The Bold and the Mad

The regular D&D campaign that I run is currently on hold for now as we're down to only 2 players (excluding me as the DM). Until we can find a new player or any of the old players return, we're going to try an experiment where each player runs 2 characters. One of my players will be running this new game in the Dark Sun setting - a post-apocalyptic fantasy world that will hopefully be significantly different from the usual fantasy settings. I only have passing familiarity with the setting compared to Forgotten Realms, for example, where countless PC games going back to the original Pool of Radiance have left the setting quite stale for me.

This is also the first time in two years (outside of conventions) that I'll be a player rather than a DM and have quite enjoyed creating a couple of characters. Their history and personality isn't as detailed as I'd like, but our first session is tomorrow and might be fleshed out further then.

Notes about the setting relevant to these characters:

• A mul is a sterile, half-dwarf/half-human, that are almost always slaves.
  
• Elves tend to be nomads that wander the wilds that are mostly desert or wasteland.
  
• Psionics is ever-present in the world, with many creatures and people having some kind of psionic power.
  
• Any wielders of arcane power are treated with hatred because of the draining effect it can have on life in the area, which is presumably what has caused the world to be in the state it's in at the moment. Only the evil sorcerer-kings and their servants are allowed to use arcane power.
  

Zarkan “Blue” - male mul bravura warlord, level 1 leader (gladiator, tattooed warrior)

Born into slavery, Zarkan has grown up preparing himself for the gladiator's arena. He is known to spectators simply as “Blue” for the blue geometric tattoos that mark much of his body including his bald head, and he carries them proudly to show his success against beast and fellow gladiator. Although he knows how to entertain a crowd, it's the survival of himself and his allies that matter the most to him. At his best when working alongside allies, Zarkan has long ago learned the value of teamwork in overcoming the odds.

Enna Cuscoe - female half-elf wild battlemind, level 1 defender (wasteland nomad, southern wastes)

Enna grew up with her family trailing behind the nomad clan from which her elven mother had been banished for the crime of having a child of a human father. Her determined parents taught her the survival skills she'd need to survive in a harsh world and ruthlessly encouraged her burgeoning psionic talents.

A slaver attack on their encampment resulted in her father being killed and her mother captured while Enna was left for dead. Only the fortitude lent to her body by her mind kept her alive, but at the cost of a dwindling sanity. Since then whispers just on the edge of her hearing keep her unhinged, and surprisingly her psionic powers have only grown in strength.

Always wiry and tough before, she now has an unsettling aspect about her which makes others uneasy in her presence. She blames herself for the loss of her parents and will do her utmost to keep any group she adopts safe from the same fate. They just mustn't expect much in the way of sensible conversation with her.

Portraits created in Dragon Age: Origins.

Civ 5: Great Thebes (Part 3)

With the Egyptian Empire having grown much larger than I initially anticipated, I adopt the Order social policy, ideal for larger empires. I'm hoping to just consolidate what I've got and push on to a diplomatic victory as I continue my research down the tech tree towards Globalization. Thebes contines to build wonders, providing me with Great People to continue with Golden Ages almost uninterrupted.

Meanwhile Montezuma has been building settlements in former Japanese lands and has enraged the city states that he seems to be at permanent war with all 4 of them on the Aztec continent. It's not long before he's at war with me, and Catherine jumps at the opportunity to declare war on me as well. It's 1812 AD and most of my forces have already left the Aztec lands and have to quickly cross back over the channel to help the few defenders left behind.

Montezuma captures the city state of Hanoi and Catherine captures the city state of Kuala Lampur. Other city states look set to fall soon even as my Knights land near and liberate Belgrade from Montezuma. With it looking like I'll possibly be at war for the rest of the game, I settle Elephantine in the desert near multiple oil sources to ensure I can build the modern era units if I need them. Also, with plentiful extra resources, I bribe Caesar to join the war against Russia, to keep Catherine off my back and hopefully provide a distraction away from my city state allies.

