggest fan of 4X's, but may be terrible for other people. The combat is simple and fun, at least when it is the enemy who's getting crushed, and researching new technology and using it is great fun (especially when it's weapons). Military victory (by conquering the map) isn't the only way to win the game, but in my opinion the most satisfying. Nuking your enemies and exterminating them with a giant killer-bot is of course the best way to get stuff done. There are also many different countries to play as, and they all come with a special unit, building or something else. That allows for some variation. Overall it's a good 4X, but the base game might be too simplistic for some.
NOT for Series Fanswizkid490 | July 12, 2015 | See all wizkid490's reviews »
This is not a Civilization game - It's a board game masquerading as a Civ game. Combat has been made more "strategic," but it effectively makes numbers useless. Visuals have been upgraded slightly, but this game runs horribly on all but top-tier hardware. Culture, religion, and other social policies have been messed with streamlined into ridiculousness, and just feel less natural than Civ IV. All around, this game feels less like a sequel to Civilization IV, and more like some tabletop spinoff.
An innovation in games9cames03 | July 12, 2015 | See all 9cames03's reviews »
Not a perfect game, but this game is so unique that it deserves a lot of praise. For those of you who enjoy strategy/ conquest games, this is for you. This has been one of my personal favorites since it's release. Aside from just attack/ defense gameplay there are also mechanics involving science, culture and economy, so that's interesting. There are plenty of secrets to discover. If you are a fan of the genre, you need this game.
No other turn-based strategy game comes close09baydas | May 29, 2015 | See all 09baydas's reviews »
Gameplay = 10 There are a civilizations included in the game with unique assets and abilities, each offering hundreds of hour's gameplay across a large number of maps. The game adds different victory types. You can beat the game through a cultural, military, diplomatic or science victory, each requiring their own objectives to complete. The large community and support for mods allows users to add to and improve the game with new maps, units and civilizations. The game can occasionally glitch with the user being unable to move onto the 'next turn', but this is rare and loads after two to three minutes. Graphics =8 The game was released in 2010 but the graphics are still good. They are a significant improvement on Civilization IV and rival Civilization: Beyond Earth. Users can also take advantage of the steam modding community which hosts UI and 'realistic gameplay' graphical improvements. Multiplayer = 3 Not recommended. Gameplay is designed to take places over hours not minutes. The game is not designed for multiplayer and the function should be avoided. Local gameplay is also possible. Loading =7 The game can take a couple of minutes to start up and another couple of minutes to load a new game on a mechanical hard drive however there is no loading during gameplay (unless you include waiting for other civ's to take their turn, which is real-time).
Best Strategy Game I've Playedsycomantis1991 | May 14, 2015 | See all sycomantis1991's reviews »
Civilization V takes all the complexity and all the nuances of the third and fourth installments in the game and just makes them simpler to use. I love strategy games, but my biggest problem with many of them is how awkward and unnecessarily cryptic the menu systems are. Luckily,this is likely the biggest thing that makes Civ V so accessible and in turn, made it so successful. There's a lot more to it than being easy to use though. You can play as a myriad of different cultures throughout history, all of them gaining their own perks and special abilities. Some which you'll see the benefits from immediately, and others that will gradually become more significant,depending on what they affect. You're not, however, bogged down by the mentality and history of their real-life counterparts. You can be Gandhi: The Ruthless Dictator, or Attila, the peaceful protector, known for bringing pottery to the world. You can even bring the Byzantine Empire back to become the most significant nation in modern and future society. Of course, the strategy aspects haven't been lessened in the slightest. You can build up a monstrous army with anything from hand-axes to futuristic weaponry. You can be in a permanent artistic renaissance, focusing on building museums, schools, and man-made wonders of all sorts. You can be the first civilization in space, the trading epicenter, or you can try to balance any number of the former. The game still plays and looks great today. The community is still thriving, making online play relevant, and providing one of the greatest modding communities in gaming history. The game, along with its two expansions, which are also stellar, go on sale quite often. Even at full price, however, it's well worth the price of admission
It's OKEY, no fireworksRedkaKredka | May 8, 2015 | See all RedkaKredka's reviews »
It's fun, but because they changed combat instead of playing 2-3 hours per game. You spend 5 + hours.... CONS - You can't stuck many "UNITS" in same tile. That makes combat reaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaly boring. Everything else OK, but I still prefer Civilization IV
Good game but no online component.Cheese4395 | May 7, 2015 | See all Cheese4395's reviews »
The game is great, everything that is to be expected from a Civilization game. The biggest gripe that I have about the game is unless you play an online game with a friend who you can with at the same time, any online game you play will take too long for it to matter. Essentially there isn't an online component which really takes away from the game. AI's are great and all but smashing a real opponent is where it is.
Best 4X Stillfootprint | April 7, 2015 | See all footprint's reviews »
For many who just got started into 4X games, this is a great place to start and stay. Since this release, constant updates and DLC keep it fresh and creates different strategies. Civ series has always been a constant standard on what a 4X game should be. Even since its initial release, other 4X games have pop'ed up, but just because those are newer, doesn't mean it's better. I constantly find myself coming back to this after trying the other 4X games. With that said, this is constantly being sold on sale price and would definitely be worth the price.
Excellent strategy gameVerlyn | April 2, 2015 | See all Verlyn's reviews »
Sid Meier's Civilization V is a turn-based strategy game. I didn't quite what to expect, as I had never played a turn-based strategy game before. I am more of a RTS gamer. But without even noticing, I spent over 50+ hours on this game in my first 2 weeks. I loved learning new mechanics and playing the game. The graphics are good, as long as you know what you are expecting. You can watch several gameplay videos to be sure. But they are fine. The strongest point is, and it should be, its gameplay mechanics. The general idea of the game was easy to understand but I knew I had to put in a lot more hours if I wanted to really understand how to play this game. And it was very rewarding each time I started a new game, to see how far I'd come. The different civilizations really make for an interesting and different scenario each time. I also highly recommend getting the 2 big DLCs or the GOTY edition though.
Good addition to the seriesnikdro | March 4, 2015 | See all nikdro's reviews »
I'm a big fan of all the Civ games, I have been playing since Civilization 1. I think I go through the same series of emotions every time a new one comes out. At first I am excited with the anticipation, and then I'm disappointed when I first play the game. However, eventually when I get used to the game I love it and can't stop playing it. And then when I go back and try and play a previous version, it seems kind of boring (except civ2, that is still my favorite). This game is really fun and I can play for hours. I bought the game with all of the expansions however, so I'm not sure what it is like without those.
A very complete strategy gameMarianoAlipi | Feb. 2, 2015 | See all MarianoAlipi's reviews »
Sid Meier's Civilization V is a very complete strategy game. It is turn-based, and every turn is worth it. You start with a bunch of people and need to found a city. You'll have to take decisions and plan your actions carefully. There are many ways to win – if you don't like war, for example, you can win culturally. Also, it's worth mentioning that it offers a lot of hours of gameplay. I have played it for ~50 hours and I have completed only one game. Finally, if you get bored and used to the same old game, there's plenty of DLC to buy. If you're not a very DLC person, the game is really complete itself.
Best 4X in recent memorycameronb | Dec. 30, 2014 | See all cameronb's reviews »
This game is to 4X as Christmas is to holidays. It's the mot popular, it's arguably the best, but not everyone agrees with it. The vanilla Civ V is a slimmed down Civ IV, more polished with less features. But the expansions, especially BNW, make it so much better, far and beyond the best game in the genre. The base game is enjoyable, allowing you to recreate history (e.g. conquering the world as Egypt when you started in America). However, the late game becomes very tedious, and even the quickest game pace can feel slow. If you start a game, you're in for a day or two. Also, it will chew through your CPU even when it doesn't seem that graphically impressive (damn particle effects). The expansions gives much needed variety to the monotonous feel. A word of warning: you can easily lose days of you life to this, and realize you weren't even having that much fun. Overall, you'll definitely get some time out of your money, but it can get old quick.
Grand Strategy at its bestZaggeta | Nov. 6, 2014 | See all Zaggeta's reviews »
For fans of the strategy genre, Civ 5 can probably be regarded as the Granddaddy of 4X. Pick a historical empire, build your civilisation in anyway you want and win in a variety of ways (from war to trade, to culture and science). Civ 5 is slow paced at the start but is one of the most engaging strategies on the market, with a simple interface meaning that you don't get bogged down by ugly text. Unlike many other strategies, Civ 5 seems simple - but is hard to master. And if you get bored, there are almost infinite number of user modifications available from the Workshop.
ExcellentDport1731 | Nov. 1, 2014 | See all Dport1731's reviews »
As a history fanatic, this game suits my addiction with the past perfectly. It allows me to fulfill historic scenarios and create future events that I think would happen.
Great!captainhammer96 | Oct. 31, 2014 | See all captainhammer96's reviews »
First off, I'd never played a Civ game before this. But i quickly fell in love with its in depth combat, expansion, and visuals. First off, this game does have a steep learning curve, it took me a while before i could proficiently use it's combat and city systems. Once i did though, it was well worth it. Civ puts you in a place of absolute power over your nation. You can change almost anything about it, and play however you want. There are several ways to 'win' a game. You can have Cultural, Scientific, Diplomatic, Domination, or Time Victories, all suited for different play styles. If you do get this game, let me warn you. Keep track of time! it's super easy to loose 3-5 hours in one sitting just by starting a game.
Best Strategy/4x game I have played.spatsirk100 | Oct. 29, 2014 | See all spatsirk100's reviews »
This is a great Strategy/4X game. In this game you are a leader of a Civilization and you start in the beginning of the human's and you go from using Iron wepons to having Guns and Atom Bombs.And in the game you go trough human history and change it. Building the Great Wall in Spain.The Pyramids in America.And stuff like that.
Great addition to the legacyLordOfTheBirds | Oct. 28, 2014 | See all LordOfTheBirds's reviews »
I grew up with strategy games, both turn-based and real-time. Of those games, the two that I remember the most clearly are Civilization 2 and 3. I put many, many hours into playing those games, but when I was in middle and high school, I stopped playing the Civ games, and as such never played Civ 4. When I saw Civ V on sale, though, I read some of the reviews, and I decided that I would give it a try. Boy, was that a good purchase. It has immense re-playability, great mechanics, and is a great game overall. I will be playing this one for a while.
A must have for any strategy playerkjamesh | Oct. 23, 2014 | See all kjamesh's reviews »
I had never played any of the civilization series of games before playing the 5th iteration. I liked it from the start and have since put over 300 hours into the game. While the base game is a great buy, I recommend picking up the DLC if you have any interest in the game. Lots of new map types along with some fun new civilizations are included within the DLC, however there is also a great modding community that also offers lots of new updates to the game. I've heard through friends there are several changes to this from previous games, however I liked the changes. The one standout change would be no longer being able to stack units on a single tile, now it's 1 unit per tile. This forces the player to approach situations with a strategy in mind instead of just "rolling" someone. The only negative thing I can really say about the game is the technology tree. While it seems diverse, there's really only a small advantage to certain paths as most players end up choosing the same techs at the same time. It's a small complaint though and something that seems to be addressed in the new game Beyond Earth. If you can get this game on sale (less than $10) it should be an obvious buy.
Recommendedmp422 | Oct. 19, 2014 | See all mp422's reviews »
Civilization V is a great game by itself, but it lacks a little in end-game – making the victory road not as exciting as it could have been. Brave New World's main goal is to fix that, as well as majorly changing the game with features that fit so well that you can't believe how they weren't there all along. Overhauling two of the four victory types, completely changing how you get Gold, increasing the importance of Ideologies in the late-game and creating a whole new mechanic for the new offensive culture, Tourism, this expansion pack adds a new experience to the game. If you used to leave your saves mid-game because of "lack of fun", this is the expansion for you. If you like Civilization V a lot, this is also the expansion for you. It brings a lot of new features to play with, making the game even more enjoyable.
Wonderfulbdawk | Oct. 3, 2014 | See all bdawk's reviews »
This game is all i could ask for in a Civilization game, endless fun. My mates and i have spent hours upon hours on multiplayer and playing the game mode "hot seat". if you are looking for a game to have an amazing time alone or with friends this is the game to get.
Like a delayed sophomore slumpmidgetjacks | Sept. 30, 2014 | See all midgetjacks's reviews »
I was excited for this game, I really was. The greatness that was Civ4 but refined by the lessons learned from CivRev? Awesome. Unfortunately, while the individual pieces were refined and polished, something just felt off. And as much as I tried and tried to like it, I just never could come around on it. It's good, don't get me wrong, but it had the bad fortune of following one hard act to follow.
One of the best strategy games I played so farbenalish | Sept. 27, 2014 | See all benalish's reviews »
so yeah, pretty much this game is perfect in every possible way I have spent over 300 playing hours on this game It literally took my life for few months, I have been trying to complete the game on the hardest difficulties (mostly on 8) with raging barbarians turned on,... pretty much failed every time but in return i got tons of fun out of it. 1. moddable - this game gives you an opportunity to mod it in every way, i have been downloading approved and unapproved mods and played with them, never had any problems with the game, just getting better experience out of it 2. graphics - the game is not really demanding, i am running it on a low-budget pc (256mb graphics card, 4gb ram,2.6ghz dual core intel) everything is running smooth, the animations are pretty decent, overall , rating it 4/5 3. fun - yup, loads of fun if you are searching for a strategy game that you can play for days.. even for months and years, civilization 5 is the game for you
Really funDingusaurus | Sept. 26, 2014 | See all Dingusaurus's reviews »
This game is extremely fun to play, and to immerse yourself in. There are multiple ways to win, and more ways are added in the DLC. The game is fairly challenging, which makes it fun, and keeps it interesting. It's very easy to lose track of time while playing, which has happened to me plenty of times. The game is good in the vanilla version, but it's made excellent with the DLC.
Goes beyond being a gameNewt | Sept. 26, 2014 | See all Newt's reviews »
Ever since playing Civilization I and II when I was a kid, this franchise has been special. At it's core Civilization is a very solid strategy game. However, when you begin to play you will see the rich culture and societal interactions which you balance on a turn by turn basis. Overall Civilization V continues this tradition of excellence in the franchise and is worth giving a try. I warn you though, once you get into a campaign it will be impossible to put it down!
Foundation for Greatnesstedesco75 | Sept. 18, 2014 | See all tedesco75's reviews »
This is just a review for Civ 5. I am not including my thoughts on the DLC (which vastly improve the game) so keep that in mind while reading this. Civilization is one of the longest running strategy series out there. If you have been a gamer for a decent amount of time odds are you have encountered these games at one point or another and been sucked in for hours building a civilization and conquering your neighbours through culture, scientific achievement or pure might. Well the latest iteration is no different but when compared to its predecessor it is lacking in a few glaring ways though the overall experience ends up being nothing short of breathtaking. To start the game is leaps and bounds above Civ 4 in terms of graphical content. The landscapes are beautiful and the game looks amazing. The distinct styles of the various cultures as they progress through time are wonderfully detailed and add a sense of time and place to your civilization. The major improvements from Civ 4 are the removal of unit stacking. No longer do you have to fear stacks of doom destroying your civilization. Instead there is now a one unit per tile rule and I can't begin to explain how much this improves game play and makes warfare much more viable and fun. That segues into the next major improvement which is the change of the tiles from squares to hexagons. It's a minor tweek but it gives a great deal of flexibility in planning out your civilizations and for warfare tactics. The final major improvement is the inclusion of city states. These little cities can become invaluable as trade partners, assisting in warfare and for extra votes in the world congress in the end game. There are some definite regressions from the previous Civilization game as well. Gone is spying(which does return in Gods and Kings) and using culture as a weapon (which returns in Brave New World). It has now been changed and for the worst. Culture is very passive in this iteration. It is fixed in the Brave New World expansion but for this game it is not well implemented. Overall Civ 5 with all it's expansions is great but the vanilla version is most definitely a work in progress. If you are going to get this make sure to get both Brave New World and Gods and Kings as well. You will thank yourself later.
Best stragedy game outcoldrefreader | Aug. 21, 2014 | See all coldrefreader's reviews »
This game offers you great ways of experiencing the joy of dominating over your enemies: Diplomany, culture, science and domination. You can play as many different leaders(especially with DLC), learn how they work, what's their weakness and what kind of supremacy fits them. The mod workshop is also great, many people contribute to the game with many mods you can enjoy. Also, if you dislike to play with players, there are AI. They can be set on many difficulties, from Settler(very easy) to Deity(You will never win this by yourself). There is much more of content i can describe, but theres no space for that! The only bad thing is multiplayer - after 200 turns, the game takes a very long time to finish, because of all the units everybody have. I recommend this game highly, and never forget - Never trust Ghandhi.
An Amazing Game To Make time Flybetzmigs | Aug. 13, 2014 | See all betzmigs's reviews »
This game. Oh man this game... I recently picked it up and immediately got addicted. Your task is to take a civilization and expand it throughout history, making history your own playground. Depend on what kind of game you choose, (short, long, small map, big map, 4 Ai, 12 Ai) determines how strategic you have to be. Do you aim for a military victory and take everybody's capitals for yourself? Do you play it safe and go for a science victory and reach space before anyone else? Do you earn everyone's approval and go for a diplomatic victory? Or do you complete 5 social policies and get a cultural victory? There are plenty of ways to play the game. Every few turns your city/cities expand giving you room to make farms, roads, trading posts, or forts to add to your city/cities. Even if you play it safe, there are still barbarians to watch out for. They'll take your workers and try to mess with your cities. Also watch out for Napoleon... Napoleon is a jerk. And finally just remember: A "quick" game is nowhere near quick.
Just... one... more... turn...SolarPhantom886 | Aug. 13, 2014 | See all SolarPhantom886's reviews »
Sid Meier's Civilization V is a fantastic strategy game that will completely consume you. It has quite a bit of a learning curve, but the pay off of knowing how to play this game is completely worth it. Once you get into it, you wont want to get out. This is a game that you need to set aside an entire day for just to play. Your job is to build a grand civilization from the ground up by researching different technologies, constructing cities, harvesting resources, and warring with other civs. Setting the game to a marathon progression and with a massive random map has to be some of the most fun I have had playing video games. The initial thrill of exploring the land around you, and the rush of excitement you get when you attempt to sail around the world and discover a new continent is something only Civilization V can provide. This game is tons of fun to play by yourself, but even more fun if you play with a friend, the game allows you to set up matches over the internet or a LAN connection to play with friends, and some of the predicaments you get into with the other AI civilizations can be incredibly funny and rewarding. Overall, this is probably the game I have sunk the most time into on PC, it is truly a wonderful experience. P.S. Don't trust Gandhi, he may seem friendly in the beginning, but once you get to the nuclear era... it doesn't matter how long you have been his friend, he will drop nukes on your cities.
Too Addictingminoru09 | Aug. 13, 2014 | See all minoru09's reviews »
Everytime I start a new game of Civilization V, I never forget to set an alarm unless if not, I'll never get off the computer. This shows how addictive this game is and I'm not even a fan of strategy game, just a casual player. Whether you play it alone or with friends, this game is an amazing experience.
The Best Strategy Game of The Centurytje500 | Aug. 11, 2014 | See all tje500's reviews »
Civilization V offers freedom most strategy games don't have these days. It allows you to make decision in the beginning that will change the future of you game. It offers a large varieties of different ways to play. For example you could win by dominating the world or take off into space travel to find a new world to settle on. This is a fun game which allows you to shape the world your way.
