November 20, 2005

Just One More Turn...

I am reveling in the glorious addiction that is Civilization, namely Civ IV.

So far I've won pretty decisively via the Space Race (with the Americans) and diplomatically (as the English) on the second-easiest difficulty, but am having trouble with more advanced difficulty settings.

I was quite unimpressed with Civ III, especially in contrast to Civ II, which I had played on and off for several years. The addictive nature of these games (apart from getting to play god on an epic scale) derives from their turn-based nature. Each turn usually lasts about 1-3 minutes. Not much time, eh?

But for some reason you find yourself staring at the screen at 1:30 in the morning thinking: "Just one more turn? Sure." And you abandon other non-mandatory pursuits (such as music, blogging, reading, etc.)

I'm hoping to post some more pieces this week, as I'm taking the week of Thanksgiving off from work. No promises, but please check back.

Posted by JohnL at November 20, 2005 11:23 PM | TrackBack
Comments

So, how well does the much anticipated religion in Civ IV work?

I still greatly prefer turn based strategy to real time strategy.

Posted by: owlish at November 21, 2005 08:33 AM

I'm with you, No RTS for me, its all reaction and no careful planning. I have been playing Age of Wonders: Shadow Magic. its real fun turn based strategy.
I wanted to ask, If you are a muscician? Are you based in Austin? I live near Houston.

Posted by: Kyle N at November 22, 2005 08:06 PM

I was considering not purchasing Civ IV because Civ III, especailly the Conquest pack, was a bit underwhelming. However, I have to say the Samurai animation is fun to watch. The best feature to come out of Civ III was the concept of cultural influence, so the other players couldn't sneak cities in the gaps between yours. I started more wars in Civ II to show them the error of their ways than I care to remember.

So, a bit of a ramble, but the basic question is "Is Civ IV worth it?"

Posted by: BWS at November 29, 2005 02:50 PM

It is definitely worth it. Religion is a new way to spread your culture and generate commerce. I have not yet won the game via cultural domination, though I'm working on a strategy to do so.

Posted by: JohnL at November 29, 2005 06:42 PM

BWS - read the game specs carefully. I'm on the low end of the specs (thankfully not out of them) but I got hit with the "black terrain" bug - when zoomed to the right magnification to move units effectively, the terrain stops rendering and all that's shown is a black field, with the units, resources, and whatnot displayed on top of it. makes for an annoying attempt at playing.

However, I like CivIII - it cheats, but isn't so brazen about it as CivII was. And, it's still turn based, as are all the Civs. For a real blast, throw in CivNet and take a look - it's amazing how far it's come.

Posted by: Lysander at December 13, 2005 02:50 PM
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