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Civilization: Beyond Earth review: Buy-in Alpha Centauri
Viewed through the idea that it's a standalone expansion to Sid Meier's Civilization 5, Sid Meier's Civilization: Beyond Earth streamlines gameplay in the long-running strategy series to enhance the pace of the historically-strapped franchise. As a spiritual successor to Sid Meier's Alpha Centauri, however, it's a cut-rate disappointment. Beyond Earth is best described as an epilogue to the events of Civilization 5. Humanity has ruined the planet and must commit itself to starting all over again on another rock and potentially making the same mistakes. And so, various nations make conglomerate factions and shoot for another spherical mass to strategically explore, expand, exploit and exterminate (4X) one another. Why I wish Firaxis had never mentioned Beyond Earth as a spiritual successor to Alpha Centauri is that this game doesn't look like it was given the financial resources to kick off a new franchise. It feels like it had the budget of a Civ 5 expansion, where asset creation went into making a visually interesting game world, but not its overall presentation. The characters are painfully dull and inarticulate. The tech and wonder voiceovers are all done by one person, but in many cases are attributed to faction leaders within the game (who do have their own voices). The experience doesn't feel luxe. Firaxis has been the benchmark in accessible strategy games and it's owned by triple-A publisher Take-Two Interactive, but I've seen stronger production values from independent European competitors.
Watch Civilization: Beyond Earth's intro cinematic race skywards
Alpha Centauri. Not the final frontier. This is the intro to the voyages of the starship Civ: Beyond Earth. Its October 24 mission: to explore space-based strategy. To seek out new life in a new Civlization. To boldly go where no Firaxis has gone before, except that one time. [Image: 2K Games]
Civilization: Beyond Earth before planetfall 10-minute trailer
Civilization: Beyond Earth is all set to begin colonizing retail and digital distribution channels on October 24. Here's a deeper look at many of the strategy game's initial features. Key tactic: Don't attack the aliens (at least, not at first)!
Civilization: Beyond Earth ships October 24th with maps based on real planets
If you're eager to play the first Civilization game set in space (not counting Alpha Centauri), you now have a date to mark on your calendar: Beyond Earth will reach Windows-based PCs on October 24th. That's a long time to wait, although Firaxis is sweetening the pot with astronomy-themed bonus content. If you pre-order the space colonization game from certain stores, you'll get a map pack based loosely on real, potentially inhabitable exoplanets like Kepler 186f and Rigil Khantoris (aka Rigel Kentaurus) Bb. It's hard to say if the extra terrain will be worth plunking down cash in advance, but we suspect that you've already pulled the trigger if you're a die-hard Civ fan -- this is just icing on the extraterrestrial cake.
Civilization Revolution 2 charges onto App Store, out now
Civlization Revolution 2 is the first game in the series "developed and available exclusively for mobile devices," and you can get it now on iOS, priced $15/£10.49. Publisher 2K Games says Android owners can expect the follow-up to siege their storefronts "soon." Released originally for consoles back in 2008, the first Civ Rev garnered a warm reception by combining the series' core strategy with smoother, friendlier design that suited the platforms. A DS version was also released with top-down 2D visuals in contrast to the 3D look on consoles, and that was mirrored in an eventual mobile port. In the words of one Alexander Sliwinski, the iOS version "may not be all it could have been on the eyes, but it definitely pokes the organ it's supposed to properly -- your brain." Apart from a sleeker 3D look, Civ Rev 2 introduces new units, technology, buildings and wonders to the first game's arsenal, while Winston Churchill and John F. Kennedy join the 16 returning leaders. However, according to multiple reports the mobile follow-up doesn't feature multiplayer, meaning you'll only be battling wits against AI opponents. That maybe isn't too surprising given 2K dropped multiplayer for the first game's iOS port, although it did introduce it in an update some years later. [Image: 2K Games]
Civilization Revolution 2 announced
Sid Meier's Civilization Revolution 2 was revealed this morning ... for iOS. Sneaky, sneaky, we know, but had we noted the platform in the headline you wouldn't have even read this far and jumped straight to the comments with rage. Well, now that we do have your attention, the game will be playable on all relatively current iOS devices beginning July 2 (next week!). It is "coming soon" to Android devices, according to publisher 2K Games. No word yet on Windows phones, Ouyas or NGage.