I hate this game in a good way. AKA, i havent slept in 2 daysdgol1115 | Aug. 11, 2014 | See all dgol1115's reviews »
Ghandi. I. Hate. Ghandi. that's not a usual thing for me to say. but after the most peaceful man on earth dropped Xcom troopers into my capital city area, only to drop a Nuke, killing them, and all of my guys, i get a little leeway. this whole exchange happened at 6 AM, the day before a presentation at school, this game is addictive. ridiculously so. I'm playing it right now, in between turns i'm writing this. the game is seriously amazing, with replayability that stretches into the hundreds of games, and detailed graphics, it truly lets you feel it when everything comes together, when you conquer a city, discover a technology, or when it all falls apart, and your capital falls, or a world wonder is stolen from under your feet. this game should be played by everyone, except those with addictive personalities. cause this thing makes WOW and League look tame.
Just One More Round.luxcaeruleus | July 26, 2014 | See all luxcaeruleus's reviews »
"Just One More Round" that's what you'll kee saying once you get hooked to this amazing game. Civilization V is the fifth installment for the Civilization series. It's a turn based strategy game where you choose from different leaders and lead your country to glory.Upon starting a game, you get to choose a leader, each leader has different special passives and units. There's no OP leader and the key to success is thinking. You start off from the ancient era through the future era. You reach each era by unlocking a technology associated to that specific era. The game also retains it's technology tree system. You start from the basics and unlock additional technologies in the tree. It's crucial to know which technologies to learn first. It also introduces the hexagon grid which eliminates the 8-direction movements of units. Also, units can't be stacked with each other so unit placement is important. Usually, world domination is the easiest way to win the game, but you could always try other more peaceful ways like cultural or scientific victories. All in all, Civilization V is a great game to play. You could get easily hooked to it. I'd recommend everyone to try it out.
Just amazingBOLMoney | July 18, 2014 | See all BOLMoney's reviews »
The single best strategy game I've ever played, and I have played many. Get all the DLC too, they're worth it. You can pick from a huge selection of nations to play as, and the DLC add even more. You can pick the difficulty, the map, the requirements to win, and much more to make it however you want to play. Civilization V also runs on my very low end Toshiba Satellite with minimal problems.
Warning! This game can be addicting!Furrek | July 4, 2014 | See all Furrek's reviews »
I think I never was fan of Civilization series, or maybe I never had enough time to start and sit a bit more than hours or two. Not so long ago I tried 5th Civilization game. In one sitting I played this game for 8 hours. 3 out of 8 hours in tutorial - because I was in need to know everything and there was nothing I didn't knew in normal game. Rest of them was my first campaing. I did choose a small map, because of time, and completed it in first sitting. After this time I know one thing - this game is so addicting! Each turn maybe don't take so much time, and you are just playing next one, and next one, and maybe one more, when the thought comes into your mind: "Holy cow, it's really this late?". If you have a real life, you are going to school or work, don't try to play this game. Do it after, or maybe on weekends. It will really eat many hours from your life. This game can be played as long as you want, and multiplayer sessions seems like never ending story...
Goodness GraciousRcoder97 | July 2, 2014 | See all Rcoder97's reviews »
This game. Oh man this game... I recently picked it up and immediately got addicted. Your task is to take a civilization and expand it throughout history, making history your own playground. Depend on what kind of game you choose, (short, long, small map, big map, 4 Ai, 12 Ai) determines how strategic you have to be. Do you aim for a military victory and take everybody's capitals for yourself? Do you play it safe and go for a science victory and reach space before anyone else? Do you earn everyone's approval and go for a diplomatic victory? Or do you complete 5 social policies and get a cultural victory? There are plenty of ways to play the game. Every few turns your city/cities expand giving you room to make farms, roads, trading posts, or forts to add to your city/cities. Even if you play it safe, there are still barbarians to watch out for. They'll take your workers and try to mess with your cities. Also watch out for Napoleon... Napoleon is a jerk. And finally just remember: A "quick" game is nowhere near quick.
An Amazing Game To Make time FlyMaster_Conner | June 23, 2014 | See all Master_Conner's reviews »
I have put hundreds of hours into this game with all of the different civilizations,difficulties,scenarios, and different ways to win the game. This game is very addicting and you probably shouldn't start a game before going to bed. You will definitely get your money's worth out of this game and fall in love with all the different units in the game such as the archers, the warriors, and the battering rams.As you progress through the different eras your troops will change and you will unlock new technologies. If you are looking for an advanced strategy game with a lot of re playability, than I highly recommend this game
Boy this game is gogogoood!PeyWn | June 17, 2014 | See all PeyWn's reviews »
Well this is one hell of an addicting game, once you start playing it you simply can't stop. Civ V is an amazing strategy game with alot of content and depth. Civ V is also what the player makes it, for example if you are a beginner the game can be really easy if you follow the tutorials. But it can also be one darn complex game if you want it to be, from having almost EVERYTHING thats going on in you empire automated you can do it manually. Buy this game and expand it with DLCs as you go, it will also probably be good if you have lots of spare time your gonna need it.
I'll recommended this game!yuppy | June 14, 2014 | See all yuppy's reviews »
Choose your nation - choose from a some nations, each with its own bonus. Build the city - find the most appropriate place where you will be able to quickly develop. Discover the technology to be able to build wonders, administrative buildings and develop. Do not forget about the army, because Barbarians are everywhere and ready to take yours settlers or workers. Create alliances, trade routes, conquer the state-city and enemies and becamea star of the best turn-based strategy ever!
An amazing strategy gamealanmaz567 | June 9, 2014 | See all alanmaz567's reviews »
The newest installment to the Sid Meier's Civilization series. One of my favourite strategy game of all time, i have played countless hours in the game and still look forward to the next one. For a turn based strategy game it has pretty good graphics. I'm sure you will enjoy countless hours in this game. The game has an exceptional amount of countries you can play as (my personal favourite is Italy). What's amazing about this game is that you start from the beginning and make your way to the top, what i meant by that is that you start with an exceptional amount of resources and create your first town in which after a few decades will pass shall become one of the most strongest Empires in the game (depending on how you used those resources of course). I would recommend this game for anyone, even for people who don't enjoy strategy game, they should at least give this one a try.
Best of the genre0aky | June 8, 2014 | See all 0aky's reviews »
For me this is the best of the genre by far. I have spent far too long on this game because it is really addictive once you get the hang of it. For new players booting up the game it can be intimidating because of the amount of thing that are going on and the fear of messing up before you even get into the game but to these people I say don't be intimidated it really isn't that hard to get the hang of because you are guided through everything by four different advisors and a number of other in game hints. It would be a great shame if someone were to pass up on this game just because at first it seems intimidating.
Civilization 5: The God of All Strategy Gamesmrminecrafter1 | May 25, 2014 | See all mrminecrafter1's reviews »
Hands down, the Civilization series is one of the best strategy games in gaming history. While Civilization 5 is not the best of the series, it still is one of the best games out right now. It has a bunch of content and involves quite a good amount of planning and thinking to win the game. Some of the DLC such as "Brave New World" and "Gods and Kings" should've already been in the game. Just be careful though. It's extremely addicting. Pick up your copy and conquer the might world with your Civilization.
Will Civilization V stand the test of time?damaffin | May 18, 2014 | See all damaffin's reviews »
The Civilization series has come a long way, from first being an addictive 2D game, to something completely refined. Civilization V in my opinion is the height, currently, of their stardom, being one of the best strategy games in the field. Although there are many other strategy games that have been dubbed amazing, why does this stand out? The answer lies in the simple feeling of creating something and letting it evolve and blossom, which is brought out really well by this game. But as with most things this has a down side, and that is the time it takes to finish even a single game. Hours, days, weeks... But if you can look past that one flaw, you will find an amazing game that has much potential and the power to evolve into something better.
Top- Tier Strategy GameSparan0n | May 15, 2014 | See all Sparan0n's reviews »
Civilization V is one of, and possibly the absolute best game in it's genre. The game mechanics are absolutely fantastic- the intricacy of the 'research' portion of the game, which essentially unlocks everything, allows for an infinite number of different playstyles moulded to both the player and situation. A player can tackle any match in a different way from the last, be it using science, military domination, culture or even religion. The game also has a complex economy system, with buildings and units effecting the income per-turn. Certain buildings increase income, while others have a hefty cost. Steam Workshop support allows players to select from an extremely large number of modifications, scenarios and map packs to customize their game further. Multiplayer mod support is missing, though it does not make a large impact on overall value. This game is well worth the cost, by far one of the best games yet to be produced. In over a year since release it has lost absolutely no value.
Great game, but oh how the time flies...toshexy | May 6, 2014 | See all toshexy's reviews »
You have to be prepared to spend a few days exclusively playing this game if you want to really enjoy it - and oh how you will. It's such a delight to expand and advance a civilization in this game. There are so many ways you can go on to do just that, and such joy when you do a good job. Never the less, this is not an easy game to play. Every single decision and movement counts, and the AI is ruthless - give them enough room and they will jump ahead of you in a blink. Bottom line is this is and always has been one of the most brilliant turn based strategy games. Compared to other Civilization games it may not be as complete as some of the others, and most the features it lacks you would have to get through DLC's - which is why I'm deducing 15 points. Had it come out of the box with "The Brave New World" and "Gods and Kings" DLC features, it would have been a 100/100 game. Be warned tough, if you get hooked you may find yourself wasting days on this game just to be disappointed by a loss at the end. So if you have to do that at least do it with friends because you'll regret having spent all that time cooped up alone should you lose. If you win it would still be a bitter victory knowing you spent so much time playing a game cooped up alone at home.
Civ 5 is good stuffSmileyfax | May 4, 2014 | See all Smileyfax's reviews »
I've been playing the Civ series since the second entry in the franchise. While not my personal favorite (that distinction goes to either 2 or 4, depending on my mood), I still found it to be quite enjoyable, with the same 'one more turn' fugue that the other games inflicts upon you. Definitely worth it, especially if you pick up the expansions.
Best in Genre, Great Game, Worth itIDprofile | May 2, 2014 | See all IDprofile's reviews »
Civilization V is one of the best (if not "the" best) turn based strategy games on PC. Civilization V is a game that doesn't really get old, and can be played day on end. I really enjoyed the Civilization series, and Civ 5 is the best of them all in my opinion. Loading screens may not be fantastic if you are running on high graphics settings, and I have had my fair share of issues with bugs. But the graphics are amazing, gameplay is perfect, and the game is actually quite educational (yet still remaining fun and comical). Civilization V has a huge modding community that introduces thousands of mods to try out and play around with. If you ask me, this is one of the best games you could buy and is definitely worth playing. I can't imagine anybody being dissatisfied with this game.
A very good Strategy gamePwnclub | April 15, 2014 | See all Pwnclub's reviews »
Civilization is one, if not the best series of Strategy games. Civ V got new, good-looking graphics, and they switched the tiles into hexagon shapes. I think this change was a good idea, as it added many different possibilities as to how this game could be played. There are several ways how you can win, like a Science or Culture victory. One of the negatives (could be a positive for others) about this game is that it's a HUGE time-sink. A regular-length of a game takes around 12 hours to complete, so it's essentially impossible to play as every civilization without spending hundreds of hours. If there's a sale going on, I think it's a good idea to pick this title up.
A good game but a time wasterpoolton | March 19, 2014 | See all poolton's reviews »
I enjoyed the many hours of the game that i played however as a student this game seriously is affecting my studies. As a warning I would advise anyone who buys this game, and is a student, to wait till you've done your exams before downloading it. The game play is great though and would recommend this game to anyone (not taking exams).
ExcellentMobeusChronox | March 16, 2014 | See all MobeusChronox's reviews »
Civ 5 is the best iteration of Civilization yet. I've sunk hundreds of hours into this game and its expansions. I would recommend it to any Civ fan.
A great time sink!BigPaxDaddy | Feb. 18, 2014 | See all BigPaxDaddy's reviews »
I am no strategist, but this game made me feel like I could be a great general or president or something. It's so much fun to try to build up your civ to be the greatest in the world. I will say though, you have to buy the 2 big DLCs for the game also or you will be missing out on alot of good things, as this game vanilla seems unfinished. Definitely worth it if you can find all of them cheaper than full price.
Very solid.Dyzzles | Feb. 12, 2014 | See all Dyzzles's reviews »
First off, I'd like to throw this out there first... Not everyone will enjoy this game. It's not something just about everyone can get into. Leaving that aside, if you're a fan of strategy games, you'll definitely get your slice of fun out of this. Not just Civ 5, but the franchise as a whole. It'll definitely keep you entertained for many hours. The only bad side I could find is that it can get repetitive, especially if you're playing against AI. Playing with other players and friends covers that, though. Always nice to have someone you can talk to and discuss your next moves with. All in all, definitely a game worth purchasing. Do consider giving it a try!
A nice surprise...xanthophylle | Feb. 11, 2014 | See all xanthophylle's reviews »
I'm really not a fan of turn-based games, but this game is a nice surprise for me. Pretty easy to understand, you get into the game really fast. You can spend hours on the same saved game (I only have one and played for more than 20 hours!) and battle for the world in epic battles. A little bit repetitive and some long texture loading times, these are almost the only negative points. A good and addictive game, totally worth 30 dollars.
A steb back from Civilization IVsas41 | Feb. 10, 2014 | See all sas41's reviews »
Civilization V is a Grand Strategy game or in other words, a 4X game. Civilization Series are games about controlling an empire and conquering the world by any means necessary! Unfortunately Civ V lacks the features and content that were in the older version of the game, Civ IV. But with the release of the recent expansion Brave New World, Civ V can offer both the visuals of its own engine and content no less from it predecessor Civ IV. If you want a complete experience I suggest getting the Civilization V Complete Edition or at least getting the Brave New World Expansion pack, but Gods and Kings is not that bad too, but I prefer BnW.
SUBLIMEicnivadodranoel | Feb. 8, 2014 | See all icnivadodranoel's reviews »
I do not think it needs to presentations if you love the type is a must less articulated than its predecessor, so it is more 'suitable to the new recruits, but there are some dlc to make the gameplay deeper attention to your social life, you start thinking about the game to stop after a few hours and you will end up the next day still in the chair to move armies and ...
Witness the steps of our civilization first hand!AkiMatti | Feb. 5, 2014 | See all AkiMatti's reviews »
I had never played a civilization game before this. I had heard great things about it from my friends many years ago when they were playing Civ 2 and quite frankly, I couldn't help but feel a bit left out not being able to see what all the fuzz was. I had also heard on reddit many times that once you start playing Civilization, you won't be able to stop. With this information in mind, I was a bit hesitant to begin my first game. The first surprise was how long the game took to load. Clearly, this game was not meant to be played in small bits during coffee breaks. I started with Russia since it was the closest nation to Finland, which I would've preferred. At first I was a bit at loss with all the bits and pieces of the GUI and what they meant, trying to simply do some rudimentary things in expanding my city and my nations borders. The learning curve is peretty easy, though, and gradually I began to understand the options I had before me. Although there seemed to be fairly little for me to do besides scouting, researching and building, the game managed to keep me occupied past midnight. I'm still not sure if that was because I wanted to advance more quickly or if it simply was so addicting. However, after a few days I got notice from my wife that I'm losing control over my gaming hours. So there definately was some addiction in this game, something that kept me in even though it is hard to pinpoint the reason. Before Civ 5, my closest experience to this kind of game must have been the first Total War: Shogun game. That one really kept my attention and I had a great time with it, planning my strategy. Civ 5 seemed to get my time also, but it did not raise the same kind of enjoyment as Shogun had. Sure, playing Civ didn't feel exactly boring or like work, but I wasn't either as immersed into the game as I thought I would be. I guess it felt hard to step into the ruler's shoes in this game. I felt more like a player than a ruler or a general like in Shogun. I've yet to conclude my first game of Civ. It seems hard to to go back to it, since if you only play for a little while or even an hour, you don't really advance that much in that time. And Civ games seem to last very long. If there were more indications of progress than just getting more cities and unlocking new parts of the research tree or the diplomacy options would be better I'm sure I'd return to it more eagerly. But as of now, I'll let it rest and wait for some other time. The time invested versus the progress gained just doesn't seem to be in balance or at least not suitable for a father of 3 small children. Maybe this just isn't a game for me? It's impossible to get a "quick fix" of Civilization since even one game seems to take hours upon hours before finish. So, for me, this game is mediocre. Not boring but neither exhilarating. If I want my brain teased, I'll turn to Grimrock instead.
Shallow, monotonous, and highly over-ratedLSD | Feb. 5, 2014 | See all LSD's reviews »
It's one of the most over-rated games i've played. I love strategy games of all types, and i'd heard a lot about Civ V -- a lot of which turned out to be lies. It's neither deep nor interesting, and is simply monotonous and boring. Most of the game feels poorly fleshed out, and requires very little thought to play -- especially since the AI is absolutely horrendous. The expensive expansion packs really improve the gameplay, and bring the game's score up to a 7/10, but without the DLC, this game is absolutely terrible. It's as though the game was released way too early...
Turn-Based Strategie on it's Best!sam0kramer | Jan. 25, 2014 | See all sam0kramer's reviews »
The first time I saw this I was like: This is not my game. Then I started playing and it was surprisingly easy to understand compared to other games of it's genre and it got me hooked for many hours. A must have for all strategy game fans and also too people that are just a little interested in this genre. This game will blow away your mind! 93 out of 100 -Sam0Kramer
Great strategy gamesilviapuiu | Jan. 25, 2014 | See all silviapuiu's reviews »
Sid Meyer's Civilization V is a good strategy game, that offers a lot of ways for you to prove your tactical and strategical skills. The game is completed by a lot of DLC's that make the experience more complete. Characters are well structured, voices are pleasant, costumes are impressive and soundtracks are amazing. This is a great game for those loving this kind of games, because is like a sport of mind. We do not forget this game is a part of a great franchise and proved its quality and success for players. Moreover, the game offers you many hours played, so the game deserves all the money you paid for it.
Need Something More?Warning_origina | Jan. 23, 2014 | See all Warning_origina's reviews »
There's one thing you should know, before starting Civilization V, that you don't know when you'll finish to play! This is the classical situation of "I need only five minutes more" and you finish to play for hours. The game is enormous, starting from the cradle of a nation to bring it to the conquer of the space, and that's something very, very satisfying. Civilization V gives you so much freedom to you, You can destroy all of your enemies, you can beat them with the science, with diplomacy and so on... Civilization V is hard to explain to someone who never played a civilization game, and maybe a little hard for the new gamers, but if you give it a chance and keep playing, trying to learn from your mistakes, you're going to love it!
Ghandi is the opposite of BatmanMisterDibblez | Jan. 21, 2014 | See all MisterDibblez's reviews »
I loved this series for a long time. This, while not my favorite out of them all, is still fun. Playing with friends is worth the connection errors and arduous waiting. The single player is just as fun, and whoever allowed mods on a Civ game is being a bit overambitious. Workshop is disappointing, in a word. There isn't any fun in the beginning if you're used to action. They all start basically the same way. Some CPU Leaders, like Ghandi, and the Aztec Brutus aren't fun to play against, but fun to crush and pillage. If you're into RTS, get this immediately. If not, it'll introduce you to my second favorite genre.
Still incredibly addictivebradysam | Jan. 19, 2014 | See all bradysam's reviews »
This is civilization at it's biggest and best. The change of the format to the hexagonal system surprisingly adds an extra layer of strategy compared to the square system. If you have played Civ before in any of it's iterations you know roughly what to expect, it's turned based and you're trying to create the best civilization across the globe either through force, diplomacy or getting to space first. This time however the sheer amount of content for it is staggering, and there is more and more being added each day through the steam workshop. If you like Civ at all, then it's easy to reccomend this. Though it will eat through your free time like Civ always does, you'll keep on thinking just one more turn and before you know it you'll have to be up in an hour! If you can spare the time however, then it's a no brainer.
