In my lifetime if I could give 10 to one game and one game only, it would be Civ 4
What is it like to play? Glorious. Each feature carefully crafted and designed with fun and compelling play in mind. There's a lot of stuff to love about this game, so brace yourself for a long review.
GAMEPLAY
- Leader bonuses make picking a Civ even more thought provoking.
- Strategic resources beautifully integrated into gameplay, adding new flavor to tile improvement, city placement, diplomacy, and conquest.
- New unit experience/strength model makes conquest a much richer experience.
- A culture / border system that works 100% better than Civ3. Cultural victory is a compelling alternative to diplomacy or conquest.
- Plethora of different map types create brand new gaming experiences.
- Fantastic integration of religion. Provides new game element that can be ignored or exploited based on preference.
- Fun wonders & projects which make a difference but aren't "I win" achievements (like Pyramids in Civ1)
- "Civics" that govern society in a handful of areas rather than one type of government as seen in previous titles. Excellent touch.
- World builder tool makes tailoring your own scenario incredibly easy.
GRAPHICS
- Beautifully rendered in 3D. Zoom out to space or zoom into a single tile.
- No more "city view" most improvements and wonders are visible right on the game map.
- Lightly animated tiles make the world feel alive.
SOUND
- By far the best sound track for this genre.
- Music changes based on the age you are in.
- Brilliant opening theme. I often open the game up just to listen to it while I do other stuff.
- When zoomed in you can hear ambient sound from nearby tiles.
OVERALL
The game just smacks of polish.