Rewrite history, your way with 2K’s Sid Meier’s Civilization VII.

In rich graphic detail and developed by Firaxis, three distinctive historical classes await you as you begin building up your Empire.

Civs veteran’s will be in familiar territory and for new comers, well, this is probably the one of the best in the series to start out with.

It’s fluid and easy to navigate menu’s leave no confusion within gameplay and before you know it your very own ‘civilization’ will be making a mark on history as you see it and direct it.

Sid Meier’s Civilization VII is a strategy simulated game where you build out and take on a small village, map out your village, through to town… then city and eventually Empire hex by hex.

Generally the folk in your growing world will live out their existence, providing you give them the means to do so.

You’ll have the ability to literally re-write human history as you want and as you progress you will unlock more resources.

In prior Civilization titles you have generally had to select one class or race, or similar and stuck with that for as long as you play the game. Which can be for an eternity. Civilization games are real addicitive.

Civilization VII lets you select a specific leader from an option of three and these are split into three eras; Antiquity, Modern or Exploration.

Being that I love to explore the world in any video game, Exploration was for me.

Naturally this will affect the resources that you have to start with as well as what you eventually unlock, as any new items or resources are within the time era, or class, that you selected.

This also offers up it’s various challenges. If you think the easy road is selecting a modern era, think again. Each era (or class) with their own attributes most definitely throws up some decent challenges.

As your townsfolk, or civilization, emerges from the basic human era new cultures will be unlock.

And before you know it, you’ll witness your own history in the making via split cultures either living in harmony or warring with each other.

But here, as I mentioned you can mix up history – and have Romans hanging out with Mongols. It’s entirely up to you – and is based on the selected leader and era you choose.

Graphically the game is amazing. Game options see Diplomacy as more of a currency by accruing and spending influence points. This in my view is actually more streamlined and you’re not needing to have convoluted negotiations.

The game sets you with goals, to grow your population and as your world grows, it will spread across the map.

Sid Meier’s Civilization VII is a change from prior editions. It’s almost a full rewrite infact. But it gives players a more fluid, entertaining play with mostly shorter wait times for your population to enact out a sequence.

Stunningly detailed whether in isometric view or zoomed in to see your created world in 3D. It’s also best played on a larger screen.

Sid Meier’s Civilization VII is so far the pinnacle in the series. Easy to get a grasp of for newcomers, yet challenging, rewarding and satisfying for veterans.

The post Sid Meier’s Civilization VII (PC) Review appeared first on Shane the Gamer.

Go forth and colonise.

The legendary game developer, Sid Meiers first unleashed the living and breathing map dominating Civilization title on early PC’s back in 1991.

Pure wizardry for its time and over the almost 30 years the game has expanded a thousand fold and now can be found on portable play with the Switch.

2K Games released Civilization VI, once again proving that epic gaming goodness can be derived from a smaller system and cartridge.

If, somehow, you have never played a Civ’s title before, it’s relatively simple but highly complex at the same time.

A point in click, or more appropriately a point and place, as you build up your civilization across an endless expanding map.

Civilization VI is also a strategic game. Much like city builders, past and present, you will need to work your strategy to the best advantage of the resources available and the types of civilians that you have. And these ‘humans’ will evolve and embrace newer resources and technology as you go forward.

Civ’s (as it is known) on Switch sees you, like a God, building up your village in to a town, then in to a city and beyond to a thriving metropolis. You will deal with the usual human antics, politics, treachery and more.

Civilization VI sees you start out with the bare basics in the year 4000 AD.

If you are new to Civ’s most definitely you will need to play through the tutorial as if you are unsure what you are doing you could waste what few resources you have on this new found land.

Doing it right and seeing your civilians prosper is so satisfying and amusing to sit back and watch as they live out their lives under your watchful gaze.

You are always in control and you can reward or discipline your population with new amenities, or restrictions. And just like real people, your population can be very unpredictable.

On Switch you use your joycon to move the mouse around the map. The resource and items menu is located at the bottom of the screen. Fairly simple stuff.

Civilization VI on Switch also comes with all four DLC packs; Vikings, Poland, Australia and Persia – with a New Zealand Maori DLC set to release soon.

Civ’s can be a quick play or an extended, and being that it is now on portable you can take your entire civilization with you wherever you go and check up on them, maintain and do quests as you like, as they live their lives in real time.

Civilization VI is a game that never ends and fully addictive.

The post Civilization VI (Switch) Review appeared first on Shane the Gamer.

2K and Firaxis Games today released a new video on how “Unstacking Cities” will impact gameplay in Sid Meier’s Civilization VI, launching on Oct 21st, 2016 for Windows PC.

Unstacking Cities has implications that permeate the entirety of the Civilization VI experience and this change presents new emergent strategies to players. Choosing where to settle your city is now more crucial than it has ever been, as available tiles affect the potency of Districts and limit what Wonders can be erected in that particular city. This means players must adapt to their environment, consider greater city specialization and create more diverse empires throughout play.

In Civilization V, you simply queue up a build order, construct your buildings and they all live as one enormous stack within the city screen. With Civilization VI, we’ve unstacked the cities, removing all of that clutter within the city screen. So not only do you need to weigh build order in Civilization VI, but you also have to consider district adjacency bonuses and what terrains around your city centre are compatible with certain Wonders. There isn’t one template for success in Civilization VI, and players need to react to the environment around them. No two games will play the same.

Combat is also affected by the Unstacking Cities mechanic in Civilization VI. As cities spread across more territory and become more exposed, adept warmongers may target specific tiles to cripple a city’s infrastructure before going after the city centre. Additionally, passive players who would choose to fortify cities in the past must now consider their city’s full perimeter when deciding to pursue this same tactic in Civilization VI. A city is so much more than just its city centre now.

Finally, from a visual standpoint, Unstacking Cities presents great aesthetical changes to the Civilization experience. Cities now look more diverse and reflect their growth in more distinct ways. We’ve found this change goes a long way, not only in making players feel more connected to their choices and progress, but also in keeping players immersed in the beautiful world of Civilization VI.

The post Unstacking Cities appeared first on Shane the Gamer.