A legendary franchise and an extraordinary gameJokin93 | Jan. 18, 2014 | See all Jokin93's reviews »
I got this game as part of a promotion a while back and due to not having enough time, I had to postpone playing it until recently. I personally have always preferred real-time strategy games over their turn-based counterparts and I still do to a certain extent, but I must say that this game is a blast. Not only is it enjoyable, but what makes it great and well worth the price is its great replay value that makes it a long time investment. Thus being said, I already have approximately 30 hours played and I am considering buying DLC for it. This is a must-have for all the strategy fans.
Superb game!Nexxolae | Jan. 9, 2014 | See all Nexxolae's reviews »
This is, ofcourse, a strategy game. It is very detailed and way better than its predecessor, Civ IV. You can play small and fast games, but it is also possible to play 1 game for like a whole week, which is super cool and gives a great gameplay experience. Visually this game is also very good!
Top Class GameJempa92 | Jan. 5, 2014 | See all Jempa92's reviews »
This is a strategy game that delivers. Everything about this game is good. From the civilisations to the mods and scenarios. You can easily notch up many hours of gameplay without noticing and the multiplayer just increases the experience further. What is more fun than playing a game you enjoy? Well playing it with friends of course. I have the Gold version and buying it was really worth it as it adds hours more to the game with new civilisations and gameplay aspects such as religion and new units. In addition the graphics are also pretty decent and this game does not require an expensive PC to run it.
Fun game to play with friendsironman517 | Jan. 5, 2014 | See all ironman517's reviews »
This game is absolutely excellent. It is great to play with friends and family. The possibilities are endless. It has steam workshop which allows increased playability. Also, you have so much extra game play with all of the expansions. Games can last long or short and with multi-player turn sharing, it makes the game much faster than it did in old civ games. I can always go back between games and play a little civilization here and there. The Scenarios are so much fun. I wish that Civ did not hog up so much CPU resources. I have an excellent overclocked i5 and It cannot handle multi-player end game content with city-states. I can play single player with city states, but multi-player with city-states becomes laggy. All in all, this game is great and I highly recommend it.
A fantastic strategy game.Darkrai64 | Jan. 4, 2014 | See all Darkrai64's reviews »
Definitely one of the top strategic games I have ever played. This game is highly replayable, with many civilizations to choose from and many options to customize the map that you play on. The AI has been improved significantly, and if you are not careful, they can take you down on higher difficulty levels. There are nine difficulty levels to choose from, which allows anyone ranging from a new player to an experienced player to enjoy the game. The graphics are pleasant to look at and the UI is sleek, allowing ease of navigation. The combat makes it so you cannot stack all of your units on one tile and that you have to place your units strategically. There is multiplayer, but I have yet to play it since I mainly just play the singleplayer. However, I would recommend only playing multiplayer with friends. Overall, I would highly recommend buying this game.
The King is backQuillan | Dec. 27, 2013 | See all Quillan's reviews »
Civilization is a cornerstone of tactal, turn based, strategy games. This last iteration brings back some of old "feel" , returning to some more immediate mechanics and streamlining some aspects (like Religion, Government form etc) that was too demanding and too slow in the IV chapter. The AI isn't yet smart enough to dodge any complain, but for sure is better respect many other single-player title. The multiplayer option is a plus, thus isn't so easy to finish a match in such mode due to plenty of time needed to complete the full match. Other feature include a very good graphics (with scalable zoom from an over-fly view like a Sat-point of view to city level when you can see units and special buildings of your countryside), optimal sound background, very comfortable UI (many game developers should learn from Fireaxis title on how make a good user interface!).
Great strategy gamebergheer | Dec. 23, 2013 | See all bergheer's reviews »
Being a long time fan of the series, I must say that Civ V is one of the best of the series. New maps, nations and graphs, covered with the good old gameplay is something that will attract new and old civ gamers alike. The immense diversity of the nations and eras give this game a high replayability value, especially when you take the tons of DLC and add ons in to account. Although it is good it can't beat Crusader Kings II, because of the lack of dynastical and micromanagement depht. This makes this game also suitable for the non hardcore strategy fan.
Great turn-based strategy gameicole8 | Dec. 21, 2013 | See all icole8's reviews »
This game brings back memories of Spartan. Pros: Different ways of winning a game, unique abilities and units for each civilization, great graphics for such a type of game, eats away the hours you want so desperately to be gone. Cons: Not enough detail, like diplomacy, for example (at least for the core game), the AIs can be pretty annoying on higher difficulties, especially when they suddenly gang up on you and wage war, and did I mention it REALLY is time-consuming? Get it though, but along with the DLC at the same time for a complete experience.
Best Strategy Game OutTCass29 | Dec. 20, 2013 | See all TCass29's reviews »
Civ V is not only the best civilization game, but the best strategy game out right now. The gameplay is intuitive and easily understandable. The AI (if you choose to play alone) can be very easy or impossibly difficult. There are TONS (hundreds) of Steam achievements and a Steam Workshop with so much user-generated content that this game will never get boring. If you like strategy games, you have to get Civ V.
Still THE best 4X franchiseNeonberry | Dec. 20, 2013 | See all Neonberry's reviews »
If at this point you need introduction to the general concept of Civ than you either are very new to gaming or you avoided strategy games on purpose for the last 25 years. To quickly recap it is a game based on a boardgame from the early 80s where you have to expand your empire, develop technologies, conquer the other nations and maneuver diplomatically through the ages. Civ V didn't dramatically change the formula but it did refine it. It made the game somewhat more accessible (or less complex if you prefer) than Civ 4 but there is still plenty of strategical depth to keep playing it. Simply put it is one of the games that you can replay as many times you want and it just wont get boring. You want to be a military superpower? The advanced civilization ages ahead of everyone else? The most commercially succesful? Or you just want to schmooz your way to the top and piggyback the other nations? You can do it all or mix it anyhow you want. I think this game is a must have for anyone loving strategy games - whether you want to play alone or with friends.
One of the best Turned - Based strategiesdrakso | Dec. 16, 2013 | See all drakso's reviews »
A treat for all of you that want to play turned - based strategy games. It is a game with great graphics, soundtrack and game mechanics. In the game, you pick a famous ruler, and try to become the best civilization on the map, by massing armies, expanding borders, building cities and making allies and foes. There is no exact time setting, because the civilizations advance from the stone age to the future ages, but it could be altered in the advance settings of a game. It is a very easy to learn game, and there are advisors that help you along the way. The only thing that I find annoying is the AI, witch are for the most part very stupid and irrational. Overall, this game is one of the best of its kind.
This is great strategic gameBeefyBuddha | Dec. 15, 2013 | See all BeefyBuddha's reviews »
This kind of game is what I like to call a time vampire. You will start playing and by the time you have stopped its been 4 hours even though it feels like half an hour tops. You will constantly be coming back to it and the variety of civilizations is great. This is a must buy for anyone who likes strategy
Tons of funsanttuz112 | Dec. 6, 2013 | See all santtuz112's reviews »
First the bad thing, which i have encountered in my game hours is the really weird AI (haven't got that weird AI since i got gold edition tho) And now to the good things, in CIV5 theres multiple ways to win, which is always cool, You never know what the AI is going to do so its great fun to play even just with the AI than MP Its also challenging on harder difficulties if you want to have challenge as well alot Alot ALOT i mean TONS OF achievements if you into those, if you are into strategy games, i highly recommend this game to you, it becomes massive fun after you learn to play it and its even hell of a fun when you are learning it.
A nice strategy gametimcheung1123 | Dec. 2, 2013 | See all timcheung1123's reviews »
I haven't play the Civilization series before, so I have no idea on the features of this game. But after playing, it's really surprising me! I find it is not difficult to play, and it is fun to do diplomacy, technology research and war of course. Just try to control your own civilization and you'll find the fun within it. It's time for me to save more money for the DLCs!
Civilization V Is a Good TimeAcrophobiac | Nov. 28, 2013 | See all Acrophobiac's reviews »
I was skeptical at first about playing Civilization, I'm more of a first person shooter or RPG type of girl, so I wasn't sure if I'd like a tactical strategy type game. I ended up loving it, Civilization is quite fun and challenging, though at times slow especially when playing multiplayer. The AI present a good challenging game, they aren't push overs especially Ghandi. There are ways to speed up the game, for instance you can set your people to auto explore, or workers to auto build improvements. You can build your civilization however you wish, focusing on education, war, culture, religion, whatever floats your boat. Civilization games do last a long time, so if you are doing multiplayer and things are slow you might want to put on a show in the background so you don't get impatient if you are used to playing fast versus AI. If you are hardcore at gaming, there are plenty of hands on settings that you can play with. You can choose what your workers do, where your people harvest, you can play as indepth as you want. If you have played other Civilization games, you will have to adjust to the setup of the new game, the UI and other things have been moved around a bit. But it's still the same base game only with more ways to play and win and better graphics.
Better than expectedTheSteve | Nov. 23, 2013 | See all TheSteve's reviews »
I watched gameplay footage of this game and though it would be boring to play because I'm not a huge turn based fan. However, when I actually played it myself, I found myself losing track of time because of how addicting this game can be. From the very beginning it is very overwhelming but the tutorial helps you out. After the tutorial, it's an easy game to pick up and definitely difficult to master. I'm only on difficulty 3/10 and there are tons of different strategies you can use. I play so much that I think about strategies in my sleep and use them when I wake up and get back on. It can get frustrating if you play on a high difficulty but all games have their frustrations and this game's annoying parts aren't game breaking at all. A definite buy.
Good, Fun, StrategicSandromin | Nov. 22, 2013 | See all Sandromin's reviews »
A great game overall, Civilization V brings the quality up from its predecessors. Introducing better graphics and a more understandable grid system for both movement and combat. Although several features from the previous game were removed, many more were added in compensation, and the overall gameplay improved. Despite lagging behind in the later parts of a typical match, the early-game is well-built and balanced. Some features, however, were added in later DLCs, such as religion and caravans; if I considered the expansions, I would rate the game a 94/100. I thoroughly enjoyed playing Civilization V and rate it as one of the better strategy games within the past five years and I have nothing but respect for Sid Meier and 2K games. If you consider getting this game, consider getting the expansions as well, for they do nothing but contribute to the already good gameplay.
Amazing strategy gamexAFBx | Nov. 22, 2013 | See all xAFBx's reviews »
One of my favorite games, super fun once you learn to play it. You really need all the DLC to get the full/real experience though in my opinion since they left out a few things that were in previous Civ games, and didn't add them til later with DLC's. I'd highly recommend the game, though, and really recommend going on youtube and watching some "Let's Play"s of the game so you can learn how to not rage at it. The late-game gets a little annoying, though, since it takes forever for the AI to take their turns and you have to spend a lot of time on your own turns. Still a great game and if you run it in windowed-borderless, you can just tab-out and go do other things while it's taking it's turn like I do
An Real Suprise for Civilization fans, best one so farDARKKi_NZTi | Nov. 22, 2013 | See all DARKKi_NZTi's reviews »
Civilization 3 and 4 were littlebit of an disappointments but Civilization 5 makes up for it! And with Brave New World DLC it is almost perfect! If you are new to Civilization series, it is an global scale strategy game with real life civilizations and you crate cities, do diplomacy, research new things and do war ofcourse. It is easy to learn unlike some strategy games so if you are a bit shy about strategy games, with Civ5 you do not need to worry. Civilization 5 stands as best in the class right now, there is no reason to miss it.
It takes time to learnashbal2000 | Nov. 21, 2013 | See all ashbal2000's reviews »
Civilization 5 is a very slow paced game but anything can happen. Playing Multiplayer can be very slow and the community can be very impatient but playing with A.I is not that bad too! It takes time to get use to everything and knowing strategy but in the end you will never make the same mistake again. This game is perfect to play with friends and the character design in this is just wonderful and you may not even know some of the people in the game! You learn everyday! Definitely worth your money and your trouble.
A beginner's opinionfinkrocks44 | Nov. 21, 2013 | See all finkrocks44's reviews »
Civilization 5 was the first game in the series that I started out with. I had never previously intended on getting into it since it never appealed to me, but when there was an offer online to get it for free I decided to try it out. I am extremely pleasantly surprised so far, and am even going to purchase an expansion pack(brave new world) now because I like the game so much. It's a standard strategy game that has you progressing through time as you try to conquer the world, and it's actually really cool how they threw in so many real historical references to the gameplay. The only complaint I do have, however, is that with just the base game there isn't much option for how to win. Militaristic paths seem to trump all other methods of winning for speed and efficiency, so that part did annoy me a little bit. Overall this is an absolutely amazing game and I would highly recommend it if you can find a good deal around. A word to the wise, do not ever try to convince yourself that you will only play for a little bit longer, it is NEVER going to be a little bit longer, even if you're sick of the game you're in, it is very hard to quit.
Civilization V: Review 8.5/10DigDug | Nov. 21, 2013 | See all DigDug's reviews »
Civilization V is definitely a game to pick up if you enjoy the turn based strategy genre, it carefully places you in a world map of your choosing and allows you to shape your own nation whilst fighting off others to gain power, as you progress through a technology tree that unlocks a wide variety of units and upgrades to your cities. The game is slow-paced, so i wouldn't recommend it to people who would rather play a fast-paced game, the expansion packs are a bit overpriced in my personal opinion but they even out the cost with the amount of contnet they hold. 8.5/10 from me.
Very deep and highly addictiveonly1exit | Nov. 20, 2013 | See all only1exit's reviews »
Civilisation V is probably the most played game in my whole steam library, and there's a very good reason. Every time you play, sessions can take a long while, but the constantly evolving gameplay keep things fresh. There is so much gameplay here that sinking in 100 hours is very easy to do. Add to that the (proper) expansions which serve to further the game's depth and you have a real entertainment investment on your hands. It's not for everyone, but if you're looking for a proper 'thinking' game, there's nothing better.
A pleasant surprisemartinni | Nov. 20, 2013 | See all martinni's reviews »
As a real-time strategy player (and lover!) i was kinda curious to see how would i like it, back when i bought it. The truth is: at this point, I absolutely love the game! I have to organize my calendar so I can play it 'cause, let's face it, you aren't able to stop playing when you start. The 75? Well, as good as the game is now - after the release of loads of DLCs, - the base game is not that perfect. With all the DLCs to date, i'd clearly give it a 95+ rating!!
A long term reviewfingerchain | Nov. 19, 2013 | See all fingerchain's reviews »
as the title says, i've been playing this game since launch, just sharing my thoughts with the latest expansion and the current state of the game. well for starters this game is boring without the expansions especially the latest which is Brave New World.honestly you need a lot of time to get the feel for the strategy you want to achieve.but the more hours you burn into it the more you will be addicted.for me the game is more polished with the latest patch they released.a few tweaks to some game play mechanics some upgrades on some old civilizations to give new excitement to there game. other than that this game is a must have for a hardcore strategy gamer.you do need some expansions to give you more replayability and ofcourse enjoy the game.
good strategy gameruttenmurf | Nov. 18, 2013 | See all ruttenmurf's reviews »
When i bought this game i had no idea what i was buying, my friend told me it was in sale and it was a very good game and he was right. If you have a friend to play with this game is a lot of fun. The game has very good animations and the environment looks simple but beautiful. I love how there are so many factions maps and mods, I do not think there are a lot of people who have played every single nation. There is only one mistake with the game, it is not very stable when I play coop and it often crashes but it has a good auto save so it won't be that bad. Overall I love this game and if you are into strategy game you should definitely buy this one.
Great Game - Very Diverse - Great Time WasterBigglesGames | Nov. 16, 2013 | See all BigglesGames's reviews »
This game has, in my opinion, been a big approval over IV, the terrain is much more diverse and there is a lot more to this game than IV. If you are looking for a game to waste some time on, maybe even spend hours on end playing (this game will do that to you, just one more turn...) than I would recommend getting this. It is overall a well developed game with high potential for future DLC/updates.
One of the most addictive stragety games I have ever playedsquared | Nov. 13, 2013 | See all squared's reviews »
I was referred to this game by a friend, and was told that this game is amazing. At the time I didn't feel like dropping $30 on a game that I might play, because back then I hated turn based games. One day I saw that you could get this game for free on GMG if you voted for the Golden Joysticks, so I though why not? I can tell you that this game changed my whole outlook on turn based strategy games. This game offers a plethora of different map types, game lengths, civilizations and units. Plus it is integrated with the Steam Workshop so you are able to download virtually any civilization and map type you could ever think of! It is just great. I'd recommend everyone to go and buy this, what ever your game style is.
Slowest strategy game of the yearmichelpulha | Nov. 12, 2013 | See all michelpulha's reviews »
There's not much thinking to do, and the turn-based system makes the multiplayer loose all the emotion. Phrases like "c'mon!", "get out facebook and play" are very common. Also, it takes hours to play a good match. If we got a fun/hour rating, this one would get a very low rating. Most players would prefer to play other games just because they're not sure if they will play long enough to end the match. Definitely not enjoyable as a pvp competitive strategy game. However, all the other features are just awesome. The game brings a rich lore, tons of possibilities, many ways to grow each civilization and a good graphic. It comes with a nice and easy multiplayer match making, and it's absolutely perfect to play with friends.
Great GameROFLLOLSTER | Nov. 8, 2013 | See all ROFLLOLSTER's reviews »
I love this game because of the depth of gameplay. It's complicated so you don't get bored to easily but its not as complicated as crusader kings two so its understandable. The reason I haven't rated it higher is because I think the publishers are milking the game with all the DLC's. The graphics are well done, clear and easy to view. Though I don't really like the strategic mode because I think it takes away the feel of the game.81 I also think that the diplomatic relations of the game could be refined and improved beyond the simple system in the vanilla game. Overall I like the game but it could be refined and improved past what it is now.
One more turn...Alnaden | Nov. 6, 2013 | See all Alnaden's reviews »
As with the previous Civilizations fromm 1 to 4 Civ 5 is an extremely addictive game. Very good graphs and the amazing thing is how balanced it is compared to Civ 4. From the beggining till the end of one of your games you get what I call the "one more turn..." disease. You need to close your PC and do your work or go to sleep and you say "ok 1 more turn and I'll close it". 3 hours later you watch the clock and say "OH MY GOD!.. ok 1 more turn and I'll close it..." Highly recomended even for children, since its also an educational game, as long as you can control them! :)
An Addicting Strategy Gamerhandyrhoads | Nov. 5, 2013 | See all rhandyrhoads's reviews »
I had heard of this game from one of my friends and he had told me of how addicting it is. I didn't know what he meant until I opened it. Immediately I was amazed (and a bit intimidated) by all the possibilities and different ways to win. Essentially in the game you can create an empire and win through conquest, knowledge, or diplomacy. The game has good textures, but they aren't top notch. However this game doesn't require immersive graphics. When opening a saved game, even on a very powerful computer it will take a while to reload some tiles, however I have not tried installing it on an SSD. At first the game seems flawless. However eventually you start to find some problems. Automated workers will not clean nuclear fallout which can make nuclear wars even more complicated. In addition planes and missiles can easily be lost if you don't constantly move them or tell them to do nothing for one turn if they are not on a carrier. Once you start exploring the world it can also be very hard to keep track of your automated explorers. Despite these problems I still think this may be the best strategy game ever made.
A pleasant surpriseUnitarded | Nov. 4, 2013 | See all Unitarded's reviews »
This is my first turn-based game, and I have to say I am already struck and stuck. Extremley rewarding and exiting, yet relaxing to play. Big thanks to GMG and Joystick for giving a way such a nice experience for free. Already bought Gods and Kings DLC, and I suspect not only this franchise, but also genre will be digging a hole on my wallet from now on.
