In addition, one should take into account: We as customers we regularly encourage and rightly to the fact that games like FIFA or football except cosmetic changes bring managers every year almost no improvement, but ripped off the full price. Firaxis however, it has not been so easy in Civ 5. The decision, the young amateur modders Jon Shafer entrusting the continuation of the legendary Civilization series, demonstrates remarkable courage. Even the approach, many of the concepts in game design is completely new, basically commendable and shows that it was not willing to simply rest on its laurels. The problem is simply that you just barely can make it even better an almost perfect game as CivIV. In this particular case, it might have been actually better to leave the backbone and, useful add the many excellent ideas which we find in Civ 5.
Let's look at a few sections on:
Graphics / user guidance
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The graphic design, I think only partially succeeded for. The introduction of hexagons does the game well, and the Art Deco style is quite nice to look at. On the other hand, I find that the interface has become extremely confusing. Often you have to look far for a unit, the resource symbols are wizened small and you are all the time busy click away uninteresting city-states-news. Most bothers me that what is produced, hardly gets to see properly. The city buildings dive in production or in the Civilopedia only as graphics and are on the map barely visible. The same applies to the units. Here Civ IV was much clearer. With all respect for the power of the Graphic: I really have to say that my graphics of CivIV has completely enough.
Changes of CivIV to Civ 5
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Civ 5 includes, as I said, some very interesting innovations. The combat system is certainly the best new feature. It was in all Civ predecessors the biggest annoyance and one of the few real weaknesses that could flatten by pure mass opponent always. The new way, how to add wins hexes, I find fully positive. The social policies are very motivating and in principle a good expansion of the previous concept. It also brings a lot of opportunities to make his own kingdom. Yet on the other hand I could not see that the AI itself makes any thoughts, what social policy path they want to tread - in my games all computer opponents always pursued the same strategy (piety). A certain design problem is that there is almost too many adjusting screws to improve the production of units, buildings, etc.. Because I must in this case the output values start high enough that it also pays off for the players to build a workshop or introduce a particular social policy. Since you can but use only a small part of all these possibilities, the costs remain for all other units and buildings for which I get just any production bonus, at the high initial value. Many players have already complained that it takes forever until it has been produced by something (or that many technologies are de facto worthless, because the many beautiful things anyway can never build all). And that depends in my opinion along with the state of affairs just described.
It is understandable in principle, when a lot has been removed from the game in order not to overload the face of many new products. Nevertheless, the loss hurts. Okay, the spy was probably loved by only a few players, but they gave the game just yet other strategic opportunities. And it is true that religions have always been a bit of a threat to equal opportunities (because some players by very early in the game more money and satisfaction possessed than others). But they gave the civilizations and the towns of character and were a defining element for diplomacy.
Ever diplomacy: This has been crippled in Civ5 outright, you have to say unfortunately so. At the United Nations there is practically nothing to decide, and because there is almost always only two or three countries in the late stage of the game, such decisions would be superfluous. Due to the lack of technology trade and religions have been only a few chances, something to change the attitude of the other heads of state. What is happening in the neighboring country so you do not get with. For this, coat a neighbor, sooner or later, because he supposedly need space to live - even if he's Gandhi or if next to it a free island with plenty of municipal space is available and the AI just needs some get the idea, a settler there to . Send
The devaluation of cities and technologies have been criticized for many cope. Choosing the Technolgien was formerly centrally and decided what kind of empire to build. Alphabet, optics, liberalism or the religious technologies were becoming a bit more important than others, and you really had to choose a path. Now everything is somehow washed out, and it does, for example, no longer matter if I only explore chivalry or astronomy: a bonus for the circumnavigation no longer exists, and the AI obviously has no interest in zubesiedeln foreign continents.