Montezuma is sending wave after wave of attackers against Tokyo, but my experienced Knights continue to defend. As money comes in, I start upgrading the more experienced Knights to Cavalry. As the Aztec units dry up, mounted units disperse across the former Japanese lands to raze the new Aztec cities of Tula, Tzintzuntzen, Malinalco and Atzcapotzalco.

Cavalry leads the way into the heart of Aztec territory. Here I encounter a few, slightly more modern units, with a few Cannons and Musketmen providing a meagre defence against my Cavalry - Tlaxcala, Osaka and Tlatelolco are quickly captured; the first two are razed and Tlatelolco is kept as a puppet for its oil.

Meanwhile I start sending new Infantry units across to the Russian continent. The liberation of Kuala Lampur begins at the same time as the remnans of the Aztec civilization are mopped up, with the Aztec cities of Teotihuacan, Tenochtitlan (the Aztec capital), Texcoco, Xochicalco and Calixtlahuaca falling by 1860 AD.

I discover Globalization, begin building the United Nations and purchase an alliance with Budapest, ensuring all the city states are now my allies. Venice eventually falls to Russia, and Catherine and Caesar make peace. With forces arriving from the former Aztec lands, I make a mad scramble for Russian cities as Catherine desperately tries to bring her units back to defend. The Infantry and Cavalry capture St Petersburg and raze Orenburg and Vladivostok. With an ever-increasing number of Russian units nearby, I throw everything that I can at Moscow, and eventually capture the Russian capital. With my army now badly outnumbered and Moscow certain to be recaptured, I make a peace deal with Catherine in 1894 AD.

Finally there is peace again. A Great Engineer completes the Pentagon in Thebes but it's now a mere symbol of Egypt's historically successful military. This is Thebe's 13th and final wonder (to go with 2 national wonders).

In 1903 AD elections for a world leader are held and, with 14 city states as allies, I'm almost unanimously elected giving me a diplomatic victory.

So ... a first victory on King level with my Knights giving me a huge military advantage. I was honestly expecting to try and play a relatively peaceful game, only fighting wars when I needed to, but the dominance of my Knights was just too tempting to let go to waste. Anyway, on to the next difficulty level...

Civ 5: Great Thebes (Part 2)

I've just eliminated Darius of Persia and was attacking Hiawatha of the Iroquois, when Elizabeth of England betrayed me and attacked my undefended Persian conquests. Within two turns, Elizabeth captures Osininka.

I split my army to try counter both my enemies. A holding force is left by Memphis to pick off what Iroquois forces I can and I direct the rest to the east to try reclaim Osininka. After killing a few of his units, I sign a peace treaty with Hiawatha, even getting some gold and a luxury out of him, but more importantly allowing me to focus my efforts on Elizabeth. The remnants of my southern army capture Akwesasme, a former Iroquois city held by Elizabeth, and then they reunite with the eastern army.

With Elizabeth marching on Pasargadae, I focus on recapturing Osininka. The speed and power of my Knights allows me to pick off a lot of her units and capture Osininka. With her army in disarray, I focus on picking off what few units she has left as I march on to the English-held city of Susa.

Meanwhile my Caravel has met up with Augustus Caesar of Rome and Catherine of Russia. Both want me to join against each other - I side with Caesar and agree to go to war with Catherine in 10 turns time. I'm across the sea from both of them and so don't expect to ever be under attack from Catherine as I haven't seen her with Caravels yet. I've been progressing quite nicely along the tech tree, and I reach Gunpowder. However, I'm quite happy with my mobile Knight army and while I still have so many horse resources left, I'll continue to build them rather than Musketmen. Money's been rolling in and I have enough to buy another alliance, this time with Lhasa on the north-east of the content. Thebes builds the Forbidden Palace, helping me out with happiness in my continuously growing empire.

The Knights of my eastern army capture Susa, but her Longbowmen kill one of the Knights protecting Susa before it's razed. I clear out these remaining enemy forces and then capture her northern cities of Canterbury and Conventry with no resistance. With my army heading south for Elizabeth's core cities, my time expires and, along with Caesar, I declare war on Catherine. The last few English cities fall quickly with only a few token Spearmen remaining to defend them - York falls, followed by London, then Hastings, and finally, in 1555 AD, Elizabeth's final city of Nottingham.