Fun and addiction2slow4me | Nov. 3, 2013 | See all 2slow4me's reviews »
I will start this with a warning: DO NOT PLAY THIS IF YOU HAVE ANYTHING THAT NEEDS TO BE DONE! Seriously, this game will give you so much fun, you will forget about anything and anyone. Anyway, the game itself is very well made, complex enough to entertain the veterans and simple enough to welcome the newcomers. The ample amounts of things to do will keep you glued to the screen while you watch the Pyramids being built (although it's weird enough when they rise from the ocean), or while your scout explores the land. GET. THIS. GAME.
Different, but still greatkrowiak | Nov. 2, 2013 | See all krowiak's reviews »
The game is noticably different than previous games in the series - this is very important, and, I believe, the source of most of complaints. However, if you're not just looking for Civ-IV-but-prettier, it is an amazing game with lots of depth, quite a bit of variety (the special perks of each civilizations can on their own make games feel different) and - finally - a really engaging tactical layer. There are downsides, however: AI can act pretty irrationally (it is much better that what was supposedly happening before patchs, though) and some parts (espionage, religion, international trade) are not present in the base game, so if you want them, you'll have to buy expansions; finally, the research tree is a bit too linear. Still, even in this shape, I can easily reccomend it.
Great and Addicting!Koolzkid152 | Oct. 30, 2013 | See all Koolzkid152's reviews »
This is a WONDERFUL game for those who like games that make them think and strategize. This game is great for new players, I played Civilization IV for only about a week prior to getting Civilization V, and I was able to jump right into the action. The several difficulty settings along with the tutorials help to make this game amazing for both new and experienced players.
Too much funOverweightGhost | Oct. 25, 2013 | See all OverweightGhost's reviews »
This was my first Civilization experience, and if you are on the fence about buying this game don't be it is a solid experience. Every hour I put into this game I feel more and more rewarded, whether you're playing Single Player or with your friends. If you find yourself getting bored there are a plethora of DLC and Expansions to keep you playing. TL;DR BUY THIS GAME.
Excellent and Addictivewestleysnipez | Oct. 25, 2013 | See all westleysnipez's reviews »
One of the best games I have ever played, I've logged almost 500 hours on it and I've had it for just over a year. My friends and I play it at LAN Parties and it's super addictive. There are so many different ways to play, and that's what makes it great. You don't have to win by fighting, and you can save multiplayer games and come back to it later. All in all, a great game and I highly recommend it to anyone wanting to get a bang for their buck. The DLCs add even more fun to it, but I wouldn't reccommend getting them at their full prices, wait until they go on sale.
turn based strategy at its best.shivam13 | Oct. 24, 2013 | See all shivam13's reviews »
yep, you read it right. the game is just awesome, from graphics to gameplay to campaign,all good. as i got this game free from gmg ang 2k games(thanks :)), i'm just loving it. right to start, the as the game is turn based, players have turn and in that turn have to manage several thing like military units,foods,supplies, taking over neighbour country, to make sure that the players civ grows better and faster. then after some round(games) end, or achieve the victory condition , then he wins. the ai is quite impressive in this game. then there are special persons which have some kind of bonuses. also, the graphics are really good and campaign is quite long. also there are several dlc's(brave new world and god & kings) which have new civilization and religins(ofc i'll buy it, in sale ;) ). also a good thing in civ in compare to previous civ game that to win, one must focus on goal "trees", where u have to complete like 6/10 objectives. so final words: if u didn't got this for free, buy it even in sale, a must play.
My favorite Civ yetMatthew_Lumie | Oct. 21, 2013 | See all Matthew_Lumie's reviews »
While other Civilization games have generally felt like something was missing, this one coupled with either expansion is a near perfect turn based strategy game! In total I think it currently features 43 civilizations, each with their own unique buildings, abilities, and of course units. You can play in theoretically countless ways and act as, for example as a destructive warlord who brings your enemies to their knees or a saintly ruler who looks after his own people and others in a hospitable manner. I find the game somewhat expands my own awareness, unless I find myself addicted!
One of the best gameswetsoks | Oct. 20, 2013 | See all wetsoks's reviews »
This game is so fun and addictive, it will literally suck up tons of hours. Game-play is easy to learn, and is very rewarding. The mods the community also make for this game add even more hours of enjoyment. My only gripe with this game is some parts of the diplomatic sections, such as alliances, but overall, does not hold the game back too much.
Great empire building turn-based strategygreenmartianman | Oct. 19, 2013 | See all greenmartianman's reviews »
Despite not having any experience with the older Civilization title's, I still found myself enjoying the game a little more than I expected. The game is very accessible for a first time Civilization player like me with the helpful tooltips that pop-up occasionally along with the advisors offering you advices. Sure, I was not min-maxing my resources or building the greatest empire in the world but that did not discourage me from continually playing the game. Still this game is best played with friends. Learn from each others play styles and you might just discover something about your friend that you didn't know before. A lot of replayability and generally being fun makes this game a definite reccomendation from me.
FunXillion | Oct. 18, 2013 | See all Xillion's reviews »
At first glance, i thought this game would of been boring. I couldn't get into the RTS genre that much but when i actually played the game, it was actually fun. You find cities and build empires. The concept of building empires from scratch appealed to me and i was instantly hooked. I have already logged in 20 hours and i still find it fun. The graphics are absolutely beautiful when maxed out. For 30$, you are getting more content than you think. It's a game you shouldn't miss out on.
Addicting game.workout321 | Oct. 18, 2013 | See all workout321's reviews »
If you're looking for a game that has a lot of depth and requires a lot of thinking but not as complex as Europa Universalis, then you should buy Civilization 5. This game will make you forget about your real life because it's so addicting and FUN! The best thing is that new players to the series can start at Civ 5 and there's no need to backtrack and play the other Civ games. There are multiple choices and paths to achieve victory. If you like to wage war on other countries to gain power and win, it's possible. Want to win the game by going the peaceful diplomat path? It also works! The campaign is really fun and addicting. When you're done with the campaign, you can play with friends which is even more fun!
Great Game, Great DLC, Great Time!robthegamer | Oct. 16, 2013 | See all robthegamer's reviews »
Before I bought myself civilization v last year, strategy games were the last thing on my mind. I decided to pick it up, as I had a few extra pounds, and it was fairly cheap. I installed it straight away and was surprised by how good the graphics were. For a typical fps gamer, this was a culture shock to me. The BNW expansion adds depth to the already intricate system of civ v. In the base game alone a long time was spent on many different saves. In my opinion, Civ V is a game that can turn any type of gamer into a full on strategy geek, who can just lose themselves in any type of strategy game, whither it be turn based, or real time strategy. Great game for anybody getting into strategy games.
Cultivate A World, The Path To Do So Is YoursCrimsonWizard | Oct. 14, 2013 | See all CrimsonWizard's reviews »
A couple of things before I begin. This is for the base Civ V game, and this is my first Civilization game, so take this as a review from someone new to this sort of world building game. That said, Civilization V is a fun game and a great introduction to the genre...if you play on Beginner difficulty. The game does a good job of telling you how to do develop your cities thanks to your advisers provided. You're also given many options for improving your nation. You can develop for war, for culture, science, or some combination of all three. Diplomacy also plays a role, giving you the opportunity to collaborate with others or trade for things your nation needs. It isn't perfect, and the computer basically cheats on higher difficulties, but it does give you a sense that you have several nations building up, eager to be the world superpower. Multiplayer fixes that sort of problem though since everyone has relatively even chances, barring a bad starting point. Civilization V as a strategy game is a rather fun simulation and while I can't compare it to the previous games in the series, I can say I had a fun time. Any game that lets me take over with a Space Rocket made in 1925 is alright in my book, and seeing other nations scramble to appease you once you start marching through with a huge army is a thrill. Overall, great game, try it out. I'm very tempted to try out the DLC as well, but the base game is a great experience on its own.
In a word: Awesome!!TabulateNewt8 | Oct. 10, 2013 | See all TabulateNewt8's reviews »
What can I say about Civ 5? It's incredibly addictive for one. I didn't really believe the 'One More Turn' slogan they adopted for the game but after playing it I can say that it's accurate! The urge to just play one more turn to see your civilisation get one more city or get your next research or construction project is almost unresistable. Seeing your civilisation grow from your first fledgling city to a global empire is incredibly rewarding and gives me a huge sense of pride seeing my cities flourishing under my rule. The game has immense amounts of content through all the time periods in the game and it's an awesome feeling discovering a new unit or research you missed last time you played. There's a huge amount of replayability here as well with randomly generated maps for you to explore and conquer as you want. In conclusion Civilisation 5 is an awesome game and it's thoroughly recommended for anyone whether you're in to strategy games or not.
Very addictivemaces006 | Oct. 5, 2013 | See all maces006's reviews »
For someone like myself who doesn't play many strategy games, Civ 5 is a very good game. The pc version has plenty of options for graphics and gameplay which allows for the game to be played on many computers with different configurations. With Civ 5 being a turn based strategy game it allows you to fully assess the situation of a battle or even your surrounding areas without worrying to much about unexpected threats. The combat mechanics of Civ 5 are very well put together, as well as the animations of the battles and movement. There are many different types of people you can control from soldiers to farmers, which allows for a very large management. There are also special abilities that are obtainable after reaching certain points in the game; these will give you percs to improve your cities. Overall Civ 5 is a very great TBS with alot of replayability.
What a game!NFLfan2539 | Oct. 3, 2013 | See all NFLfan2539's reviews »
Sid Meier's Civilization V is an amazing game. It is my most played game on steam so far. Why is that? The one-more-turn syndrome. What is the one-more-turn syndrome you ask? Well it occurs when the gamer opens up Civilization V. They are engulfed in the amazing gameplay, devising strategies to destroy the enemies. They think about their civilization's situation, looking for which civilizations to ally, and which to burn through the ground. Will the gamer go for a science victory? Or will the gamer try to build a gigantic army to burn everyone else to the ground. How will the gamer deal with internal problems like happiness and economy? Should the gamer expand across the earth? Or should they gain their cities through commanding and conquering (see what I did there?)? The gamer thinks about all of these, and forgets about the world around him. The game just absorbs your attention like no other. It makes you feel like a real leader. The civilization rises and falls through your command. Its power lies in your hands, and that is the true joy that this game brings. The gameplay isn't that bad either. Choosing your research, making an army, and micromanaging all of your units are downright amazing tasks, which I believe that Firaxis Games did (near) perfectly. The replayability in this game is astounding. The only flaw in my opinion is that other Civilization leaders can be somewhat unpredictable at times. Other than that, the game is just amazing.
AdictingXuanwilliam | Sept. 28, 2013 | See all Xuanwilliam's reviews »
This game can make you forget about time. The fact that a lot of things are going on, ( if there were not a lot you could just skip it) is simply addicting. The many leaders and their attitudes to the other leaders are actually pretty realistic. The ability to create so much customization for the map and yet be fair to even the A.I is just ingenuous. The expansions, i must admit, are pretty expensive so i would recommend you to buy it when it gets on offer but when you do, you are going to have a hell of a fun. GK expansion provided region that civ v lack in comparison to civ 4 and they made some changes to the polices and added in spies as well. GK was a fantastic expansion. As for BNW, I still have not bought it but it will be amazing.
Very good game, but get the DLC as well!EDP | Sept. 27, 2013 | See all EDP's reviews »
I recommend to look into buying the base game along with DLC. At least the BNW expansion, which makes the game feel much more complete and better balanced. Other than that I can say: This game is the industry standard for turn-based strategy that sticks as close to real-time strategy as possible. Another cool feature is that micro management is quite detailed, but it pays off really well when you know what you're doing. Invest some time in this game and read about the many, many different strategies to victory on the different fan sites out there.
Very addicting way to lose hoursKnctrnl1 | Sept. 26, 2013 | See all Knctrnl1's reviews »
Great detail and gameplay. Lots of fun replayability. So many nations to choose from with great bonuses and different styles. Also a huge mod community keeps this game going. The expensive expansions are the only downfall as I dont believe they add enough for the $30 price tags. Buy them on sale. But overall a great game and time sink.
One More Turn becomes Ten More HoursCoillyZ | Sept. 25, 2013 | See all CoillyZ's reviews »
This is one of the most addictive games I have ever played. When I first booted it up, I had no clue what I was in for. I ended up playing for 10 hours straight. It in itself is a pretty deep game that will have enough content for multiple playthroughs. The graphics are great for a Strategy game, and the music is catchy.
Enjoyable yet no real challengebossmac | Sept. 24, 2013 | See all bossmac's reviews »
Civilization V offers a fresh visual take on the classic Civ formula and at its core retains the defining gameplay which makes Civ so enjoyable. As stated by another user review, expansion additions should've been in the base game already seeing as they were already there from the last Civ 4. One just wishes to have the AI really become more strategic rather than being given bonuses in the higher difficulties like Immortal or Deity. All in all though, its a good buy and a great start if you're new to the Civilization games and don't want to bother with the older entries in the series. If you can get the game on sale, it's definitely worth checking out.
RTS with nukesg_reaper1666 | Sept. 20, 2013 | See all g_reaper1666's reviews »
Civilization V is one of those games where you can keep playing it for hours on end until you have gotten into the 100s of hours of gameplay. That is how addictive this game is, especially once you develop the atomic bomb and especially if you develop them before anyone else it is unfortunate that the capitals can't be destroyed by nukes without a mod which is unfortunate this is one of the most addictive games that i have ever played.
Very good!Arp1033 | Sept. 20, 2013 | See all Arp1033's reviews »
I have wasted many an hour on this game, and the Civs that came before it. Ever since I was a small child, I remember playing Civilization II and getting crushed, and the Civilization III and coming out a bit higher up the loser pole. Alpha Centari was my first taste of victory, and then came Civilization IV. Man, I thought there could never be a better Civ game. Then V came out. I was a young man, about to graduate college, and Civilization V came out near my birthday. I decided to pick it up with the little bit of cash I got, and boy was it worth it. Hours went into it, and it has never left my computer. I dare not play it these days, as every time I do I fall into a black hole of "just one more turn." If you like turn based strategy, you owe it to yourself to get this game.
Hours and Hours of Addictive Gameplayelcjcraven | Sept. 18, 2013 | See all elcjcraven's reviews »
This is truly one of the best turn based strategy games made for pc despite being almost 2 years old. The all new hexagonal movement system is awesome, not to mention the addition of faith to the game play repertoire. Also they is a slew of new wonders, buildings, and civilizations not found in any other games. This cam can literally be played for hundreds of hours without the same awesome experience occurring once.
Eh....Nice game, but no Civ 4!Angelos79 | Sept. 16, 2013 | See all Angelos79's reviews »
Don't misunderstand, this game has serious design attitude and some good ideas, but it is just too shallow compared to Civ3 in it's final form.It's main problem is the lack of depth. Ok, if one buys all expansions that will ever come out, maybe stuff like culture, religion and espionage will come in, but i consider those elements that should be in from the get-go. This offering is just too simple and easy for the series' standards. Still, i suppose it will be nice for newcomers. Still, i expected more. Wait for a discount before buying!
One of the easier Civilizations to get intodarter9000 | Sept. 13, 2013 | See all darter9000's reviews »
Civilization II is a classic, but even the easier difficulty levels are very punishing. My main complaint would be that the game's capacity to raise difficulty level is pretty much limited to what kind of headstart they give your computer opponents.
the bestR3D_L1T3 | Aug. 29, 2013 | See all R3D_L1T3's reviews »
I was hesitant at first because I am not a huge strategy game player, next thing I know I've been playing for over a year and have 600+ hours and no intent to stop soon. Nice graphics, amazing gameplay and (finally) awesome multiplayer!
Fantastic!sionmadden | Aug. 29, 2013 | See all sionmadden's reviews »
Ever since I bought this game (on steam, sadly I hadn't found this site yet!) I have had nothing but fun with it! It is unlike any other Grand Strategy game, and it brings so much to the table. I always enjoyed beating my rivals with science, and invading them with my tanks while they wallow around with muskets, before launching a space-ship to Alpha Centauri and winning the game! It provides numerous ways to win, which invites people of many different play styles. It has numerous different Civilizations you can play as, or oppose. Watch out for Montezuma, he isn't the friendliest! In conclusion, worth every cent. Buy it!
Hours upon hours of gameplayHoochI5Crazy | Aug. 27, 2013 | See all HoochI5Crazy's reviews »
One of the best games ever made, hours of fun.
Just one more turn...Crazyhowie | Aug. 27, 2013 | See all Crazyhowie's reviews »
A little review I wrote back in February on Steam. Just one more turn... A fresh coat of paint for the Civilization series. Elimination of unit stacking and the change to hex tiles offer a refreshing twist on the combat aspect of the game. I highly recommend picking up the Gods and Kings expansion as it fills in the holes that I felt were missing feature wise in this base version. Overall though, this game is as addictive as ever. On the multiplayer side of thing, it's a mixed bag. Turns are simultaneous, although combat is essentially real-time, so it can feel broken and cheap at times. That said, there is still plenty of fun to be had with friends, and being able to save and load a multiplayer game is an excellent feature.
An extremely rewarding RTS.....at least at the beginingBronYrAurStomp | Aug. 24, 2013 | See all BronYrAurStomp's reviews »
Civilization 5 is an extremely fun and surprisingly addictive turn-based RTS game that uses a tile system to represent expansion. The most interesting periods of the game can be found at the beginning, where you fight off rivals and negotiate with allies to expand your territories and acquire resources. The further you advance through technologies and discover new ages the less interesting it becomes. There becomes little reason to negotiate or use diplomacy and if your not careful you can wipe out most of the enemies or allies in the game, rendering the end periods extremely boring.
A must have for ALL strategy gamersnightassassin1 | Aug. 21, 2013 | See all nightassassin1's reviews »
This is one amazing game. It is like a combination of Risk and Command and Conquer on steroids. You create units in your main city and send them out to conquer other NPCs or players, spread word of religion, intimidate other nations, settle more cities, and many other things. You must attempt to win by either conquering all other major players (NPC or human), through religion, through science, through culture, through diplomacy, or by being the top player at the end of a certain time period. This gives you so many options of how you can play the game to win and this is a much different concept from most strategy games like this, as they usually require complete or nearly complete destruction of any opponents. The game features a large amount of units ranging form basic ax wielding ground units to nuclear subs and bombers equipped with nuclear missiles. The game progression is very neat in the way that you start in a primitive age and progress to current age technology and units. The graphics of the game are decent. The graphics are not as intense as games like Battlefield 3, but it is still a nice graphic setup for a strategy game. The game can also be changed into a board game style look by pressing a function key, I believe it is F5. There is only one thing wrong with the game. It consumes so much time. The game is very slow paced. One game can easily take 5 or more hours, and in some cases even 15. The time can be lowered slightly by removing animations for battle and movement. This helps a lot with planes and makes turns much faster for movement. I have personally never encountered glitches or crashes. Well one more minor thing to add is that the AI for the worker units that improve the land is not very good when set on automatic. They may sometimes stop working even though there is land to improve or they will remove an improvement to add a different one that you did not need, dropping your food supply to 0 in that city. My strategy is to start manually with them, then after a while send them to automatic and if something is critical, manually fix it. Overall this game is just amazing, but be careful of the time suck. You will sit down for a short game and get up about 5 hours later without notice. There is so much you can do and so many ways to win that even if you start to fall behind in one scenario, you turn around and advance in another. I have won countless ways by doing this. The best way to express my interest in this game is to say that if you don't have this game, you are not a strategy gamer. There is no getting around it. It is a good price as it has aged a bit, and on sale it is very cheap. I will drop one point for not being able to stop animations for planes. The normal animations for troops is fun to watch, but at this point it is all or nothing. The plane attack animation takes around 4 to 5x longer than normal troop attack animations. Attacking with 5 or more planes takes forever, which is bad when all major players have a large number of them. GET THIS GAME O.O
Addicting strategytoasteddude | Aug. 21, 2013 | See all toasteddude's reviews »
Civilization V is a massive strategy game. It sucks you in right from the start, though if you are new, you probably won't have much of a clue what you are doing. There is a lot of depth and a lot to learn, but it's worth it in the long run. There is a lot of fun to be had in building your empire. The worst thing about this game is the AI. It isn't all that smart and higher difficulties artificially challenge you by giving the AI additional bonuses rather than better management. The other major issue is the focus on "winning" the game rather than just existing as a civilization. I can't help but wish the AI could just play like a leader trying to run an empire rather than another player in a board game. Also note that if you plan on having large games with many AI opponents, the game will slow down as it drags on and you many need to wait almost 2 minutes between turns. Considering that you can easily find yourself waiting for constructions to finish and not doing much else for a set of turns in a row, it can be a big issue. Despite the flaws, you'll likely get way more than your money's worth with Civilization V.