Balancing, KI and Performance
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What really bothers me: Civ5 is to my previous experience, poorly balanced. Because of the road and Building Maintenance is disproportionately expensive, breaks after a certain point the budget completely together (at least if one more among those that build peaceful, instead of units to produce). That would not be so bad if the AI would not cheat so openly. I have now experienced it already a couple of times that I came so financially just to make ends meet with eight or nine cities, but that Catherine and Washington three or four times as many cities had and still in the research were far ahead. But here I want credit, that I might not see through every trick in the game.
As for the AI, I am generally disappointed. True, the opponents are looking now only allies, before they attack you, and they also rely on smarter than before. But overall, the AI may still have moderate brain rework. Since Washington is about a hundred rounds in front of me with the tech tree through, has no war at the neck and still can not get the idea, maybe to build a single spaceship part. I almost did not thereby deprived him of victory.
The performance is perhaps the greatest weakness. Civ 5 is in the last third of the game incredibly tough and slow. If the idea was to bring through the new battle mode momentum into the game, so you do a lot of things thereby canceled out. In My Games (Mac Pro Eight-core processor, 6GB of RAM, 512 MB GDDR5 video memory), it took almost one and a half minutes at the end, to the AI of lap was calculated to round. Most of the late game I spend alongside reading newspapers or sorting sheets. The worst part: I schwant evil for modding possibilities. If the game now hardly comes round to, what will the then be when you have installed a few new technologies and new game concepts?
Overall concept: A question of class
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As much as I appreciate some changes, so I have to say that I do not really like the overall design of the game. The old Civ has always been a bit more mature and somehow different from any other computer games (the average age of the Civ players should also be significantly higher than average other games). Civ 5 is oriented for my taste too much on young audiences and too close to games like "Age of Empires" or "Total War" - which is about as if the FC Barcelona to give up his style to be just as Schalke 04 . Sorry, Schalke fans. :-)
This is not about me so much whether now ten technologies or units are more or less in the game. What I miss the most, is this certain class - the intellectual level, has ever achieved by no other game. The soundtrack, but now degenerated a bit of background Gedüdel was compiled earlier right wisely: constantly on the age-increasing in pace to John Adams in the future. Where are you something else in computer games on?
Another trademark was always the oblique humor. The allusions to Caesar Salad, Al Gore (Internet project) or "Die Hard" ("Now I have a war elephant. Ho-ho-ho!") Just do not get it any. But who's laughing is not broken when Montezuma only grim-faced demands money and then rumjammert "Never heard someone on me"? - The jetztigen leader animations look nice but have compared to the quirky characters in CivIV little personality (which is also due to the one-dimensional KI).
Somehow comes for me at Civ5 not really feel on me really being on a journey through time. It's more of a neutral time strategy game, in which after a while this new building and those new unit will be activated. But comes over me at any time of Civ typical noise to keep the history of the world in my hands. This is due to various causes: the music does not change depending on the age, the cities you can see the changes hardly at, in multiplayer, the names of the parties AI opponents will reveal in the beginning, etc. In CivIV overcame me again the desire, I wanted to learn more about certain leaders, eras or inventions and have therefore looked into the lexicon or in the Wikipedia. In Civ 5, this effect does not occur.
One can put it like this: CivIV and all parts before that was a game for people who really are interested in history. Civ 5 is obviously meant to be used for young fans of films such as "300". You can see that the technology: the hitorischen background info are slashed badly, most citations inconsequential and meaningless. But they are read smoky mysterious. Well, to me at least the trained actor Thomas Fritsch gefielt better. From Leonard Nimoy in the original not to mention, but most young people no longer know today already know who that is.
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Not that given the many negative points I mentioned a wrong impression: Civilization 5 is in itself a good strategy game, but a representative of the Civilization series is "good" just not good enough. At the same time a company like Firaxis, which has given us in the last ten years so much joy, earned some respect. Therefore it would be appropriate, the criticism put forward differentiated rather hotheaded burn down the whole game, root and branch. Perhaps one can go back in a few years the concept of CivIV and take the many good ideas from Civ5. That would be a really great game.
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