Civilization: Beyond Earth not just the new Alpha Centauri
Sid Meier's Civilization: Beyond Earth is unabashedly the spiritual successor to Sid Meier's Alpha Centauri, which Electronic Arts retains the licensing rights for, keeping it safe deep within Yucca Mountain for never use. We spoke with Pete Murray of Firaxis Games about how Beyond Earth will balance what Alpha Centauri fans expect with delivering a new experience for the uninitiated.
Now you can play XCOM: Enemy Unknown on Android, too
Android gamers who've been yearning for XCOM's deep, turn-based tactics just got their wish: 2K has released a version of XCOM: Enemy Unknown for Google's mobile platform. Much like last year's iOS edition, you'll get to fight off invading aliens and build your bases in an interface optimized for touch. This is one of the pricier Android games on the market at $10, but our pals at Joystiq are already fans of the mobile version. It's likely worth the cash if you're looking for something engrossing to play on your spring vacation -- especially if you can't get enough of it on your PC or console.
XCOM: Enemy Unknown gets acquainted with Android, out now
XCOM: Enemy Unknown is out now on Google Play, commander. The new Android port is priced $10/£7.14, and according to a message from XCOM HQ, an advance on the Amazon Appstore is expected "soon." Despite claiming the lives of many of our best friends - or at least a bunch of soldiers named after them - we ranked Enemy Unknown as our second-best game of 2012. The good news: Firaxis transitioned the console and PC release into a "slick, portable package" on iOS, and hopefully that'll pan out the same way on Android. [Image: 2K Games]
Civilization: Beyond Earth breaks free from history, heads to the final frontier
When I ask Firaxis lead designer why the studio decided to take the Civilization series to space with Civilization: Beyond Earth – just announced at PAX East – his answer is simple: "Why not?" Designer and programmer Anton Strenger offers a little more meat. "I think that one of the things that space allows us to do as designers, and for the artists as well, is to get free from a historical context." Civilization has always been tied to human history, but Beyond Earth allows it to branch out in a fresh new direction (even if that direction isn't completely new to Firaxis). "We, as designers, were free to come up with really fun new gameplay systems that didn't really make sense in a more historical game, or even like a fantasy game." Specifically, Strenger mentions one of Beyond Earth's new tactical elements, the orbital layer, which allows players to launch satellites over a planet, influencing the events below. Firaxis' artists had a field day creating satellite designs, says Strenger. Producer Lena Brenk chimes in, "Yeah, that was amazing to see the artists. Usually we have historic reference that they're working from, and right now they get to invent a world, basically, an alien planet in the future." That's not to say, however, that Firaxis is just making everything up. "It's really important to us that the player be able to draw a line of plausibility through the entire experience," says lead designer Will Miller, "we want the suspension of disbelief maintained throughout." Beyond Earth begins around 200 to 250 years in the future, he says, and science-fiction fans will recognize plausible concepts like ships that fly at sub-light speeds and cryogenic stasis. "But where you end up is quite different, so we're going to draw that line from where we are now to these sort of post-human evolutions." You won't be starting NASA from scratch, in other words, but Beyond Earth starts in a believable place: Humanity travels to a new planet. The question is how you choose to master it.