Great but longgravekeeper867 | Aug. 21, 2013 | See all gravekeeper867's reviews »
This game is great if you are looking for a turn based strategy game for mulitplayer or single player. The graphics are definitely a step up from the previous version civilization 4. However this game has improvements over the previous one but still has hick ups. For instance military units are no longer stack-able which leads to most of my headaches when garrisoning units for attack and just plainly moving my armies in general. Also I feel that they made this game even longer than the last one, not saying it is a bad thing but can grow tiresome on standard time settings.
A typical Civilization gameSmindy | Aug. 19, 2013 | See all Smindy's reviews »
If you played Civilization IV, you know exactly what to expect from this game. It looks good, plays good, and manages to keep you playing "for just one more turn" for hours at a time. It's a game you can pick up, play for a week, put back down, come back months later and still know what you're doing. I highly recommend, especially if you can find a deal that includes DLC with it.
Good Gamesoilbleed | Aug. 18, 2013 | See all soilbleed's reviews »
Holds many variations of gamestyles, almost like they were expansions. A complete game vanilla and magnificent with the complete pack. Achievements för this game are insanely hard, an extra challenge.
Amazing Game / Addicting TimesinkAlmcaeobtac | Aug. 15, 2013 | See all Almcaeobtac's reviews »
One of my favorite games of all time, although I only just recently started playing. The graphics are stunning, the audio great, and the gameplay is exceptional. Although arguably more casualized than the fourth installment of the genre, CIV 5 is definitely still very fun. The amount that you can change by creating custom scenarios makes it new and fresh every time you play it. The AI react realistically to many situations, but the real fun is playing in a large multiplayer game with friends, which is easy to do through steam. Solid game, very addicting.
A brilliant masterpiece.Gantork | Aug. 14, 2013 | See all Gantork's reviews »
Sid Meier´s Civilization V is an amazing game, with tons of content and mostly fantastic dlc. The game will keep you busy for a long time, and it sure is worth your money.
Hands down the best turn-based strategy game there is.limmplimmp | Aug. 14, 2013 | See all limmplimmp's reviews »
Civ 5 is in my opinion the best strategy game in the market today. With all it's content you can have fun with it for hundreds of hours and even then there is a modding community that increases the length of the game by hundreds of hours more. This might has to do a lot with the fact that one match can take from a couple of hours to about 10-15 hours to complete. There are lots of options to choose before a match starts, like how the climate and the weather should be on the map, how large it should be and how many players there are. everything impacts the gameplay which gives you ALOT of replayability. If you like turn-based strategy games, this is the game for you. It should atleast give your 100 hours of playtime and with DLCs and mods adding more content it should not be a disappointment for sure.
A good time sinkhiltonneale | Aug. 14, 2013 | See all hiltonneale's reviews »
This game is really amazing. It's capable of encapsulating you for hours on end. Truly a worthy purchase. Though, if you want to augment your game experience, I recommend picking up the expansions. Especially Brave new world. It adds a lot of extra experiences to make the late game more feasible. This game is a turn based strategy game, sometimes referred to as "4X". It supports directX9 and 11. It runs fine in Windows 7 64 bit and integrated nicely with the steam client.
Simply must have itbartinkopl2 | Aug. 11, 2013 | See all bartinkopl2's reviews »
My friend told me about this game - I wasn't really interested but when I bought the game on Summer Sale and launched it I regret that - this game is so awesome that you simply cannot just pause it and quit, you need to play. If you are looking for a good strategy, which you can play alone or with friends in multiplayer mode then look no further as Civilization V was created for you. Graphics - 8/10 Soundtrack - 8/10 Storyline/Mechanics of game - 10/10
A Fantastic Gamehasib11m | Aug. 11, 2013 | See all hasib11m's reviews »
This game has an amazing amount of content and will keep you busy for a long time.
A brilliant gem of a gametoneo | Aug. 10, 2013 | See all toneo's reviews »
If you love strategy games, you'll love this one. It's very in-depth, but still pretty easy to pick up if you're new to Civ. I've personally started playing at 9PM and accidentally ended up playing until 4AM. Civ 5 is a massive timehog, even on the quickest game speed, and you'll find yourself addicted after your first 5 minutes of playing. The depth is pretty nice. There are five different victory conditions, each of which requires a level of strategy. You could win culturally, by adopting 5 different policy trees and building the Utopia project. You could win technologically, by researching and building spaceship parts. You could win diplomatically, by researching and building the United Nations - don't forget to build relations with the other civs first! Finally, you can win by steamrolling the other civs with your military machine. It's pretty unwise to dedicate yourself entirely to achieve a victory - some tactical sacrifices need to be made to defend against your enemies, or to sabotage their efforts. This game is fantastic in multiplayer - I would strongly recommend grabbing 2 or more friends. There are some great customisation options for multiplayer games which adds variety - you can play on Earth, for example, and each of you will start out in a random country! The terrain has some great features; Some tiles give defensive bonuses for units and cities, some are better at generating food, production, gold, etc. You could place your city on a hill to make it more defensible, or you could put it next to mountains to limit attack paths, or you could put it next to a river so you can build a water mill and increase food production, or you could put it on the coast so it can build ships, the list goes on, and on, and on. Only by playing the hell out of this game will you get a sense of its depth. I love this game. As for what needs polishing - occasionally the camera can be irritating, deciding to switch to the first unit that needs moving instead of letting you move the one you've pre-selected. The AI is pretty goofy sometimes too, refusing to surrender even when its last city is crumbling. It barely detracts from the game though!
Civilization V will be your favourite time waster.crankafoo | Aug. 10, 2013 | See all crankafoo's reviews »
The fantastic strategy franchise keeps its addictive formula and shows why it's a force to be reckon with in Civilization V. Not only will you lose countless hours with it's "one more turn..." gameplay, but you'll get a new experience every time you play. With tons of civilizations, map options, and scenarios to choose from you'll be playing long after your purchase. This is a must-have for any strategy fan and is easy enough for newcomers to the genre. I can't recommend Civilization V enough.
Where'd the time go?Holofire | Aug. 9, 2013 | See all Holofire's reviews »
Wow, what a game. This is one of the greatest strategy games I own, and I have sunk many hours destroying and conquering nations. It has incredibly high replay-ability guaranteeing a different, fresh experience every time. The choice of civilizations is incredible, each which its own perks and play styles. It is aesthetically pleasing and incredibly fun to watch the game progress and technology becoming more complex. Victories are incredibly satisfying with a multitude of paths to take, such as dominating the entire map, or befriending each civilization to become a world leader. If you have time to kill, this game wont fail to keep you amused for hours.
A must ownRadiatorFanboy | Aug. 8, 2013 | See all RadiatorFanboy's reviews »
I think that the most fun in playing this assides from destroying opponents was the early game as you really feel that every turn matters whereas late game you just cycle through units and it becomes less about tactics and just surround and spam. There are little things but are in no way game breaking like the barbarian AI which does make the game harder if they take your units but the game being to easy would not be a challenge. An amazing game that is is definitely worth getting the dlc for as it genuinely adds more to the game experience. Fun with friends or alone.
Hours and hours of fun gameplayCowsy | Aug. 7, 2013 | See all Cowsy's reviews »
This game is absolutely amazing. The best turn based RTS I have ever played and I have played quite a few of them. It also runs gfreat on many different types of machines thanks to the game letting you choose from start in what kind of mode you want to play it in. I do want to try out the touch mode but unfortunatly I don't have a touchscreen at home. I can just imagine how it would be playing this on a 65 inch touchscreen panel that would be so awesome. I can nothing but recommend this game to everyone who enjoyes RTS games.
Free time destroyerFearlessHobo | Aug. 4, 2013 | See all FearlessHobo's reviews »
I was brought into the the wonderful world of Civilization from the Civilization Revolution demo released for consoles, and this game was the perfect next step for me. Upon hearing about it and having a couple friends who have already purchased it I convinced myself to buy it and play the more "mature" and "complete" Civilization experience (in comparison to the console exclusive; Civilization Revolution). I was certainly not disappointed. The new features are numerous, yet identifiable, and only add to the overall experience. For example: unit stacking from previous Civ games is gone; at first I missed this, however, I grew to understand the complexity this adds to battle strategies and overall makes the game more satisfying. This is the game for any loyal fan of the strategy genre, but the somewhat quick-to-learn gameplay and the in-depth tutorials provided in real-time by your "advisers". Really, the main flaw with the game is that the AI can sometimes be a little bit wonky (in terms of diplomacy issues), everything else is fairly balanced and makes for an excellent game. Overall, I strongly recommend this game. It is simple, yet complex, has only a few flaws, and kills time better than anything else (once the "one... more... turn..." mindset kicks in you won't notice how much time has actually passed).
Just one more turn...zipnox | July 29, 2013 | See all zipnox's reviews »
Civilization V is one of those games that just keeps you going until you suddenly realize it's morning. It's a grand strategy game where you set out to build your own civilization while up against barbarians and other threatening civilizations. There are plenty of ways to advance your empire, through cultural means, diplomacy, war and more. My only gripe with the game is that sometimes the AI acts questionably. I really enjoy the art direction and the well made soundtrack, you just have to sit back and get comfortable while ordering your minions around. This game has excellent replayability and no playthrough is ever the same, you can play around with different settings and difficulties to suit your needs. Civilization V also has a great modding community providing lots of additional scenarios. I have a hard time finding anything I dislike about this game. It's excellent, if you're a fan of turn-based strategy then definitely pick this up.
Fun and AbsorbingDimber | July 29, 2013 | See all Dimber's reviews »
This game is one of the best turn-based strategy games ever. It is so fun, and so absorbing that it makes you want to never stop playing. In 9 hours of gameplay, I went from having one city in South America to owning a future nation taking most of South America and North America, half from conquest, half from exploring. Get this game--it's very creative and explorative.
How wrong I was.Heavenswake | July 28, 2013 | See all Heavenswake's reviews »
Used to make fun of one of my friends for playing Civ, I thought it was boring and uninteresting... how wrong was I? Picked this up as a freebie from pre-ordering Bioshock Infinite with almost no intention to play. I eventually got around to it, and before I noticed it was many hours later. Talked some of my friends into getting it, now we play very often. Only thing is though I wish the lobby system worked better, we constantly had to shuffle who was hosting the game because it continuously messed up :(. However that never stopped us... lol. Great game.
Hours of funsammichthyme | July 28, 2013 | See all sammichthyme's reviews »
I've never particularly enjoyed strategy games but Civ 5 always has me coming back. There are so many choices that I can stay engrossed for hours on end. I also love the bang-for-buck graphical quality that lets me play on my laptop at 1080p with decent settings, but then switch over to my 1440p desktop and max it all out. I highly recommend this game.
Amazingceldiruen | July 26, 2013 | See all celdiruen's reviews »
Civ 5 is an amazing game. If you're a fan of strategy games such as this one, you owe it to yourself to play it. The base game itself is good, but not without its flaws. Stacking, from Civ 4, is now gone. Each unit takes up a hex on the map and you cannot have more than one in the same spot. This introduces a whole new dynamic to combat. For the ultimate experience, this should be played with the newest expansions, Gods and Kings and Brave New World. The first improves upon and introduces religion systems, while the second greatly improves trade. Buy it, play it, cry from joy.
The big C is back!Veniu | July 26, 2013 | See all Veniu's reviews »
If you're reading this, you also probably remember Civilization II. My favourite. As I've waited long years for upcoming civilizations, I was somehow disappointed. Until Civilization V. As its not still the same as "Civ II", its great. Why? Well, there's alot of reasons why: 1. Steam workshop! Thats right! Want to be the general of the Aliens? Here you go! How about playing as a character from Game of Thrones or Mass Effect series? You got it! Really nothing much to say, you basically can find every single thing made by players. Customize your game how YOU want! 2. All users friendy. You're a veteran or a newbie in strategy games? Don't worry, Civilization V is friendly for all kind of users, I know pepole that never played previous Civilizations, aren't fans of strategy games, but this game made them literally addicted! 3. Addictive, and never the same. Thats the gameplay of this game. Highly addictive, and you will never, ever feel like you've been playing the same way with the same nation. There are multiple ways to achieve victory! 4. Multiplayer! If you have a few days to play the game with your friends... And I mean it. Few days. Playing against online players on the same experience level is practically just the matter of who will survive longer with sane mind. Bring some food and drinks folks! There are more advantages of the game, but there's also one disadvantage (which is said to be fixed in the DLC- Brave New World)- politcs. Its pretty much related to only a few choices like trading or supporting somebody during the war. Myself, I don't care about graphics, and sound/music is pretty good, but... Playing with the PC in late game gets annoying as the animations of planes are very slow. Imagine 25 planes attacking during one turn. Have I mentioned that there can be only 1 animation going on the screen? You get the idea... Therefore, I give it 85 (that animation thing is really, really annoying). I think its the score this game deserves (actually, I have never encountered any bugs!). I did not considered the Brave New World DLC in rating the game!
One of the Best.OmittingCoder | July 26, 2013 | See all OmittingCoder's reviews »
This game is best for newcomers and for people who are hardcore turn-based strategy games. This game is amazing. You start off with an ancient Civilization and work your way up and up and up to the Nuclear Era, Informational Era, etc. The only problem I have with this game is the fact that it is almost too addicting (Could be a good and bad thing). "One more turn and I'm going to bed." Thirty turns later. "One more turn." If you enjoy the other Civs you will LOVE this one. And if you don't have a problem being sucked into a game then buy it now. Get it. Now.
Enormously AddictiveConorEngelb | July 25, 2013 | See all ConorEngelb's reviews »
The last Civ game I played was Civilization III, which I absolutely loved. So, going into Civ V, I thought that there was no way it could be anywhere near as enjoyable. Fine, the graphics may be roughly 10 000 000 times better, but that's no indication of a good game. I was very (to my later pleasure) wrong. Civ V surpassed Civ III, not only in graphics. The Policy Trees available to you to tailor your civilisation to your own preferences stand out. I sunk close to 10 hours into the game on my first start-up of it, and still go back regularly. It embodies the "just one more turn" mentality I last experienced playing Civ III, and does it better.
Simpler but not simplistic and still very goodmahon | July 25, 2013 | See all mahon's reviews »
Some say Civilization V is not a good game, but I cannot agree with them. While it's not as complex as Civilization IV, I would call it more "streamlined". There's less micromanaging in this game now and you can focus on your role as the overall leader of the civilization. Of course the game starts to shine even brighter with its expansions, but in my opinion the simplifications introduced in Civilization V actually improved the gaming experience unless you're a hardcore micromanager. Some tasks are now shifted to your assistants and you can concentrate on the greater plan, the big scheme of things. Unfortunately some good concepts from Civ IV are missing (religion to name at least one) but they return in the expansions, which allows you to make the learning curve a bit flatter.
Amazing gamelogicbomb | July 20, 2013 | See all logicbomb's reviews »
Civ 5 is a lot of fun if you enjoy the past civ's or any strategy game for that matter. The amount of choices you make and the play style you choose to play with ensure no two games are the same. This is also a great multiplayer game. You can team up against the AI or even other players. My only complaint is that the games take too long to complete. We rarely finish a game we start in multiplayer.
Complex, but still easy to playKradath | July 14, 2013 | See all Kradath's reviews »
I think the strong point of this game is how complex the whole game it's still easy to be played. The diplomacy could be a bit deeper, but expanding your empire is just addicting. Building new towns, developing new techs and conquering other nations gets never old and this game simply brought it to near perfection. Highly recommended
Incredibly Turn-Based StrategyDocNuka | July 13, 2013 | See all DocNuka's reviews »
I'd like to start off by saying Civ V is an incredible game. On its own, it is not as good as Civ 4, but still incredible. There is just so much content, and it is all part of an incredible strategy game that is accessible by everyone. It is a good first step for people who are interested in playing strategy games.There are complaints it has been dumbed down, but this does make it more accessible, so there is a good and a bad side. The graphics are good for a strategy game, and it all contributes into drawing you into one of the best games in the last 5 years.
Makes time flygggmggg | July 12, 2013 | See all gggmggg's reviews »
My first time playing a Civ game, and overall it was a novel experience. The graphics and sound were good enough that I didn't have any issue with either. The music in particular was enjoyable and fit the game well enough that I had no thoughts of muting it. UI is good enough that I could dive in and learn on the fly. Tech tree and options seemed a bit daunting in the first hour, but it was well designed enough to not actually be an issue at all. The game AI could be improved (civ leaders were quite predictable in behavior), and the combat grid system seems a bit too restrictive. However, neither of these issues prevented me from having a lot of fun with the game. Easily surpassed the 50 hours played mark before even noticing it, which is great value. Many nights ended late due to taking "one more turn" a few times too many!
Not as bad as they sayniko_of_death | July 11, 2013 | See all niko_of_death's reviews »
Many hardcore Civ fans say that Civ V is crap. The thing is, this isn't that great of a game vanilla. You need either some good mods (like CivUP) or the expansions (Gods & Kings, Brave New World). There are many changes from Civ IV to Civ V. The biggest changes have to do with tiles. Instead of stackable rectangle tiles, they are now unstackable, hexagonal tiles. The game is also much easier for new players than earlier games. If you decide to buy this, I suggest getting the gold edition and Brave New World.
Civilization 5ArmokGreyjoy | July 9, 2013 | See all ArmokGreyjoy's reviews »
Has someone who really like the Civilization franchise Civ 5 was a disappointment they changed some of the mechanics that worked really well like the global happiness system in which all of of you're civilization happiness is concentrate in has one not has single cities and you're people are either happy or miserable also the AI is not has good as it once in the previous ones, the only thing I liked was the combat system which was changed and instead of giant stacks going one against the other the fighting feels much better although somewhat entrenched.
Well worth the money!borgiswa | July 9, 2013 | See all borgiswa's reviews »
Let me start by saying I've put over 100 hours of playtime into this game. Civilization (as a series) was one of my first entrances into the strategy genre, and the fifth main release does not cease to drag me into the immersive world that it creates for me. Every time I play the game it feels different, and the AI, albeit sometimes flawed, helps very much. On a PC with relatively decent specs, this game runs like a charm on high graphics and looks beautiful. Gods and Kings was an amazing release and added much to the early game, I am very excited for tomorrow's release of Brave New World!
The best Civilization game to date!wfrink | July 8, 2013 | See all wfrink's reviews »
Civilization 5 is a great addition to the already incredible Civilization games. The game play is consistent with past civilization games. Users of these older games will quickly become accustomed to Civilization 5. The graphics of Civ 5 are a big improvement on previous games, with more details being able to be noticed and more realistic looking landscapes. The units are great as well.
