Adam banging on about Civilization VI [official site] even coming into work chat while ill to bang on about Civ VI (GO TO BED YOU FOOL!) has persuaded me that this might be the time for the return of the Mighty Pip Empire.
The question I’ve been trying to answer, as I spent a final few hours with Civilization VI [official site] before writing this review, is simple: is it the best game in the series, or the best game in the series bar Civ IV? After more than a hundred hours of play, I still can’t say for sure. The fourth game has had ten years to work its way into my mind and it has endured, Civ VI is still young.
What I can say is that it’s a radical redesign, true to the spirit of the series but finding new ideas in its elevation of the map from backdrop and resource-container to new plane of strategic and tactical importance. Few 4X games emphasise the importance of geography to this degree. In Civ VI, the land makes a mark on you, just as you make your mark on the land.>
October is the thick of game-release season and today brought Sid Meier’s Civilization 6. It’s far too early for the game to be on sale, of course, so this week there’s a competition to win a copy below alongside the usual selection of gaming bargains. On that front, this week we ve got UK deals and we ve got deals that will work in the UK, US and presumably places outside of those two geographical boxes.
Sid Meier’s Civilization 6 is almost upon us, and reviews are going up across the internet. Ours> will be along later – you can read Adam’s impressions based on a week with the game in the meantime – but you might also want to know when it’s going to unlock in your timezone. When can you finally lay your hands upon the sexy hexes once more? Find out below.
This is the third part of a Civilization VI [official site] diary, running from the beginning of recorded history to the atomic age and victory (?). Part one is here, part two is here.>
There’s something special about taking a first trip over-seas. Whether you’re a child or teenager taking a vacation away from your homeland for the first time, or the leader of a nation sending explorers out into the wider world, it’s a magical time.
We are Japan. Having established a now-peaceful dominance over our neighbours, we craved new lands to occupy. The discovery of cartography gave even our smallest seafaring vessels the knowledge to navigate their way across deep waters and soon we were carving up the fog of war that lay between the world’s two great landmasses. What we found when we reached the other side changed everything.
I have a terrible confession to make. While, on a weekly basis, I protest about the oft-unchanging nature of these charts, the truth is that a new entry makes me sigh. It means I have to laboriously type out new HTML rather than just copy the links from last week. This means terrible, unspeakable suffering in a week such as this, where there actually are quite a few ‘new’ games. … [visit site to read more]
I’ll admit that my first thought upon seeing that there was a Civilization VI [official site] launch trailer was to get that Brentalfloss version of Baba Yetu which adds parody lyrics stuck in my head so I watched that first. Civ VI’s actual trailer is far more SRSBSNS. It’s all about cinematics showing the key achievements you can use as markers of progress in the game and dramatisations of some of the conflict:
As it was prophesied, soon it will come to pass. The Steam Charts approach their endgame: where all sales and all pre-order shenanigans converge to ensure that just one game occupies all top ten placements. Soon, there shall be unity. Terrible, terrible unity. … [visit site to read more]
This is the second part of a Civilization VI diary, running from the beginning of recorded history to the atomic age and victory (?). Part one is here.>
“He’s not the Messiah, he’s a very naughty Great Prophet.”
No, scratch that. Wrong Python movie.
Spanish persons, today the blood of many a brave samurai shall be avenged! In the name of Horace, we shall not stop our fight till every one of you lies dead, and the Holy Grail returns to those who Horace Himself has chosen!
This entry of my Civilization VI [official site] diary is about my quest for the Holy Grail.
In this first part of a Civilization VI [official site] diary series, which will follow my glorious nation from its birth to eventual victory (or abject failure), we trace Japan’s steps from the ancient to the classical era. Along the way, I’ll be explaining the rules of this new entry in the series as well as telling the story of my people.>
Rome is bristling with spears and its leader, Trajan, is not very happy. Not very happy at all. It’s 1160 BC and I’ve already sworn off wonders, stabbed my only friend in the back, and found myself caught between faiths. Let’s rewind almost three thousand years though, to the founding of Kyoto and a time of great promise. Let’s go back to the start.