My Caravel meets up with Montezuma of the Aztecs and Oda Nobunga of the Japanese on yet another continent, this one to the south-west. I've met all the civs now. I also meet the city state of Belgrade which is under attack by Montezuma, and the city states of Copenhagen and Hanoi also on that continent. I implement the final social policy of the Patronage tree meaning I'm getting substantial bonuses from all my city state allies.

My army has been redeploying to Memphis, ready to resume the war with Hiawatha. In 1580 AD, I declare war against Hiawatha and advance into Iroquois lands. The Iroquois archers fall quickly and Hiawatha's counter-attacking units are so outdated that they have little effect against my Knights. His northern-most cities of Grand River and Onondago, his capital, are quickly captured. The Knights continue south, razing Brantford, Montreal, Akwesasme (named for the city razed in my previous war against Elizabeth) and then the new capital, Buffalo Creek, is captured. This is the final Iroquois city and Hiawatha is defeated in 1615 AD.

The whole continent is mine - even all the city states, except for Geneva, are my allies. Montezuma comes asking for me to join a war against Japan. Looks like my Knight army has some more conquests to make - I ask for 10 turns so I can transport them across to the Aztec and Japanese continent.

Continued in Part 3

Titan Quest

My Egyptian game of Civ 5 continues - and even though there's far fewer units in play than previous Civ games, it still takes quite long to wage war, especially when you're trying to document the whole thing ;)

I've also started playing Titan Quest again for something different. I played it a long time ago when the Gold Edition first came out, but never finished it. It's an action RPG in the same style as Diablo 2. You create a single character, a warrior in Ancient Greece, who fights hordes of mythic enemies in a quest to save the land. There are 9 masteries available, which are basically class skill trees, and a character can choose any 2 masteries. The character I've created is a Battlemage which combines Warfare (melee combat) and Earth magic (fire and stone abilities).

So far I'm level 13 and still in Greece, and according to the oracle at Delphi, I still have to go to Egypt and the east. Will I finish it this time through? It's a fun distraction, but not compelling like Diablo 2 was, and I generally prefer heavy story-based RPGs over action RPGs anyway. I'll probably play to the end of the Greece section and see how I feel then.

Meanwhile, I've also got a Civ 5 game to finish.

Civ 5: Great Thebes (Part 1)

I've made some progress in my next attempt to defeat King level in Civ 5. I'll be blogging the abridged version of the game here and provide a more detailed recap on the CivFanatics forums when I've finished the game. Update: detailed recap now posted.

My random leader this time is Ramasses of the Egyptians. The unique ability is a bonus to wonder production, so my initial strategy is to focus on wonders.

My capital, Thebes, is nicely situated with marble, cotton and cattle resources, and a good mix of river grassland for farming and hills for mining. Before even expanding, Thebes builds the Pyramids and Stonehenge.

Expanding to a second city is mistimed as another civilization beats me to the Great Library. I get some financial compensation for my hard work though, and I use the money for an alliance with Stockholm. My Settler heads south to gold and plentiful horses near Stockholm and founds Memphis in 1080 BC.

When I clear out some barbarians for Florence, I gain enough influence to become friends with them. I decide now that I want to try and pursue a somewhat diplomatic game, or at least pursue a strategy of making allies of the city states. To do so is best served by pursuing the Patronage social policy tree.

Researching Theology pushes me into the Medieval Era and I complete the Oracle, giving me 2 social policies in quick succession as I start down the Patronage tree.

A Great Engineer rushes the Hagia Sophia (for even more great people) and, with Thebes and Memphis looking in good shape, I send out another Settler who founds Heliopolis to my north-east in 75 AD.

The other leaders on my continent are Hiawatha of the Iroquois to my south, Darius of Persia to my east, and Elizabeth of England to my south-east. The first great war pits Darius and Elizabeth against Hiawatha. With Darius conquering the Iroquois settlement of Osininka, that seems to satisfy him and he soon signs a peace treaty with Hiawatha. That does however leave a lot of Persian forces wandering around my lands, making me a bit uncomfortable as I don't have much of a military at this stage.