A Game That Lastginojnotto | July 7, 2013 | See all ginojnotto's reviews »
I was skeptical at first when I bought it. However, soon enough I found myself playing for hours and dodging responsibilities. It truly breathes a bit of fresh air into what has become an awfully stale turn based genre. With it's deep tactical gameplay, delightful UI, and it's ability to run on a wide variety of systems from all price points; it's by far worth the money spent. The value is unquestionable as you find yourself sinking more and more time into what you thought would only be a once in a while thing.
One of the best strategy games!Hguin | July 7, 2013 | See all Hguin's reviews »
Civilization v is one of the best strategy games out there. I have spent countless hours on it. Its so fun to play and with all the content which is available for it, its a game you have to pick up. This truly is the best strategy game I have every played and with the way it executes the turn base system and the great battle mechanics. Overall its an amazing game, just go buy it!
Civ Vs88murphy | July 7, 2013 | See all s88murphy's reviews »
If you like turn-based strategy games then this is the game for you. The feeling you get when you take one city and turn it into an empire to dominate the world is amazing. The possibilities in this game are endless and with all the mods available on the steam workshop just makes it even better. The gameplay is amazing, the UI is simplistic and easy to learn.
You'll Probably Be Up All Night With Thisdaveispez | July 4, 2013 | See all daveispez's reviews »
I never had a chance to play any of the previous Civilization games, but Civ 5 definitely feels like a good place to start. The games start a little slow, but once you start progressing to later ages and your empires start to expand, the game will get extremely tense. You'll want to keep playing until you've crushed all your enemies and researched every last piece of technology. With all the extra mods available on the Steam Workshop and the continuous DLCs and expansions released, you probably won't get bored of this easily. A great purchase and a great game, even if you've never played turn-based strategies before (like me!).
Where did the time go?Turambar29 | July 2, 2013 | See all Turambar29's reviews »
Civ 5 continues the tradition of sucking away hours in a strategic race for global domination. Or global popularity. Or cultural supremacy. You've got options! The graphical update and streamlined play is very welcome, as is the new iteration of cultural boundaries (introduced in Civ 4). You can no longer stack units for any reason, including warfare, and this is a helpful change, requiring a bit more thought and reducing the number of units typically involved. If you love Civ, you'll love Civ 5!
More strategy goodnessf33tmonkey | July 2, 2013 | See all f33tmonkey's reviews »
Civilization is a tried and trusted franchise and Civilization 5 is no different. If you enjoyed the previous titles, you'll enjoy this one, and if you've never tried a Civilization game, this is a great one to start with. Gameplay: This is a turn based strategy game where you start off with a small city and grow to dominate the world, whether by force, by science, or by diplomacy (or religion with the add-ons). Each turn, you get to upgrade your city, move your army, and explore the world. Collect resources and build more cities, upgrade your army to conquer the world, or settle back and wheel and deal your opponents into fighting each other while you reap the benefits. Strategy is the name of the game and win by any means possible. Graphics and sound: Sure, we don't buy these games for their graphics or sound but Civilization 5 is excellent in both. Updated graphics to see your kingdom grow with nice music that keeps you clicking on the "Next" turn button into the wee hours of the morning. Overall, a great strategy game and a winner of an upgrade to the Civilization franchise.
Great strategy experience!DaiMonPaul | July 2, 2013 | See all DaiMonPaul's reviews »
Civ 5 is one of my favorite strategy games, and it offers a great experience for new players and old veterans alike. The game runs well on almost anything (I'm on a laptop with integrated graphics, and it runs smoothly with some settings turned down), it looks good, and its gameplay is enthralling. It's easy to learn but hard to master, and it's impossible to put down. Each civilization (and the game with its DLC comes with a LOT of them) gives you different bonuses and strategies to pursue, and every map is different, as well. Progressing through the eras, founding new cities, and conquering the map gives you a real sense of progress and accomplishment, whether you're playing against the computer or against other players. The only complaints are the AI (it's decent but not great, and it will do some stupid things) and that religion wasn't included in the base game. Make sure to pick up Gods & Kings!
Civ 5rossco81 | June 28, 2013 | See all rossco81's reviews »
Civilization five has come under fire from a lot of people for having changed and becoming more simplistic than Civ IV. I've never played ANY other civilization so bare that in mind when reading and following this review. Civ 5 plays absolutely stellar, in my opinion. Better than any turn based strategy game I've ever played. I admit I was hesitant before buying the game as i had my skepticism about the series, but my gut feeling definitely won me a watch here, so to speak. While it's not the most graphically impressive game on the market, it certainly gives other "current gen" games a run for their money in terms of UI, approachability and gameplay.
Great gameCurtisMN | June 19, 2013 | See all CurtisMN's reviews »
Great game, it was boring at first but it really got good later into the game. I am not a huge fan of turn based strategy games like this, but Civ 5 is great.
The best turn-based strategy gameVERTIGO2K12 | June 17, 2013 | See all VERTIGO2K12's reviews »
Some may not agree with my opininion but I can strongly sustain it with the hours I lost to this extremely addictive game. You choose a civilization and you take it through the whole eras that have passed and that are to come with the purpose of being the most evolved civilization. I have seen other reviews and I can point to the title of one - "One More Turn" - that is probably what I kept saying while I was still going through the game just to find out what happens with the other civilizations and to evolve mine as much as I could. If you are into this kind of games I really recommend buying it. I promise you, it won't be a waste of money.
Just One More Turn....Razzek | June 16, 2013 | See all Razzek's reviews »
I have found myself saying this so many times while playing this game. So much so that i glanced at the clock and suddenly it is 6 am. I have to say this is one of the most addictive games i have ever played. Also there is nothing more fun then ending up in a 10 hour game with your friends and only just entering the Medieval Era haha. Simply put well done Sid. Well done.
A Great Gamepsbj129 | June 16, 2013 | See all psbj129's reviews »
A great strategy game, with a very easy to use interface and multiple ways to win. The variety of civilizations offer different advantages. The AI could be stronger as it makes some silly mistakes. Though turn based strategy may not be for everyone you should try it out as it is a great game.
A civilisation gamealbero78 | June 14, 2013 | See all albero78's reviews »
I bought this game not being a civilization fan. I bought this game because ages ago I had fun with the first chapter of civilization and especially colonization and also master of magic. I found civilization V on sale and I bought because I was looking forward a game that would have given me the feelings of the old times with some innovations and much better graphics. To a certain extent I found this in Civ V: even if you are no expert in these games you can have fun especially in the beginning of the game when you have few cities and few units. The game is not very innovative and that surprises after such a long time. It is pretty clear that the developers tried to simplify the gameplay to get more players playing the game and that is not automatically a con. The graphics are simple and nice. The sound is OK. I give this game a 69/100.
Love the gamecitation10pilot | June 13, 2013 | See all citation10pilot's reviews »
been long time player of this game and been through the many different versions. Took a little bit adjustment but overall great game play, got it on sale as well so made for an even sweeter deal
One More TurnPr1mus | June 12, 2013 | See all Pr1mus's reviews »
Easily one of the most addictive franchise of all time, Civilization is more accessible than ever. Civilization V is streamlined in all the right way to make it simpler and more convenient without taking away the complexity where it really matters. This game is a thing of beauty. The only real and significant shortcoming is an AI that is utterly incapable of actually playing the game. But in a way this is a problem that has always plagued the series and is nothing that increasing the difficulty level can't fix, even if it does so by resorting to bonuses and handicaps. Civilization V is easily the most approachable entry in the franchise, the most appealing visually and is infinitely moddable using the Steam Workshop.
The most addictive game evercyrilsneer | June 11, 2013 | See all cyrilsneer's reviews »
This game is fantastic the most addictive game I feel I have ever played "oh lets just play a quick game of Civ" 5 hours later and still playing. This game is made 100% better with the expansion Gods and kings which is essential. The playing the game online feature is ok. Highly unstable and reliant on how quick your chums like do do their turn. If you enjoy turn based strat games this is a sure pick up.
Greate GameGripe | June 10, 2013 | See all Gripe's reviews »
This game is must have (it is 100% better with Gods and Kings, hopefully Brave New World will do this game even better). It is so addictive, when you are buying this game you have to expect that everything you will think is "just one more turn". But there are cons too. The biggest one is that there is almost no end content, the future era is just dull and the diplomacy… wait … there is no diplomacy, other civs just hate you and that is it. Nevertheless I think that this game is worth your money and time. Just don't get surprised how time-consuming it is, I warned you!
Fantastic Game!thegaminglyfe | June 8, 2013 | See all thegaminglyfe's reviews »
The Civilization series has always been hard to learn for newcomers but Civilization lowers the slope of the learning curve. I first played this game at my friends house in a hotseat game. We played all afternoon and all night. Civilization V can be challenging and casual at the same time. There are times where you're just simply exploring and expanding you're cities and it gets a bit tedious. But when you get into a large war with another Civilization you have to use your brain or you will lose. Every turn could mean certain death for your Civilization. There are many ways to beat a game in Civilization V, space victories, cultural victories, diplomacy victories so you don't have to beat everyone else to win. One feature I really liked is after you win you can keep going if you don't want to see hours of hard work go to waste. My favorite part of the game is the hot-seat multiplayer if you have friends over and only one copy of the game. It gets to the point where you are screaming at each other because of a backstab or a stupid move. Highly recommended for fans of strategy. You should know this is not an RTS, this is turn based so if you only like RTS fast paced games, you probably won't like it. But I highly recommend you at least try the demo.
A step down from 4captainstark | June 7, 2013 | See all captainstark's reviews »
This game is good but Civilization 4 was better. They made the AI a bit easier (i.e no threat from the sea), removed religion, armies don't stack on tiles anymore. I would recommend buying the gold edition, as that includes Gods and Kings, which somewhat fixes these problems.
I can't stop playingfrogger5687 | June 6, 2013 | See all frogger5687's reviews »
I bought this game months ago during the winter sale, I haven't stopped playing since I got it. Playing marathon length games on huge maps is so much fun. The game becomes deeper the longer you play it, so many units, so many enemies and allies, so much fun. The only game I have played that is deeper that this is Dwarf Fortress, which is fantastically deep.
Sheer Excellencegoosefrappa | June 1, 2013 | See all goosefrappa's reviews »
This game will keep you captivated until the early hours of the morning! The different types of victories will allow you to try out different strategies to better compliment every civilization's perks allowing for a lot of replayability. Furthermore it's very easy to pick up, great to play with friends too! *Not 100/100 because it kept me up till the wee hours of the morning, it's too addictive!
Just one more turnDemeryk | May 15, 2013 | See all Demeryk's reviews »
This review could be summed with the following words: one...more...turn! Disclaimer: I've never played a civilization game before. However, I became hooked up as soon as I began playing. Even for a beginner, it's very easy to pick up and enjoy, the in-game help is very thorough and will help you learn the subtleties of the game and master it. I had the most fun playing against multiple AI opponents, guiding a civilization from the prehistory to the space race. It's possible to customize a game to suit your need, by selecting the number of opponents, free-cities, type of map, size, and more. In my opinion, the combat system is not a strong point of the game, but the possibility to win through diplomacy, cultural domination, or technological superiority more than make up for it. Given the numbers of hours you're likely to spend playing it if you're a fan of strategy, buying the game will give you great value for your money!
Fantastic sequelInfiltrator | May 6, 2013 | See all Infiltrator's reviews »
A fantastic addition to the Civ franchise. My greatest complaint with previous Civ games, which I've been playing since 1991, was that large armies were extremely unwieldy and frustrating to manage. Sea transportation logistics were also a frustrating time sink. Both of these problems have been solved with Civ V. Everything about the game screams polish and it runs like an absolute dream, haven't had a hitch yet which is becoming so rare with new releases.
One of the best hours to value ratio out therekoppen | May 3, 2013 | See all koppen's reviews »
I'm not a 4X fanatic, but I've had lots of fun with the game. Its relatively easy to pick up, with large variety in gameplay, with different appeal to different play styles. Lots of units, buildings, unique abilities. AI is mediocre at lower levels, and outright unfair at higher levels. To win higher level AI typically involves abusing the game systems and the AI. The intermediate AI are the most playable. Though sometimes their diplomatic decisions make absolutely no sense at all. Military/Domination victories require a little attrition, especially on bigger maps. Non military victories can be quite fun. Different heroes, maps and map sizes really help to shake things up. Worth the money!
So satisfyingLOLAGE1864 | April 24, 2013 | See all LOLAGE1864's reviews »
This game is VERY satisfying and addictive so be warned! It is just very memorable and it really makes you think lots about what to do and when to do what and to react to what. You just have full control of your empire that you start off from 3000 B.C - future but you are not alone... This is a must have for any strategy game lovers out there!
Brilliant, turn-based strategyd0nk3y2010 | April 22, 2013 | See all d0nk3y2010's reviews »
Civilization V is the distinguished sequel which has greatly improved over it's predecessor Civilization IV. A major difference between the two is the improved graphics for Civilization V which makes the game even more enjoyable. The game has been changed from Civ IV to improve the combat and the way the world is set out. These major changes include the new hex grid which looks and feels more genuine and the new system which allows only one combat unit per tile which balances out and makes the combat more balanced. The only flaw with this game would be it's long loading times for multiplayer games and the multiplayer system being quite buggy. Apart from this, the game is defiantly worth buying if you would like a game which will entertain you for hours and want you coming back for more.
A Fantastic Turn Based GameBurroCaralho | March 29, 2013 | See all BurroCaralho's reviews »
Having never played any Civilization game before this one I had no idea what to expect, only that previous versions were very popular. This is no exception apparently, I'm 60 hours in and i could play 60 more. You start off with nothing but settlers and a group of warriors, from there you have to found a city and build resources, knowledge, military and more cities in a race against the other players (either human in multiplayer or CPU in singleplayer) to build your empire. The CPU AI is pretty good, a crackpot leader who was my friend when i had a large military suddenly tried bullying me when i tried playing without one. However one downside of the AI is the trading system, they'll offer you deals that are completely one sided towards them and if you try to offer an even deal, they'll always reject it. That's literally the only downside i've met in my hours of playing though. There are also several ways to win and several different characters to play as which gives this fantastic replay value. You can win as Ghandhi beating everyone in a space race, as Queen Elizabeth building your military and ruling the world with an iron fist, or getting a diplomatic victory with North Korea. Definite buy.
Insane depth with a lot of funNeohoodman | Feb. 28, 2013 | See all Neohoodman's reviews »
Civilization, a long standing strategy game, has never been easy to get in or understand for outsiders but taking the time to get acquainted with every aspect of it, you'll soon understand the fun in setting up your empire and building your very own civilization. The game is played out on a board with hexagon tiles. You create units that move along these tiles and build on them. The game has an insane technology tree, which functions as your skill tree. Thanks to this skill tree and the possibility to work out your civilization with minute detail makes this game so precious; you can co-operate with other civilizations, go solo and build and forget about the rest, or wage all out war on every neighbouring country. Thanks to these great features there are countless hours of fun to be had and makes this game a must-have for any strategy fan.
Hours of fun with this game.DeeCodex | Feb. 25, 2013 | See all DeeCodex's reviews »
Review is based on over 100 hours of gameplay. This game will consume your time so fast that you don't even know that you stopped playing in the morning. The rounds i played always lasted around 10-20 hours and i never was dissapointed by this game in any moment. One of the big changes from Civ4 to Civ5 obviously is that you can just have 1 troupe on one field, you can't stack them. This is the best Strategy game i played so far. Buy it now if you dont have it =D
Great gameceldiruen | Feb. 23, 2013 | See all celdiruen's reviews »
This is a great game. If you're a fan of strategy games, you owe it to yourself to pick this up. While it does deviate from the formula set out by previous Civ games, it's still good in its own right.There are no more stacks of doom, with lots of powerful units all together in one tile. You have to manage your cities, your units and tiles, etc. There are city-states whose favour you can win over, or choose to crush instead. There are a wide variety of civilizations to play as, and many paths to victory. Give it a spin!
Will blow you awayXiphora | Feb. 20, 2013 | See all Xiphora's reviews »
The Civilization series one of, if not the best strategy game franchises of all time. With Civilization III and Civilization IV being hailed by critics, Civilization V was hard pressed to deliver the great experience that hordes of devoted fans were waiting for. And it did deliver, in spectacular fashion. Civilization V improved the mechanics of the Civilization formula. Not counting a couple of bugs and certain mechanics that were wiped/changed for the worse, Civilization is a fantastic game that lives up to its predecessors. This game is simply a joy to play.
Fantastic TBSJorgel | Jan. 29, 2013 | See all Jorgel's reviews »
First of all, I was not a big fan of the Civilization series until this game. I tried Civ 4 once, but I found it very confused and complex(some may find it good), but when I give Civ 5 a chance I was immediately hooked. The graphics and sound are really good but the main point of the game is the gameplay. Remembering board games, Civizilation takes you to the lead of a nation in history, from Mayas to Americans, since the ancient times to the future era. The mechanics may seem a bit hard in the beginning, but as you play you get used to almost everything. Almost everything because Civilization is an infinity game: every single match is a whole new game, with new situations, scenarios and enemy or allies behavior, and you will find yourself immerse in the game during hours without noticing. Making it simple: grab this game, but be careful not to forget your life outside
Amazing StrategyAngeluzian | Dec. 22, 2012 | See all Angeluzian's reviews »
This is an amazing strategy game from the one and only Sid Meier. While it is not as good as the fourth or even the second in my opinion, it is still a very good and inspirering game that will challange you if you let it. It can also be easy if you like that. If you like strategy, this game is for you.
A goodgame but...Wizardino | Dec. 21, 2012 | See all Wizardino's reviews »
...but in my opinion not so good as Civ IV. The possibility to have only 1 unit on a tile it's a good innovation to the gameplay, but the lack of religion (in the basic game) and a new research system make the game make less engaging. Another interesting addition it's the "city states": a sort of independent faction with which the player can make alliance, or simply destroy and conquer (but if you attack one city state usually you must fight with all of them). So..it's a very good game but different from its predecessors
Addictive, simply.Darder | Dec. 10, 2012 | See all Darder's reviews »
I always wanted to see how an empire can grow and take over the world. Well, this game kinda gives me an idea. What is even better, is that MY empire is the one taking over the fictionnal world! With Civilisation V I have alot of fun. Even though games can last hours and hours I still can`t get enough of it! Seeing your own civilization progress, you start getting attached to it and you play everyday just to see it advancing, getting smarter, getting stronger so then you can take over other civilizations... Or be friends with them. The graphics are appealing, the UI is complex but once you get used to it it is simple of use, and intuitive. Good buy!
Buy it, you wont regretRoob82 | Dec. 10, 2012 | See all Roob82's reviews »
Great value, big time blockbuster game, deep and challenging in multiplayer. A must have, and a lot better with Gods and Kings
Another fantastic addition to the serieslachking | Oct. 17, 2012 | See all lachking's reviews »
Civilization V adds some interesting new concepts to the classic franchise and is a fantastic game. For those unfamiliar with the premise, Civilization is a turn-based strategy game where you lead your civilization through the ages. You found cities, construct buildings and create units to interact with other players. Diplomacy is also a large aspect of Civilization, and you can trade with other players, build relationships with them or declare war. I particularly enjoyed the additions to Civilization V. The introduction of city states adds a layer of depth to the game. You can develop alliances with them and this can result in them giving you free units, or you can fight with them. The interface is also much cleaner in Civilization V, with the exact level of happiness and culture produced clearly displayed. The graphical update is also strong, with terrain surfaces looking highly detailed and vibrant, especially the water which reflects the sunlight. The sound effects and music is also good, although I did prefer the Leonard Nimoy voiceovers in Civilization IV than the voice overs in Civilization V. Some of the gameplay mechanic changes have drastically altered the tactical aspects of the game. Having only one unit on a tile encourages more tactical unit placement rather than just mass unit rushes. The capture mechanics of cities is also better with cities having a health rating. I also like the fact that cities can bombard nearby units, and this is especially useful in counteracting annoying barbarian attacks. Overall, Civilization is a fantastic game. The many gameplay changes improve the tactical side of the game, and the graphics and atmosphere are as good as the series has ever seen.
