]]> Fri, 29 Jun 2007 00:59:00 -0500 The Gaming Horizon Archive http://www.gamebump.com/go/civilization_iv_warlords_now_available http://www.gamebump.com/go/civilization_iv_warlords_now_available http://www.gamebump.com/go/civilization_iv_warlords_now_available# Civilization IV on the PC, is now available at retailers nation-wide.

The expansion includes eight new scenarios and the new "warlord" unit, which will help gamers to alter history in ways of their choosing. The expansion also introduces new civilizations, leaders, resources, and wonders to enhance the Civilization IV experience.

Sid MeierÂ’s Civilization IV: Warlords adds new twists and challenges to some of the most creative scenarios in the series. In the Omens scenario, Great Britain and France race to settle North America at any cost, while the Barbarians scenario allows players to take control of ruthless hordes of warriors. With these brutal Barbarians under your control, your goal is to conquer all other civilizations on the map by decimating their armies, looting the cities and burning them to the ground.

• Warlords: A new great person type called the Warlord.
• Vassal States: Conquer an enemy and subjugate them to your rule.
• Game Scenarios: The expansion delivers eight new scenarios.
• New Civilizations: The pack will provide six new civilizations and associated unique units.
• Civilization Leaders: Ten new leaders, including leaders for the new civilizations as well as additional leaders for existing civilizations.
• Leader Traits: Three new leader traits.
• New Wonders: Three new wonders.
• Unique Buildings: Each civilization includes a new unique building as well as their unique unit.
• New Units, Resources, and Improvements: Many new items are presented throughout the scenarios.
• Core Game Tweaks and Additions: Expanded features and gameplay tweaks are made to the core game.
• Post-Release Patches and Game Upgrades: The pack contains all of the patches and game additions (Pit Boss, etc.) released to date for Sid Meier's Civilization IV.

Stardock, the company which brought you the popular Galactic Civilizations series of games, has announced the new expansion for Galactic Civilizations 2: Dread Lords.

Galactic Civilizations 2: Dark Avatar will introduce a veritable slew of new content to the game. In addition to new ship components, planetary dynamics and diplomatic options, players will have an entirely new campaign to peruse. Dark Avatar will allow the player to take the helm of the Drengin Empire, as they complete their conquest and enslavement of the galaxy. The Drengin, who wish to enslave the other races inhabiting the galaxy, must also contend with the new Korath faction, who seek complete genocide.

Look for a digital launch from TotalGaming.net in fall '06; Stardock's price point is $29.95, or $24.95 for customers who pre-order.]]> Fri, 23 Jun 2006 10:38:00 -0500 The Gaming Horizon Archive http://www.gamebump.com/go/rise__fall_civilizations_at_war_announced http://www.gamebump.com/go/rise__fall_civilizations_at_war_announced http://www.gamebump.com/go/rise__fall_civilizations_at_war_announced#

"Stainless Steel Studios is known for creating revolutionary, real-time strategy games that appeal to a worldwide audience," said David F. Zucker, president and chief executive officer of Midway. "This relationship and the upcoming launch of Rise & Fall: Civilizations at War will further establish Midway in the premium PC market."

"We are very excited to be working with Midway, a publisher who is truly committed to creating the highest quality games in the industry," said Rick Goodman, president of Stainless Steel Studios. "With its unprecedented gameplay, historical accuracy and unique elements, Rise & Fall: Civilizations at War will be one of the most ambitious RTS games to date."

Check out the first screenshots below.

It can be tough for a new game to establish itself in the turn based strategy genre with industry staples like Civilization IV setting the standard for others to follow. If a new game doesnÂ’t measure up to the impossibly high standard set by the big names it is relegated to bargain bin doom almost immediately. Galactic Civilizations II: Dread Lords is StardockÂ’s second foray into the strategy genre and they have actually created a game that gives the mainstays a run for their money.

Galactic Civilizations takes place in the 23rd century. Mankind has just begun its leap into the stars and encountered a wide variety of alien civilizations who are also attempting to expand their empires. These races were once subdued by the ancient Dread Lords who mysteriously vanished centuries ago, allowing the lesser races a chance to explore the cosmos. The game takes this plotline and incorporates it into a turn based strategy where players must interact with several other civilizations all vying for control of the galaxy. Galactic Civilizations is essentially a galaxy sized game of Risk where players must manage their territories and attempt to gain control of all other civilizations.