I make a plan to build up some forces for a war I'm sure will inevitably come. I have a lot of horse resources, so I start researching towards Chivalry for Knights. In the meantime I build Pikemen, War Chariots and, eventually, Horsemen.

Then Darius attacks Stockholm, my city state ally. I'm still 1 tech away from realizing my military build-up and so I'm not ready to take on Darius just yet. I stay out of it and hope Stockholm can hold out against Persia's Immortals.

When Elizabeth and Hiawatha sign a peace treaty, Hiawatha asks me to join in a war against Darius. I ask for 10 turns to prepare as I've just entered a Golden Age and still don't have Chivalry. When the Golden Age concludes, I upgrade my Horsemen to Knights and begin the war against Darius. Both Hiawatha and Elizabeth join this crusade to get rid of Darius. Darius's army is soon destroyed and his cities fall in quick succession to my powerful Knights.

With the war over, I concentrate on making more allies. I spend money for Helsinki, Brussels and Tyre to join me.

Meanwhile, my Knights are growing restless and with a war between Elizabeth and Hiawatha having broken out, I sense an opportunity for some more gains. When I see Elizabeth capturing the Iroquois city of Akwesasme, I know it's time to join the war. With my forces mobilized on my southern border at Memphis, I declare war on Hiawatha and strike out at his nearest cities.

This is immediately followed by Elizabeth declaring war on me! Her forces assault the former Persian city of Osininka with my army nowhere near.

I'm now in a war against both remaining civilizations on my continent, with just one intrepid ship set sail to try meet some friends across the ocean.

Continued in Part 2

Rock out

Despite my previous posts, this isn't just a Civ 5 blog - I actually do play other games; it's just the new shiny one at the moment. And while I'm busy with a game now to beat King level with the Egptians, I've also found some time to enjoy some Guitar Hero with friends.

Strategy and role-playing games are my favourite game genres, but there's something about Guitar Hero that captivates me. Despite no real game modes beyond just playing though all the songs included with the game, I'll happily play the same song over and over to try and push for a high score on the Xbox leaderboards. With friends we'll just pick the songs we enjoy (and that the singer feels he can sing) and not worry about score.

My claim to Guitar Hero fame is that I have the 45th highest score in the world for REM's 'Horse to Water' :)

Anyway, the party's over - back to conquering the world...

Civ 5: The Golden King (Part 2)

I've just entered my second Golden Age, and the techs and infrastructure start rolling in. I discover Acoustics, Engineering, Machinery, Physics and Steel. I build Satrap's Courts, the upgraded Persian version of the Bank with bonus happiness, and the Notre Dame for even more happiness. I also implement the Mandate of Heaven policy in the Pietry tree for extra extra happiness. Towards the end of the Golden Age, I get an update on the tech leader - it's comfortably me.

Also during the Golden Age, Caesar joins Napoleon in the war against Alexander. They ask me to join them, but I decline due to my rather thin military. It's not long before Caesar pulls out of the war with a peace agreement with Alexander. Alexander is making great progress in his conquest of the French. He also captures Ragusa, the city state on my southern border.

An unknown civilization on the other continent loses his founding capital. This is significant as to win a Domination victory, it is sufficient for each other civilization to have lost their founding capital.

At this time I run into a slightly annoying bug. One of my pearl luxuries has disappeared. It still appears on my map and can be worked, but I've only got 2 of them to trade. Reloading or re-Work Boating doesn't help, so I'm permanently one luxury short.

I discover Printing Press which allows me to build Theatres for more happiness and the Taj Mahal for a bonus Golden Age. I implement the Reformation social policy in the Piety Tree, triggering an immediate 6 turn Golden Age (boosted to 9 turns for me), and start building the Taj Mahal.

I start researching Astronomy so I can cross the ocean and meet the other 3 civs, and then I learn the Aztec civilization is conquered, leaving just 2 civs to meet. It looks like there's a very strong civ on the other side of the world and I want to meet them soon.