Highly addictive and awesome, but it could have been better.fable2 | Sept. 21, 2012 | See all fable2's reviews »
Although my rating is a 8.5, I highly recommend this game because it does many things well, and it's highly addictive. I've had it for about a year and I have 186 hours on it. Civilization IV is probably a better game than this, but V has a more interesting combat system in my opinion. That reason alone gives V longer staying power. In IV, I just dominated everyone and there was no challenge unless you highly crippled yourself. That is true for V, but to a lesser extent. The primary issue with this series is the A.I. As you raise the difficulty, the A.I. doesn't get any smarter. It just gives them more advantages than you. I really don't like that. For V, after 186 hours, I have a problem playing it more, not because I am bored with the game, but because I have no challenge. On level 4, I dominate the world and on level 5, I die before the A.D. years start. I might try starting a new game on level 5 and see if I can do better, but it annoys me that the A.I. builds three cities before I can get my first worker. There isn't a strategy for that, and then the country right next to you declares war on you for no reason and they have unlimited units to fight with. That description is more from when I tried out level 8, but I still die on 5.
Good but not what I expected.Xgoesrawr | Sept. 5, 2012 | See all Xgoesrawr's reviews »
When I first played Civ 5 it was odd because I was used to Civ 4 having huge stacks of units on a single tile. The ranged units were also an interesting change for game play. The research advancement seemed way to fast. It didn't seem to want me to use swordsmen because by the time I'd have a few of them I'd have musket men researched. I even tried messing with game speed and had about the same results. There was a few things that felt missing from the main game that the expansion adds. I also didn't like how they handled the DLC but that is another story. It can be fun but I enjoyed Civ 4 more.
A casual take.AvuriDash | July 24, 2012 | See all AvuriDash's reviews »
Sure, it's not a complex marvel of strategy games. There are many design decisions that feel poorly implemented and detract from the classic Civ formula of the previous games. The AI also has serious flaws with playing its own game properly, and the diplomacy feel like bartering with bipolar kindergarteners. However, if you approach this game from a casual standpoint, it can be quite enjoyable despite its flaws. There is still a great deal of depth and strategy in the game. Plus, Firaxis does a wonderful job at pulling you into the most immersive and visually pleasing Civ game yet.
Almost but not greatlok0812 | July 20, 2012 | See all lok0812's reviews »
Good game but... bit of a disappointment. Civilization IV was an awesome game, and this new Civilization game... doesn´t really make important additions or improvements (not at least at the level that Civ IV was in comparison with Civ III). Warfare is better, solving the 'superstack' issue that had been present in Civilization series since the beginning (partially managed in Civ IV), and the hex-map is better than the "octagon". But city management has been nerfed, and great features like religions have disappeared. I insist, it's a good game, but not the pinnacle Civilization IV was.
Very good gameRaggamuffin | July 13, 2012 | See all Raggamuffin's reviews »
Yes fifth Civilization is less complex than those before, but I think it's easier to learn and more fun to newbies. Of course it is still a Civilization so it's not for everyone and you have to think while you play. New hex system is great and creates new tactic options. Graphics and music are also superb. I can only recommend Civ V. You will spend lots and lots of hours playing it.
Addictive Game But Not Perfectkhanbm | July 13, 2012 | See all khanbm's reviews »
This was the first game I bought of the civilization series after playing a demo version. I found it to be lots of fun and incredibly addictive. The first thing which caught my eye were the graphics. The game is beautiful. On top of this, there are so many choices of civilizations, buildings maps, scenarios etc. Its enough to keep you busy for ages. The game is not perfect however. City-States seem fairly useless and its easy to win just by giving them money. On top of this the AI is really impulsive. The diplomacy side of the game is frustrating. Every time I try to win diplomatically, I get the AI denouncing me tot he other civilizations or just declaring war on me for no reason. Trading resources is also impossible since the AI will never accept anything less than all of your luxury goods and gold. These aspects make the game frustrating sometimes. Hopefully diplomacy is fixed in the latest expansion pack, Gods and Kings. Overall, I still enjoyed the game and still play it more than any other game I own. I highly recommend you get it, especially if its on sale.
Not Civ IV, but not badbegedinnikola | July 6, 2012 | See all begedinnikola's reviews »
Civilization V is a decent game. It did plenty of things well. The hex grid is a great idea, as is a single unit per tile. It allows for far more engaging wars and skirmishes, as well as a nicer view of the map. The civic perks are also an interesting and fun concept. Many parts of the game are very, very well done. However, plenty of them are just not as good as in Civilization IV. There is no polish, no charm. No more wonder videos, no more victory replays, no more proper victory screens. All you get for each of those is a popup, with an image and some text and that's it. Yes, it's a good game. Is it better than Civ IV? No. Worth the price? Yes. There is one other thing going for it, though. I find it's easier to just play a couple of turns in Civ V. You don't feel forced to play through the whole game like in the previous one. If you have neither and never tried a Civ game, I'd say get this one. If you have neither, but have played Civ games before, get IV. If you have IV, you'll still like V and you will play it, although maybe for different reasons.
A good strategy!wojtek858 | July 3, 2012 | See all wojtek858's reviews »
That's the first one from series I played and I'm very positively surprised. Graphic is really nice, gameplay interesting, technology tree great idea - the only cons is that playing single-player becomes a little boring after some time. if you only have friends with this game, wait for a sale and get - it's worth it.
Could be betterwooglah | June 23, 2012 | See all wooglah's reviews »
Most of the advanced options from Civ III and Civ IV are missing. I'm assuming authors are keeping them for DLCs, so they can sell them separately and take more money. Nevertheless, it's fun to play, bu I doubt I'll play it for years like I did with Civ III.
One of the best time sinks you can buyVidiz | June 21, 2012 | See all Vidiz's reviews »
The scale of the game can be quite daunting to new players, but it really only takes one game to get the core mechanics nailed down. There's a huge amount of depth in the game and a wide variety in how you can play it. The hex-based tiles are a great addition and overall the graphics are nice to look at, and the UI is nice and easy to use. Civilisation V is a must for any strategy fan, and if you're new to the genre Civ V is a great starting point. For the price you can get the game for now you'll struggle to find better value for money anywhere else.
Great GameDarth_Knoppix | June 15, 2012 | See all Darth_Knoppix's reviews »
Great Civilization game for veterans and newcomers alike. Like any Civilization game it's addictive and fun. I found myself spending hours at a time advancing my Civilization through the night. Excellent graphics and good game mechanics, definitely recommend.
Great Game and Good to NewbiesROKET | June 13, 2012 | See all ROKET's reviews »
I know the Civ series has a huge following and a very large and very nostalgic player base but for those who are new to Civ or couldnt get into the game before now Civ V is a great place to start. I played the demo before it was released and had a great time. It was a good chance to learn the game and as I played I enjoyed myself more and more. The streamlining provides for a nice experience and building a Civ from the ground up is so much fun. Performance wise the game can be a little stubborn but overall it performs well. I really like the game.
This Game is Very Goodsatyakun | June 1, 2012 | See all satyakun's reviews »
I'll try to express my opinion with this word - Beautiful, brilliant, and addictive game! this game make's me forget every hour i use to play. and it worth every second of it. The gameplay is not changed so much. Choose a civilization, and lead it to its glorious victory. You can use your style of victory - Domination, Cultural, etc. The graphic is awesome, and its better in DX 11. this game is a must have for strategic lovers. Definitely.
Addictive GameLinkark07 | May 31, 2012 | See all Linkark07's reviews »
Civilization is a turn based strategy game that allows you to start a civilization from zero. The objective is simple: expand your empire and win by different means, it may be with conquering your opponents by use of military force, or be the first to travel to space. What I like of Civilization V is how addictive this game can be. Games can take a lot of time for finish because the players start expanding their empires, meaning that each player will take more time for finish their turns. Different factors like happiness, resources, technology affect the game in many different ways. If you want to have a interesting game with a lot of replay value then Civilization is for you. And for some bonus, the game has an encyclopedia which tells many interesting facts like Alexander the Great life, the Eiffel Tower, etc,
A great game of historykalil | May 27, 2012 | See all kalil's reviews »
Very good game, addictive and fun ... but is very slow and did not like the more beasts ... Gameplay: Great! The story is ... well, is the history of mankind! Take your empire to world domination! A very good game system, simplified and shallow. The research, diplomacy (which does not have much truth), upgrade the troops and the interaction with the leaders give much variety to the game. Moreover, the burden is great and abundant historical ... this is to learn and have fun and not "once upon a time ..." Technology: Highly advanced compared to predecessors ... but it is a waste .. but meets technical Graphics: Good. Beautiful scenarios, a spectacular water recreation and historical characters very good! Sound good but repetitive effects, dubbing and brutal songs (though rare) quality Innovation: Innovation over its predecessors, is also very rare strategy shift that will thrill fans of board games, whose biggest role model is this game
Civilisation Vsoftgo | May 27, 2012 | See all softgo's reviews »
I've seen friends play civilization 4, not bought. Recently bought a civilization, I feel really good good. Often are a play in one afternoon. Sometimes and friends online in the steam on, although this will be a bit slow, but very interesting.This can be said to be the best I have seen the SLG. Not only by the war game to win, we can use diplomatic, cultural and scientific victory too. The tech tree is very important in the game, we must be clear what their own development goals, and then choose to study the appropriate technology, because we do not do enough for the number of turns they have studied. Highly recommend everyone to play this game.
Almost brilliantjha4ceb | May 21, 2012 | See all jha4ceb's reviews »
This addictive game has almost everything you would expect -- wonderfully realised graphics, a good range of civilizations who require interesting different play styles and have varying accompanying soundtracks, a fascinating tech tree, a complex social policy track, a plethora of game options, and so on. However, it is let down by the diplomacy AI, which is overly aggressive and very irrational. One might think that this is merely an accurate representation of history -- but since it definitely detracts from the game's fun sometimes, it's a negative point for the game. You'll have dozens of hours of fun playing Civ V, and you'll always want to play just one more turn. Here's hoping that the AI is pacified somewhat in the upcoming expansion, Gods & Kings.
Okwooglah | March 27, 2012 | See all wooglah's reviews »
Not perfect, but ok. Could be better, but there might be an expansion, so...
The best game of the sagaPony11 | March 3, 2012 | See all Pony11's reviews »
This game, whilst having a simple premise, turns out to be very challenging and fun. In this saga you are the leader of one of the civilizations of the world and you must dominate the culture, the science, the military or the democratic path to win. Compared to the older Civ games the GUI is much improved, some things were rebalanced and all the military and tactical aspects reworked. The new hexagonal grid system makes the military path more interesting and challenging at the same time. Technical aspects are good too. Graphics are simply amazing and well optimized although you may need a faster processor and lots of ram for the very large maps. Sound is the weaker point of the game - too basic and repetitive. Also you don't need to worry about DLC; you can download one of the thousand of in-game available mods and enjoy your new civs, techs or maps! You can also make your own mods using the SDK! This game is a must have if you love strategy.
Really fun strategy gamelordzed | Oct. 18, 2011 | See all lordzed's reviews »
Really fun strategy game (turn based). If you need a singleplayer game that will keep you busy for as long as your brain remains inside your head, this is it. Singleplayer offers nearly limitless gameplay; you'll only quit after you realize your strategy is the same thing game after game. However, if you mix up your strategy it's like playing a whole new game! Or at least something like that. Eh, worst part of the game is its slow load screen (to the main menu even!), and all the paid DLCs.
Civilisation Vjmcleod | Oct. 1, 2011 | See all jmcleod's reviews »
Having never bought a Civilisation game before, but always having had an interest in the type of game, I finally picked this up from GMG for £16 (with voucher) a couple of months ago. What a great decision that turned out to be. The game is immensely good fun to play, and unlike some other strategy games of a similar nature that I have tried in the past, does not have a really steep curve in learning how to play the game. That's not to say it isn't difficult, because it is, especially on the higher settings. Prince is supposed to be the normal difficulty setting, but looking at the steam stats for how many people have actually won on this difficulty, only 15.1%, indicates the problems I'm about to explain: Even on the lower difficulties these problems are apparent, but its not so critical as usually you are comfortably stronger than them. The problem is the difficulty is not really defined by how clever the AI is, just how strong a starting situation it is given, and once you start playing on anything above Prince, the AI is getting significant advantages, making it very very difficult to beat. It's not to much they are tactically better (which is what it should be), they just get much better bonuses in terms of land / terrain, etc, and if I'm honest, it makes playing on anything above Prince not a lot of fun. However, that's the negatives out of the way. The rest of the game is amazing, it is still a lot of fun to work through all the scenarios and just playing random skirmishes, especially if you have the DLC packs, then there really is a lot of choice and variability between games. Overall then, this is a great game, but it is still let down by some of the flaws on higher difficulties. Highly recommended purchase however, especially at GMG prices :)
Engaging turn-based fun that's only getting betterBobfoc | Sept. 25, 2011 | See all Bobfoc's reviews »
Civilization V was released in late 2010 to a somewhat mixed reaction, having followed its predecessor, one of the most highly acclaimed strategy games of all time, out of the door and into the hands of strategy enthusiasts all over the world. Unfortunately, the initial version of the game was blighted by several quirks, bugs and general frustrations that turned many of the series' most devout followers away from what looked, on paper, to be another very promising iteration of a winning formula. Thankfully, though, Civilization V's developers, Firaxis Games, have been on the case, releasing several patches that have added much-needed stability and balance to the game, having also promised further improvements in the future. That's a good thing, too, because Civilization V is, at its heart, a wonderfully compelling blend of diplomacy, construction, leadership and, of course, warfare, all wrapped up in a beautifully presented package. Veterans of the Civilization series will feel right at home with the deep intricacies that have helped make the franchise so enduring in the excess of twenty years since the release of the original game, whilst the highly accessible new interface ensures that newcomers can quickly get to grips with the basics. All in all, even though Civilization V still isn't quite the finished article yet, it's still a mighty example of a turn-based strategy game done right. Almost as old as the industry, yet as modern as the hour, this series continues to entertain and addict history and strategy lovers alike, making for an experience reminiscent of, yet so very different from, almost anything else out there.
Easy To PickupMondu | Sept. 11, 2011 | See all Mondu's reviews »
The whole menu and controls are easy to pickup even if you haven't played this type of game before. With tutorials and tips this really is a game you won't feel intimidated by and is perfect for someone new to the series or someone who is returning. Graphics are nice to look at and the game will run on fairly old machines. The only downside is that sometimes the game can feel fairly unbalanced, but this has been addressed with lots of patches. Depending on your stance on DLCs; there are plenty to buy for this game, each offering something new and all are vastly different. While maybe not as great as the previous games, Civ 5 still offers a lot of gameplay and is very enjoyable for the amount it costs.
Easier to get into than past Civ games, still amazing.Cptkrush | Sept. 4, 2011 | See all Cptkrush's reviews »
Civ is probably the only series of strategy games that I can play. Civ V is no exception, I picked this game up for around 11 bucks and boy do I feel like GMG got ripped off. I've pumped over 50 hours into it and I hardly ever play it! It's your run of the mill Civ game, only they have simplified some things such as armies. However, the simplification of armies is probably my one complaint. It's a pain to have to move each and every single unit, one at a time, until they're all in position to attack, it really slows the game down even more. If you exclusively play offline like I do, the game can start to chug the further along you go, I'm guessing it has to do with storing more and more data as the game goes along. Other than that, this is definitely one of the better Civ games, check it out.
Good but not the best.Ascadia | Sept. 2, 2011 | See all Ascadia's reviews »
Every new version of Civilization sets itself apart from its predecessors. This is not like an EA sports game with a new roster and minor tweaks, but an entirely new user experience unique and different from the previous installments yet familiar enough for old school players to pick up the game and go. The problem is that Civilization IV was far too good a game, made even better by an amazing modding community. Civ V has some huge shoes to fill and while it does an admirable job of being different you would be hard pressed to say its better. Civ 5 plays out more like the board game than the video game, the hex map and single unit stacks create an interesting flow to combat while the city building and resource gathering portion of the game remains largely the same with exception to some minor improvements. Sadly where the game falls apart is the AI, which is amazingly exploitable. The AI has no idea how to move troops in formation and multi move units like horses will decimate heavily fortified cities with only a small handful of units. If you are new to Civ this is a great jumping in point, its fast, its user friendly and its beautiful but if you are a Civ veteran looking for something dynamic and new you may be better served playing the Civ 4 mod "Fall from Heaven" which is where many of Civ V's new features are pulled from.
Great addition to the seriesRightman97 | Aug. 24, 2011 | See all Rightman97's reviews »
A couple of years ago I bought Civilization 4 and I have always been fairly aware of this series however this is the first game in it that I have played avidly. From what I have played so far this game appears to be a solid, all round turn based strategy. You can just pick and play this game although it's always useful to check the tutorial. All civilizations seem to be quite balanced and fair, (although I prefer to play as the Japanese) no player has a huge advantage. Sometimes you can be so enthralled in the gameplay that you forget to save your game, it is incredibly annoying when you load your saved game to find you are all the way back in the classical era. The only negatives I have with this game is that the advanced areas such as terrain bonuses and unit combat bonuses aren't clearly explained however a couple of YouTube could easily sort that out.
A very well polished turn-based strategy gamevanseters1991 | Aug. 20, 2011 | See all vanseters1991's reviews »
I'm fairly new to the series, I have played Civ 4 a fair amount but other than that I don't have much of a comparison to make with the previous games. I am very impressed with Civ 5, however. The mechanics of the game are smooth, the graphics are phenomenal, the interface very easy to learn, the tutorial is extremely helpful, and the game-play is highly addictive. Strongly recommend this game to any strategy fan.