What sets Galactic Civilizations apart from mediocre strategy titles is the amount of complexity and depth the game contains. Players begin the game with a single solar system. The home planet contains a starbase which is able to manufacture starships, which are featured prominently in the game. Starbases not only construct warships but also ships designed for exploration and colonization of other worlds. Players will quickly start colonizing and exploring as much of the galaxy as possible since the computer controlled civilizations will also be expanding. Players who arenÂ’t quick on their feet will find the computer civilizations have already taken over the majority of the unclaimed territory and will have a tougher time winning the game.

Thankfully there are several different ways to actually beat Galactic Civilizations. The game allows players to achieve military, diplomatic, technological, and cultural victories. Military victories are achieved by either wiping out the other civilizations or forcing them to surrender. Diplomatic victories occur when players are able to establish good relations and communications across the galaxy while cultural victories are obtained by exporting a civilizationÂ’s culture to other races and becoming the envy of the galaxy. Technological victories are achieved by advancing so far in the gameÂ’s technology tree that a race actually achieves a higher state of existence and leaves temporal existence entirely. Each of these victories requires a different strategy to win and choosing which victory to strive for at any part of the game is the most important decision players will face.

The AI in the game ranks among the best ever seen in a strategy title. The computer is smart enough to change its own strategy as soon as the tables turn against it. Often in strategy titles a computer will strive to win a certain way and all players need to do is figure out what the computer wants to do and continue to block its progress until it loses. In Galactic Civilizations, the computer will actually realize that it is beaten and try to win using another method. For example, if a computer controlled diplomatic civilization is about to be beaten militarily, it will surrender to another diplomatic civilization before the military one can conquer it. Computers will also try and trick players into attacking them by holding fleets in reserve, out of sight of the player until it is too late to pull out. While the AI can be frustrating, Stardock has been quick to point out that it is not cheating in any way - the AI is simply often able to outthink human opponents.

The graphics in Galactic Civilizations wonÂ’t win any awards, but certainly donÂ’t detract from the game in any way. The galaxy is rendered in full 3D, with moons rotating around planets and impressive looking stellar clouds in the background. Players are able to zoom the camera out until the galaxy looks like a chessboard, or zoom in on a particular ship they are interested in. Combat also looks impressive with laser beams shooting across the screen using appropriate lighting effects. The cutscenes in the game are fully rendered in 3D using the gameÂ’s engine and are quite impressive.

The audio also adds to the gameÂ’s overall atmosphere. The gameÂ’s main theme is quite catchy with a space opera style theme, and the rest of the music in the game adds a nice feel to the gameÂ’s ambience. There is little voice acting in the game, although the tutorial does contain a calm voice that reads the text of the tutorial to players as it scrolls by. Players are likely so busy thinking in the game that they hardly even notice the music but Galactic Civilizations wouldnÂ’t be the same without it.

The largest single detractor from the game is the tutorial. While most recent strategy titles contain playable tutorials that walk players through the entire process of playing the game, Galactic Civilizations contains over a dozen video clips accompanied by lengthy text descriptions of how different aspects of the game function. It takes over half an hour to wade through all the videos, and with the complexity of the game those gamers who try to dive straight into the action will quickly become confused and overwhelmed. This is especially true for gamers who donÂ’t play many turn based strategy titles since the game doesnÂ’t go out of its way to explain itself to new players.

The other largest detractor from the game is the lack of any multiplayer. The game does contain the ability to post gamersÂ’ scores on an online leaderboard called the metaverse, but lacks any substantial form of multiplayer. In a strategy title where quick thinking and backstabbing are common fare, multiplayer would seem to be a natural addition. The developers have stated that if there is enough interest in the game they would consider adding in multiplayer via a patch, but in the meantime players will have to make due with only a single-player game.

Galactic Civilizations II is the first sleeper hit of 2006. The AI is the best seen thus far in any strategy title and the complexity and depth of the game will keep gamers coming back for just one more turn. With a random galaxy generated every game, coupled with AI that is unpredictable and incredibly intelligent, the game is sure to never play out the same way twice. Gamers looking for a good turn based strategy title will find a lot to like in Galactic Civilizations and the reduced MSRP of $39.99 also makes this game one of the best PC buys of the year.

Amazingly complex and deep game that keeps players coming back for more.

full 3D environments that are fully scalable.

Good music and reasonable sound effects complement the gameplay.

The AI is actually intelligent and really steals the show.