As my Golden Age ends, the French start mounting a bit of a comeback as they reclaim their city of Tours. Napoleon continues his recovery by capturing Genoa, a city state ally of Alexander's. My capital, Persepolis completes Oxford University (national wonder for universities) giving me a free tech.

It's looking good, and I'm feeling ready to expand again as I'm about to enter another Golden Age from accumulated happiness, when suddenly Paris falls.

My fourth Golden Age begins in 1555 AD (to last 22 turns). Surveying the map now, it looks like Napoleon is on the verge of being eliminated, but as Pasargadae completes the Forbidden Palace which reduces unhappiness from number of cities, I settle my fourth city, Ecbatana in the vacant south-east area near my cities.

My Caravel completes and begins its trans-oceanic explorations, meeting up with the two civs on the other continent: Ramkhamaeng of Siam and Harun al-Rashid of Arabia as well as a number of city-states all at war with Ramkhamaeng.

My third city, Susa, completes the Taj Mahal, which would normally give me a free Golden Age, but because I'm already in a Golden Age it merely extends it by the length of the Golden Age. I'm expecting an extra 22 turns, but instead I get an extra 49 turns! Yet another bug I assume; even though it's in my favour, it's still annoying.

And then the last French city falls. I really hope Alexander's eyes look towards his former enemies in Ramasses and Caesar now as my defences are still pretty sparse. I sign a number of deals with him - selling my luxuries for gold each turn, open borders and a research agreement. The nearby city state of Vienna falls to Alexander and his forces look menacing on my southern border. I can not afford a war right now.

In 1680 AD, Alexander declares war on me :( His city state allies join him: Edinburgh, Singapore, Brussels and, most worringly for me, Venice on my north-west border. A swarm of Riflemen enter my territory and I now have to desperately defend.

My entire army is a Warrior, two Chariot Archers, a Pikeman, a Crossbowman, a Longswordman, a Catapult and a Rifleman. That means I have exactly only one unit that is competitive with this invading army. The rest are hopelessly outdated, and do almost nothing in combat. I start desperately building walls in my southern cities and training new units in the north. I take out some loans and rush-buy another Rifleman.

Although I take out a few Rifleman, I lose almost all my units in the process. I'm down to just a Warrior and my new Rifleman when my southern cities of Susa and Ecbatana fall. That Warrior soon falls - my last Rifleman does what he can, earning a promotion and healing back up to full health, but it's not enough as he falls too. Pasargadae falls in 1725 AD.

A newly trained Cavalry in Persepolis is my last line of defence. I am desperately hoping Alexander will negotiate a peace settlement, but he's ruthless. In 1735 AD, his army surrounding Persopolis brings down my capital, leaving the Persian empire as a sparkling little footnote in the pages of history.

So I lost. Beside the annoying bugs, I'm actually glad to see the AI able to successfully pull off full-scale civilization invasions. I've definitely got a new respect for it, and hopefully have learned my lesson to build more military units and keep them up to date. I'm certainly not afraid to tackle King level again.

Civ 5: The Golden King (Part 1)

So far I've won games of Civilization V up to Prince level. I now start pushing on to harder difficulties where the AI gets bonuses against you. On King level, I pick random for my leader, and I get ... Darius of Persia. All the civs get a different special ability, unit and building. Darius's ability is quite interesting: +50% Golden Age length. In a Golden Age your production and commerce are greatly improved. I already start formulating a plan to trigger Golden Ages as often as possible, possibly with an eye towards winning the space race. Golden Ages are triggered by accumulating large amounts of happiness over several turns. A small empire with several luxuries, happiness improving buildings and appropriate social policies is my strategy for earning this happiness.



In 4000 BC, I settle Persepolis. There are some nice resources nearby and my first choice is between researching for the land-based resources or the sea-based resources first. Decide to go for Animal Husbandry (towards Trapping) since each work boat is consumed when used, whilst an early worker can go on to other improvements.

I build a Scout and, along with my initial Warrior, they explore my starting landmass. With Civ 5, the world is quite well occupied from the start with 16 city states joining the 8 major civilizations. I meet up with a few nearby city states (Venice, a maritime city state, gives a food bonus to its ally, and Brussels, a cultured city state, gives out culture to its ally). I also meet my nearest neighbour, Augustus Caesar of Rome.