Turn Base Strategy at its finestEndyo | Aug. 19, 2011 | See all Endyo's reviews »
Early in my time PC gaming I had some bad experiences with some not-so-great turn based strategies that lead me away from them for a long time. I enjoyed Alpha Centauri, but never really took off from there. However, after playing Civ IV, I knew the genre had a certain appeal you can't find in a lot of other games. Civilization V is one of only two in the series I've played, but I find it to be an endlessly entertaining path to ruling the world. Coming from Civ IV to Civilization V is quite an interesting transition. Graphically, Civlization V is miles above previous iterations and it certainly brings in a good bit of detail you never knew you'd wanted. You can crank up the settings to include detailed unit groups, combat animations, and of course various model and environment textures – which turn the game into a real beauty if you have a computer is able to manage it. However that PC must be a beast in terms of memory and processor power because later in the game especially on larger maps, it can take a very long time to process turns. Yet even keeping the graphics tuned low will result in a visually appealing game with tiny rolling waves and fluffy clouds representing the hidden parts of the map. Unit combat results in clean (though a bit repetitive) animation that is convincing and fulfilling. In the world of turn based strategies, it's pretty much at the top of its genre graphically. The gameplay of Civilization V is where you'll see the biggest changes from older Civilizations games. They've finally joined so many other turn based games and abandoned the square movement grid for a hexagonal. While this completely changes the strategic and tactical elements of battle, it is also compounded by another large change from previous Civ games – units no longer infinitely stack. Now only one unit can exist on each hex. This prevents the old "I have no idea how many units are attacking me" scenario. It also allows for the dynamic advantages and disadvantages of terrain and flanking to be executed with far more complexity. The game has also simplified some aspects that were a disappointment to hardcore Civilization fans, but a blessing to the newer and more causal players. Happiness is maintained for all of your lands as one instead of by individual city. The social policies and religions have been wrapped in to one cultural set of trees. And finally, the introduction of city-states and a slight revamp of diplomacy has created a more streamlined (albeit a bit more complex overall) experience in conquering the world using words as your weapons. Beyond comparisons to previous titles, someone new to the series or the genre should understand that it is not Starcraft and it's not something you just jump in to and you're a pro the next day. Months after I started playing the game and even after playing Civ IV for so long, I still found myself learning new things about the game. However the game is as deep as you want it to be. The level of manual effort is determined by what the player wants to do. You can arrange just about everything to automatically function to the point where you're basically just setting a few things up and moving to the next turn. Yet Civilization V shines brightest when you get down deep in the inner workings of city management and combat. The game does a decent job ushering you in to things, but the looking at some stuff online and in a manual will make the process easier. The game doesn't come without some issues, though most have been addressed through a number of large patches that fixed some big issues with diplomacy, balance, and some annoying performance and bug issues. Yet there are still some problems with diplomacy, as sometimes events seem to be completely and totally random, and some of the AI controlled units sometimes do things that don't make sense. The most notable problem that I personally experience is that the all of that difficulty levels above four give the AI players significant advantages in the beginning and throughout the game. Instead of just making them do smarter things, they just gave them an unfair advantage. However, these issues are fairly minor and they wouldn't deter me from recommending this game to anyone with many hours of free time they'd be willing to devote to a rich and rewarding game. I'd even suggest picking up a few of the DLCs if you ever get tired of the civilizations and leaders that are included. Really, this is just one of those games you should have for that day you have nothing to do and want to conquer the world.
Another fantastic Civilization entryBungieware | Aug. 19, 2011 | See all Bungieware's reviews »
I've played every entry in the series so far, but this one takes the crown. Stunning visuals, refined gameplay, perfect soundtrack, this game has everything. And as custom with Civilization games, you'll find yourself playing until the early hours of the morning, repeatedly telling yourself that this turn will be the last. There are some fantastic new maps that require the player to come up with new strategies every time. The multiplayer has incredibly deep options for customisation and rule sets, so you can tailor each scenario to your exact requirements. All the new additions add positively to the formula. City states offer new strategic options and the new units/technologies are fantastic. And there's some great DLC available as well. Incredibly addictive series that just got better.
A perfect entry to a perfect seriestrinest | Aug. 18, 2011 | See all trinest's reviews »
Civ V takes what Civ IV had and while it changed a few things, and slaughtered the games machanics down just a little. The embodied spirit of the game has emerged in Civ V to create something special.For me the best way to describe the series is a game which you build cities (which are just tokens) but you enhance these cities to generate the technology which enhances your units which allows you to whip out other civilizations. In the end, once you wrap around the Dungeons and Dragons complexity which can be imagined to the game you have one amazing experience.
Amazing intro to the civ seriesLyricalChicken | Aug. 14, 2011 | See all LyricalChicken's reviews »
tried civ 3 when I was 13....that didnt go well, but playing civ 5 now was an amazing experience. I started out with civ rev a couple years ago, but honestly you could jump right into civ 5 with no other civ exposure, and be conquering other nations within hours. Amazing game that leads to hours and hours lost at the computer. The multiplayer however has a lot of bugs and problems (such as dropping players and corrupting save files). Perfect score for singleplayer and mod support, bit lacking on the multiplayer front.
Great civilization for beginnersstupidanacrox | Aug. 14, 2011 | See all stupidanacrox's reviews »
I bought this game as a gift to my boyfriend who loves any civilization games in this serie and he love it. It's way more fun than civ IV and it's a good game also for beginners. I tried to play other civ games but after a while I get bored and stop it. With Civ V I have a lot of fun since it's easier than previous games of the series and graphics is a lot better than before. I haven't bought any dlc so far for this game but the core game itself gave me and my boyfriend a lot of game time.
Great game (new to the series)Bas92 | Aug. 13, 2011 | See all Bas92's reviews »
Civilization V is my first Civ game (not counting a few hours put into Civilization Revolution). This game really is a gem! The visuals look stunning, the music is pretty good, every character speaks in his/her own language, there are many leaders to choose from and the gameplay is highly addictive. No game is ever the same because of the amount of maps, leaders and winning conditions. There's a big difference between a domination and a tech victory! Multiplayer gives this game even more replay value and you can even save in multiplayer! If you're looking for a good turn-based strategy game, then you should definitely buy Civilization V!
dumbed down excellencezmally | Aug. 13, 2011 | See all zmally's reviews »
The Civilization series is fantastic, with its main games and many spinoffs, there are probably around 30 games in total, most of which have won numerous awards. Civilization is fantastic, but sadly not as good as its predecessors in my opinion. The graphics look amazing, particularly the cutscenes, but unfortunately I feel as though the game has been simplified somewhat. Several features are missing, you can no longer stack units, and there are several noticeable bugs. The game could happily be a console game, rather than PC. It has carried over new features from Civilization: Revolution and could easily be controlled with a gamepad, had the developers thought about it. However, if you are a newcomer to the game, Civ5 is fantastic. It isn't as deep as the previous entries to the series, it looks great and it can still keep you hooked for hours. Don't get me wrong, it is a brilliant game, both as a sequel and on its own. It's easy to get into, and difficult to master. It's easily one of the best strategy titles out there today, it's accessible and very enjoyable, with lots of DLC potential. And the fact it's Steamworks can only be a good thing!
Streamlined to perfection.LeBart | Aug. 13, 2011 | See all LeBart's reviews »
I know a lot of people hate the very concept of streamlining, but that's only because many developers who try to streamline their games do it poorly, and sacrifice the depth of the mechanics in the name of better UI. If done right on the other hand, you end up with a game that's less inpenetrable for newcomers, but maintains its feel and depth for the fans of the series. Civilization V is a great example of streamlining done right. If feels like a Civilization game but it's also much easier to wrap your mind around the different concepts, and just to make stuff happen ! You do lose some micro managment in the process, so hardcore fans out there will probably stick to Civ IV, but it's still a superb effort.
New to the series, love itfreshh63 | Aug. 12, 2011 | See all freshh63's reviews »
I've been loving this game so far, 40 hours racked up in a couple of campaigns and I haven't finished one game on quick yet! Local multiplayer is a blast, against your friend, or with them! This is my first Civ game, and it just encapsulated me in a world of political leaders and military warfare. The game becomes harder, as you get better, it is very user friendly, and an easy interface for new comers like me, and can be changed for seasoned veterans of the series. Also the Dlc is released at a steady pace, so not to overwhelm you, but just as the game gets boribng, a new Civ to try out, and a new way to dominate the world. There are even map releases as well, so if you get bored of knowing the maps inside out, there's always a new setting to play in. This game has possibly the best replayability I have ever seen, no game is ever the same. The ways of winning suit every strategic gamer. And if you get bored of winning in one way, there are always 4 more to try out. There is a large range of leaders who are put into this game, with many more being released so you will never get bored until the next Civ game in this truly magnificent saga. This is one series I wont be missing a single game on.
A bit different than previous Civsnewn | Aug. 10, 2011 | See all newn's reviews »
Civilization V is a bit different than Civilization IV. I have played the latter for quite some time. The most notable change was one unit per tile policy. Other than that - Civilization has became much MUCH easier. Now you cannot complete a turn without doing everything you can do. You will have a box popping up and telling you that you haven't moved your army or didn't do something else. That makes it partially a new game. Personally I liked Civilization IV more, but I like harder games more than easier. However, I still spend 121 hours playing it, and I'm going to spend more. It's something new over the old Civilization IV, something different.
Simply addictiveRaziel123 | Aug. 10, 2011 | See all Raziel123's reviews »
I remember playing Civ III very fondly; it was an addictive experience. Sadly, i had to miss out on the fourth title, but have been able to experience this newest entry in the series. And boy, the addiction is back. You like to have your own pace playing games, to manage resources, make important decisions without the rush and urgency of real time strategy, then this is the way to go. Once you start, you can't let it go. There are a lot of ways to play it, different ways to win, dozens of civilizations and leaders to choose from, giving it lots of replayability. In 1 week i put in over 70 hours into it and it's worth every cent. It's not perfect because games with huge maps and lots of players really bog down your system; and mine's pretty good, which means that i could probably be a bit more optimized. But oh well. It's still a sweet deal.
A new branch of the Civilization genreWoundead | Aug. 5, 2011 | See all Woundead's reviews »
I have tried this game for quite a few hours and have played Civ IV alot. Many things in the gameplay has changed, creating more of a branch then a sequel. The most notable change for combat is the hexagons and the 'one unit per tile only'. The most notable for empire management is global happiness and the policies that replaces goverments, allowing you to mix and match, although certan braches are not compatible. Personally I enjoy this and think the game is great. It is a different game and provides new challanges. It is easier than Civ IV, so you might have to play a monarch instead of prince etc. If you expecting(read: want) and upgraded version of Civ IV, this is not it. If you want new gameplay and some refreshing new features buy this game.
Simpler Civiliationmidfield99 | July 31, 2011 | See all midfield99's reviews »
So far I've enjoyed the game, but this is not your normal Civilization game. For one it seems a lot simpler. They have taken out a lot of micro management. For instance, you can only complete your turn when you have taken all your other actions. So you are forced to purchase cultural policies on the turn they become available. Combat is also simpler. You can't stack units, and cities are a lot easier to defend. I do like the change to hexagons though. And of course there is an improvement to the graphics. I'd say it's definitely worth it.
Combat improved but AI suffers for itwengart | July 29, 2011 | See all wengart's reviews »
The new combat system is absolutely great. However the combat AI did suffer for it. Before it was relatively easy for the AI to do a good job at combat running around with a big stack of units, but now with hex based system the AI is suddenly overwhelmed and far less competent at fighting. The removal of some of the Civ 4 systems also hurts the game in my opinion taking away some of the heart of the game. I would still recommend this to most everyone, but I also recommend that they check out Civ 4 and expansions too. Because neither game really does everything better than the other, and should be looked at more as alternate games that co-exist alongside each other, rather than Civ 5 being the next one in the series.
Improves the already awesome Civ IVRice77 | July 28, 2011 | See all Rice77's reviews »
After playing Civilization games for a long time I must say that Civ funs will not be let down by this game. It improves what was hard to improve and makes more awesome than it was before. Civ V isn't simply a rehash of what came before with better graphics it's a whole new world with a whole new set of rich, intricate rules to master. It's also impossible for a strategy fan to resist picking up … or to quit.
Classic Civilization feeling.IganX | July 22, 2011 | See all IganX's reviews »
Having played to most of the Civilization games, I must say that this one keeps the essence of the game unaltered, which nowadays is something to thank for. The game is entertaining and great fun when you start playing it, getting a bit linear with time but still enjoyable. The gameplay still gives the user many options, the graphics are great, and the rest is pure Civilization. If you liked previous games, you will like this one, and if you haven't played any Civilization, this one is a good start.
Pretty Good UpgradeSnivMunchr | July 7, 2011 | See all SnivMunchr's reviews »
Civilization was the first computer game I ever played. While the graphics have changed over the years, the basic game-play hasn't. Basically, if you like ANY version of this game, you'll really enjoy Civ V. Graphically, it's gorgeous. While there are a couple differences with game play that I don't really like(cities are tougher to conquer, you can only have one army per tile), this game is still a joy to play. Civilization is still the best turn-based strategy game around.
An improvement to already great seriesAladar | June 27, 2011 | See all Aladar's reviews »
Civilisation 5 may be the only game in literally years that I counted days to. I love the Civilization series, I spent countless hours on it's first and second installment in particular, so I was pretty excited to see what new has Sid Meyer to offer this time. I gotta say I wasn't let down a bit. There probably isn't much to say about this game, since to most gamers, it would be just stating the obvious, but I'll try. If you enjoyed the last two installments of the series, this is definitely a game for you. I've found it a step forward in generally every direction it took. The graphics are pretty, and the gameplay is still the same - long, dragging out, but enjoyable, smart, awarding patience and punishing recklessness hard. Sadly, I can't comment on multiplayer, because I didn't have anyone to play with me.. The only issues I would adress are that it sometimes slows down on my (admittedly old) PC (I know, I know..), and the DLC money-milking that was mentioned here before me - but on the other hand, it IS adding a new content that would unless not make it to the game at all, and ignoring the DLCs doesn't hurt the game at all, so.. Plus, it's really fun seeing Gandhi kicking all kinds of ass! ;)
Good at start but boring after a few gamesthomasgjj | June 25, 2011 | See all thomasgjj's reviews »
This game was amazing at the start with the long epic battles, but after a week or so they were incredibly dull and lost all interest. This game is worth getting for the odd play but not if you want to play in all your free time. The fights are all very similar to one another and there seemed to be little variation and I have to say after doing 3 battles I just had no urge to every double click the icon to start the game again.
Didn't likehotmando1 | June 23, 2011 | See all hotmando1's reviews »
The game was a letdown. It was only enjoyable to the point multiplayer didn't work and the numerous dlc has made it quite the annoyance. The game is slow and there's not much thinking to do. Basically it's a tech war that doesn't test your skill but how long your willing to wait it out. Worth getting for a time killer.
New / more / better strategyJack_A_Distro | June 8, 2011 | See all Jack_A_Distro's reviews »
I used to play Civ IV hours by hours. I tried Civ V and must say: that's improvement Positive: + To capture a city you need to have a strategic plan. Other than in older versions where you just build staple of dozens of units. + Defense of cities. Negative: - The removal of the religions as it was in Civ IV. Another point is that the wonders again have different effects compard to previous versions. Besides Civ V I will also play Civ IV Beyond the Swords furthermore.
The best strategy againdottore_46 | April 15, 2011 | See all dottore_46's reviews »
I've playing Civilization games since the 90's and the first game. I really enjoy this series always as it guarantees hours and hours of quality strategy gaming. The last stand of the series, while does not reach the excellence of Civilization IV, has a more polished technical engine, with pretty graphics and sound. Thge gameplay has changed deeply from Civ IV as there is not religion and the interplay of city-states in the game changes the routine. Also it should be noted that the game changes the way cities are managed as it is possible to buy plot of land arounnd the city instead of waiting for increases in the level of culture and now units do not stack in the same square/hexagon when attacking, which changes the approach to battles.
I hoped to see something good, and civ 5 is more the somethingwahidasoldier | April 12, 2011 | See all wahidasoldier's reviews »
First of all i want to say that i'm not very much into strategy games , but i have played a few good ones . I certainly thing that civilization 5 is one of the best turn based strategy games if not the best. I really love the gameplay at this game , even though being new to civilization series it took me a while to understand the system. You have many units , with many different characteristics such as combat , or settlers and workers . The settlers only help you to build your cities , and the workers help you develop your economy :building farms ,mines etc. . In this game more aspects are important like economy ,culture , food production . Another important aspect of this game is diplomacy . The sounds are very good , the music doesn't get boring so i think they worked pretty much at the sounds . The graphics are good , in my oppinion they could've been better , but in a game graphics aren't everything , for me gameplay is the most important. Anyway if you haven't played Civilization 5 , you've missed a great game , and i personally think that you can't get bored by this game, i mean it didn't bore me.
A step back...ZippaLip | April 12, 2011 | See all ZippaLip's reviews »
Civ V is a disappointment for some reason. The first is the gameplay so simplified (maybe is the influence of the console conversion?) whit many elements gone or made easier and others confused (combat system). The graphic is detailed but heavy for many systems (turn loadings are veeery long!). The AI is stupid and the diplomacy is even worse than the others Civ games (that was one of the weakest point of the series). The DLCs are expensive and often useless (paying for adding just a new country???). Not all is bad and I hope that in the future a real expansion (not a DLC) can man things better, but there isn't the developers attention and cure for details like the others civ's games . For the moment let's play Civ 4 and its add on!
full of lies and hypepazmacats | April 9, 2011 | See all pazmacats's reviews »
Civ 5 is a huge dissapointment. Here is why: AI - AI supposedly plays to win, roleplaying aspect is gone (more on this below) - AI diplomacy interactions are random (Ghandi will declare on you, friendly Civs will dogpile a weaker neighbor) - usually one runaway AI - AI doesn't know how to win (sitting on 20K gold and losing a "diplomatic victory" because of failing to buy the votes of one or two cities (which would take 2-3K gold)). - AI doesn't know how to research, fight or expand properly - bottomline: AI is about as intelligent as the average Free2Play-MMO-Mob. Gameplay: - one unit per tile leads to huge traffic jams - cities require tons of siege equipment to conquer, slow gameplay - necissity to cut down the total unit count leads to slow production - gold rush-buys everything - imbalanced city states, overpowered pre-patch, useless post-patch - not enough hexes for tactical gameplay - combat system is a bad clone with 0 challenge/diversity/innovation & inferior to Panzer General in every possible way. - pointless wonders - simplified tech tree/research - simplified mechanics (population and gold is everything) - useless specialist and great people (only engineers and scientists are useful) Misc: - tons of DLC to earn some extra cents. - designers lying constantly in hype preview interviews - no civilipodia (only the menu is implemented, the civilopedia itself is mostly empty) - running slow mid- and late-game because of pointless graphics - mulitplayer broken with no fix planned. -
"Just...one...more...turn!"mitzager | April 6, 2011 | See all mitzager's reviews »
Civilization is one of my favorite franchises and I was waiting Civ 5 long before the official announcement. I played hundreds, if not thousand of hours of Civ 4,and it seemed the perfect turn-based strategy game...until Firaxis announced Civilization 5 :). I was hyped from day one as it promised massive changes in gameplay, like hex tiles or one unit per tile. When it was released I was a bit disappointed with the game, but that's maybe because my expectations were sky-high. I liked the transition to hexes/ one unit per tile, now you can have trench wars, instead of making a 'stack of doom' and wipe everyone, like in the previous Civ. Overall the Civ 5 is more tactical than it's predecessor. The thing that bothers me about this game is that Firaxis simplified it too much (I understand that they wanted to introduce new players to Civ franchise, but please let the marketing department to deal with that, don't ruin the gameplay by making it too noob-friendly)...especially the micromanagement and the economic system, which is really weird (i sure miss the wealth/research slider). The civics were replaced now with social polices which are interesting, but have a major flaw: you have to choose if you want a democracy for your people or dictatorship from the early years of your empire and you cannot change it later. Another problem with the game is the poor optimization. It's true that I don't have a high-end computer and the game is very complex but I think that the developers could have worked a bit more on this aspect. The graphics are awesome, even if I haven't experienced them at maximum detail, and the soundtrack is really good, but I miss the Grammy Award winner Baba Yetu. In conclusion, the game is great for new players, and a good one for old ones. It has it's problems, but I'm sure Firaxis is already working on an expansion that will make the game a lot better. If we look back in time Civ 4 vanilla had a lot of problems too...
The King returnskeeveek | April 5, 2011 | See all keeveek's reviews »
Remember Civilization IV? If you liked this game, you will probably love this one, too. One may say that Civ 5 is less complex, more shallow, but don't listen to them. All of the disadvantages of previous game are fixed here , for example: you cannot stack multiple units at one spot - no more infinite armies stacked on one place! It demands new tactics from old players, so they will also find something for themselves. Graphics are just wonderful - you may see particular units fighting each other (beautifully animated), great looking terrain and cities - pure pleasure to watch. And listen too - every nation leader speaks in their own language (yes, even Maian or Mezopotamian!). With the game youll receive tons and tons of fascinating gameplay which will never become boring.