The campaign is entertaining but the random games really are where the game shines.

]]> Mon, 27 Mar 2006 16:55:00 -0600 The Gaming Horizon Archive http://www.gamebump.com/go/taketwo_publishing_civilization_iv http://www.gamebump.com/go/taketwo_publishing_civilization_iv http://www.gamebump.com/go/taketwo_publishing_civilization_iv# Take-Two has announced that they have purchased the rights to the Civilization series and they will be publishing the upcoming fourth installment.

The game will feature new single and multiplayer content as well as new graphics. Sid Meier, Director of Creative Development as FIRAXIS Games said, "Wth the upcoming addition of Civilization IV, our core fans and newcomers alike will enter a world of unparelled scope and detail."

Civilization IV is scheduled to release late 2005 for the PC.

Ever since its birth in 1991 the Civilization series has been one of the most successful game franchises on the PC. The creator of the Civilization series, Sid Meier, is a household name in gaming circles and is known for creating innovative games that push the strategy genre to new heights with every release. Now itÂ’s 2005 and the world is bracing for the imminent release of Civilization IV. Think about it: how many games have a "IV" in their title? ThereÂ’s Quake, Resident Evil, Final Fantasy, and probably a few more but reaching IV status is certainly a milestone.

The Civilization games allow the player to take a small stone-age village and cultivate it into a modern society. The games are turn-based and require the player to manage political alliances, as well as military, scientific and cultural goals. The complexity of the game increases with every turn as the player guides his civilization from 4,000 BC to 2050 AD and eventually rules the world.

Civilization IV is much more than a simple rehash of Civilization III with better graphics. While Civilization IV sports the “gamebryo” engine, first seen in Pirates!, Firaxis has incorporated a slew of other features into the game and many of them sound promising. For the first time in a Civilization game religion plays a prominent role. Basically, each religion is tied to a technology. Once the player acquires that technology for his civilization the religion becomes available. If the player so chooses, one of his cities will become the center of that religion and the religion will spread out from there. Missionaries can be sent from the holy city to convert other cities to the religion. Religion helps to form cultural alliances with other civilizations and is one way to actually beat the game.

The next major improvement in Civilization IV concerns the multiplayer mode. Civilization III did not feature multiplayer until expansions that featured a buggy and lackluster multiplayer system were released. Firaxis is trying to correct this with Civilization IV and actually built the multiplayer portion of the game before beginning work on the single-player mode. Civilization IV incorporates several multiplayer modes allowing for both simultaneous and turn-based gameplay. Since Civilization games often take several hours, Civilization IV will incorporate a “pit boss” that saves the game and remembers where players are in their turns and allows them to play at their convenience. One player can take a turn, leave the game for several hours, and then check in to see if their opponent has taken her turn. The players can play back and forth like this or at any time they can both jump in and resume the game as normal. Civilization IV also incorporates cooperative multiplayer games.

Civilization IV also features a wide variety of smaller improvements. There are 18 civilizations to choose from, including the US, Mongolia, Persia, China, India, France, Germany, Japan, England, the Incas, the Aztecs and the Mali. The single-player game now sports three different speeds to choose from: quick; standard; and epic. Quick games are intended to be played in a single sitting. Standard games are of typical Civilization length, while epic games are really long and allow the player to control every minute detail of his civilization.

Another welcome change is the technology tree. Previously in the series a new technology was only available after the player had acquired all of the prerequisites of that particular technology. In Civilization IV, only one prerequisite is required in order to upgrade a technology, allowing the player greater flexibility in choosing which technologies they want to invest in. The governments are also much more flexible now, allowing players to create their own governments with interesting results. For example, the player could create a democracy with slavery, or a totalitarian regime with free press.

The only dubious feature is the new interface that is supposed to be a blend of real-time strategy and strategy interfaces. Firaxis claims the new interface will allow players of other genres, such as first-person shooters and action games, to jump into Civilization IV with ease. As of yet no one outside of Firaxis has seen the new interface and it may be a radical change from previous Civilization games.

When Civilization IV releases in November it will garner plenty of attention from the gaming community. Whether it lives up to the hype depends on how well Firaxis is able to implement the new content and how gamers react to the new features, especially the new interface. My prediction is that Firaxis will once again deliver an addictive, simple to play but hard to master game that will appeal to a wide variety of gamers. Time will tell.]]> Sun, 31 Jul 2005 16:06:15 -0500