I get an early boost to my culture as a random reward from my Warrior exploring some ruins. Culture is spent on social policies - 10 separate "culture trees" that grant various bonuses, and I immediately have enough to implement my first policy. Since I'm still in the Ancient Age, I'm restricted to only 3 options - Tradition (good for your capital), Liberty (good for an expanding empire) and Honor (good for military). Since I'm going to stick to a smaller empire, I pick Tradition to get a small bonus to growth in my capital.



A barbarian encampment on a hill has spawned near Persepolis, so I bring back my Warrior and rush-buy another Warrior to deal with it. It's started spawning Brutes to attack me, and although cities are quite capable of defending themselves, I don't want to lose my Worker to the barbarians at this early stage. When the barbarians are swiftly dealt with, I have a Worker and the Trapping tech to improve the deer and fur tiles.

My scout continues to explore, meeting Napoleon of France, Ramesses II of Egypt and Alexander of Greece, along with a number of city states. I also get enough culture for another social policy - I can either pick another policy or make choices in the Tradition tree; I take Aristocracy in the Tradition tree, giving my capital a bonus to wonder production so I can shoot for some early wonders.

I research Sailing and produce a couple of Work Boats to work the fish and pearls. With the pearls and furs, I'm getting a nice boost to my happiness and a push towards a Golden Age.

I also produce my first Settler and, in 2400 BC, establish the city of Pasargadae to the north-west. The nice cattle tile is just outside of my initial borders, but I can spend some gold to expand my borders there. Happiness has immediately dropped from building a new city. Since number of cities and population both contribute to unhappiness, I'm going to be careful about how much I expand.



Writing is discovered and so I start Persepolis building it's first wonder, the Great Library which will give my a free tech if I complete it. I get a pop-up with all the civs listed in order of their technological progress. I'm last. :( I start signing Pacts of Cooperation with my neighbours, and when I get the money, Research Agreements. These are the primary way of turning cash into tech, approximately 250g each will get you a random tech (that you can research) in 25 turns time. Since you can't trade techs anymore, this is the way for co-operative civs to catch up in the tech race, and I plan to do it as much as my funds allow.



Persepolis completes the Great Library, and I enter the Medieval Age in 1640 BC with the free tech of Civil Service. It allows me to build a very useful Wonder for my strategy: Chichen Itza, which increases my Golden Age length by a further 50%. Unfortunately it requires a lot of production to finish, so I'll wait for my first Golden Age before I begin building it. Meanwhile I start building libraries to improve my research. I also start back-filling the tech tree since the Research Agreement techs are random, and I'd rather randomly be given an expensive tech than one that's quick for me to research.

I clear out a barbarian encampment and rescue a Worker for my neighbouring city state of Venice, for which they reward me with an alliance - bonus food for the next 20 turns (at which time my influence with them will have decayed back down to friendship).

With my next social policy, I choose Legalism in the Tradition tree for less unhappiness in my capital, effectively resulting in more happiness and brining me closer to a Golden Age.

In 1280 BC, I reach a cumulative 500 happiness and my first Golden Age triggers (lasting 15 turns). I start Persepolis on building Chichen Itza. It completes not long after the Golden Age ends and I start Pasargadae on the Oracle for the free social policy it provides.

Another pop-up with the technological progress of all the civs, and my research dedication and Golden Age has paid off as I'm at the top of the list. I've also just discovered Iron Working revealing plentiful iron to my south-west and a good spot for my third city. In 250 BC, I settle Susa in range of two iron, a dye, a wheat and a sheep.

Meanwhile, I've started working on the Piety social policy tree which is the tree for improving happiness. When the Oracle completes in Pasargadae, I choose Organized Religion as my free social policy.



I'm focusing on research and infrastructure when Alexander calls me up to insult me. I realize my army is looking a bit thin and resolve to beef it up somewhat. With my horse resource, I can train 2 horse units, so I train some Horse Archers, an early ranged unit with nice mobility.

Although the civs have had many minor skirmishes with the city states (with Almaty conquered by Egypt), the first real war breaks out in 480 AD with Napoleon attacking Ramasses and Alexander coming to Ramasses's aid. I stay clear of the war, teching to Banking and entering the Renaissance Era first in 900 AD.

I've also built two national wonders in Persepolis - these are wonders that require all of your cities to have a specific building (another bonus for smaller empires). Persepolis has the National College (requires libraries, boosts research) and the National Epic (requires monuments, boosts great person production). With the boost from these, a great scientist is born in Persepolis. I can use him for a Golden Age, a free tech, or a research improvement on one of my tiles, which I think is probably the best long-term investment (since the great person Golden Ages have diminishing returns).

The next turn, in 940 AD, I enter my second Golden Age (this time lasting 22 turns!) I'm happy that my strategy seems to be working out so far and I resolve to push on building infrastructure during the Golden Age.



Next session, I'll see how long my peaceful ways can last and how long I can spend in Golden Ages.

Continued in Part 2

Review: Civilization V (PC)

For me, the Civilization series really epitomizes some of the traits I appreciate the most in a computer game: strategy, emergent story, great replayability. My first encounter with Civ 1 at a friend's house changed the way I view games with my collection of arcade-like titles turning into a pale shadow of true gaming. Each title in the series has gone on to become one of my most played games. If you want an unbiased review, go hunting elsewhere, but for all the civ addicts and those who share my tastes and want to know whether Firaxis's latest offering is indeed the "most well-designed Civ ever developed", read on...

The Civilization games are empire building sims that play from the founding of your civilization's first settlement to, potentially, futuristic wars and space colonization in the year 2050. While the epic scope of the series has been retained, much of the appeal of these games (particularly Civ 3 and Civ 4) has been in all the different facets of your civilization that you have to manage, yet in Civ 5 things have been greatly simplified. The original Civilization was originally based on the Civilization boardgame, and now with this fifth incarnation, it feels more like a boardgame than ever. This is mainly because of the 1 military unit and 1 non-military unity per tile rule.

Civ 1

There are plenty of other simplifications with staple elements simplified or removed: a simpler tech tree, no tax slider (to control research or luxury spending) and no tech trading. New additions in Civ 4 and its expansions have been cut: religion, espionage and corporations. To compensate for all the subtractions, there are some new complications such as city states, added as minor civs that don't compete to win the game but whose alliances provide various useful bonuses.

The end result though is that Civ 5 plays less like an empire sim and more like a strategy board game. Fortunately I like boardgames, so this isn't necessarily bad. In particular, combat is more fun with greater tactics involved than simply building up a "stack of doom". And although it might feel simpler, there are probably just as many viable strategic options as before.

This brings us to the one clear weakness of the game: the AI. On the fair playing field level (prince), they're just not very competitive, particularly in combat. Smart use of terrain, ranged bombardment and tactical withdrawals will win against an AI opponent's superior forces. It's nice that good play can make such a difference, but disappointing that in only my 3rd game I was able to win the major war of the game with only a handful of casualties.

Civ 5 - my Aztecs conquering the Russians

I've also experienced a number of annoying glitches. For example, I can't scroll left with the mouse on my dual screen set-up and the graphics become weirdly corrupted after about 2 hours of play. Fortunately the game is sufficiently captivating and still possessing of the "one more turn" quality so that I'll play despite the bugs and press on to harder difficulties until I find a level that's suitably challenging.

Final Score: 8 / 10 - an excellent turn-based strategy that has yet to prove it belongs aside its illustrious forefathers

Notes on my personal rating scale: They are entirely based on my personal feelings about the game - I don't rate a game on its own merits but rather how much I've enjoyed and how much time it's sucking out of my life. Strategy games will do well and shooters poorly because those are my gaming preferences.

0-4 = Poor game that I won't be bothering to play any more
5-7 = Decent game - fun enough that I'll try play it some more if I have the time
8-10 = Good game that I'll be playing a lot more or have already finished and greatly enjoyed

With this review complete, I look forward to bringing you some of my Civ 5 experiences as I tackle the higher difficulty levels.