Civilization: Beyond Earth announced, ready to colonize this fall
Sid Meier's Civilization: Beyond Earth was just announced at developer Firaxis' panel at PAX East. It's not a sequel to Alpha Centauri (those rights are owned by EA), but 2K Games is finally giving fans the spiritual successor to the sci-fi strategy game they've been constantly nagging Firaxis about for over 10 years. The elephant in the room has been tackled right up front at the PAX East panel happening right now. Firaxis' Will Miller, who is co-lead designer on the Beyond Earth project, said, "The heart and soul [of Alpha Centauri] lives at Firaxis. For all the fans of Alpha Centauri, this is the game we've made for you." "The biggest systematic change for Civ 5 is that tech is a web, not a tree," said David McDonough, the other co-lead on the project. "By the end of the game you've got 70 percent of the web." He notes this leads to two cultures having radically different techs, where genetically modified aliens can fight sentient robots. Beyond Earth will have players assembling their cultural identity and craft their colony before exploring their new world. The game will also add a quest system (something very new to the series,) for players to learn more about their new planet. We've got more details here. The game is set to land this fall.
PSA: Civilization 5: The Complete Edition available now
2K Games launched a DLC-bundled Complete Edition of Firaxis' life-consuming strategy game Civilization 5 today, serving up a meaty collection of expansions and map packs alongside the core Civ 5 experience. Civilization 5: The Complete Edition includes the previously released Gods & Kings and Brave New World expansion packs, along with every add-on map pack released for the game to date. Featured content includes the Explorer's Map Pack, a trio of Civilization and Scenario Pack add-ons, and several entries in the Cradle of Civilization series of playable maps. The compilation also includes the new Conquest of the New World Deluxe Scenario, which challenges players to relive Christopher Columbus's 1492 voyage across the Atlantic. The Deluxe Scenario is available as a free upgrade to players who previously purchased the Brave New World expansion pack on Steam, and will be bundled with all Brave New World purchases going forward. [Image: 2K Games]
XCOM: Enemy Within Review: Of MECs and Men
Firaxis has elevated XCOM: Enemy Unknown's intensity through the bulkier risk-reward strategy system in its expansion, XCOM: Enemy Within. The expansion's potency is at worst intriguing and at best traumatic. Its net effect is as captivating as its launch pad with new items, juiced-up soldiers, alien mechs, a new branching series of side quests, and 47 fresh battlegrounds ripe with opportunities for tactical excision. Enemy Within's single-player campaign starts the same way as Enemy Unknown -- bunkered in an underground military base at the brink of the end of the world, following the escalating war with the aliens to its climax. Think of the expansion as a lateral addition to a core game and mission list that remains unchanged. It's possible to play Enemy Within almost exactly like Enemy Unknown, but Enemy Within adds an optional quest line early on: Defend the XCOM nations and XCOM itself from a transhuman threat... an organization called Exalt. To further humanity's evolution, Exalt attempts to disrupt XCOM operations and promote the assimilation of alien technology into human biology. Thick with narrative irony, XCOM simultaneously develops two tracks of transhuman upgrades, the exact kind of alien-human integration that Exalt wants: MECs and gene mods. Each unlocks after the construction of cybernetics or genetics labs, respectively, enabling the manufacture of XCOM super soldiers to combat both Exalt and the Sectoids' breed of elite soldiers.
XCOM Enemy Unknown and The Bureau bundled for $25 on Amazon
Looking for an opportunity to jump in on the XCOM franchise? Amazon is currently offering the PC versions of Firaxis' turn-based strategy game XCOM: Enemy Unknown and 2K Marin's third-person shooter The Bureau: XCOM Declassified as a discounted bundle priced at $24.99. Both games are redeemable via Steam. Downloadable versions of XCOM: Enemy Unknown and The Bureau are available individually for $9.99 and $19.99, respectively. If you prefer the classic stylings of the XCOM games from the '90s and early 2000s, you may want to check out the $3.75 XCOM Complete Pack, which collects XCOM: Apocalypse, XCOM: Enforcer, XCOM: Interceptor, XCOM: Terror from the Deep, and the 1993 debut entry XCOM: UFO Defense.
XCOM: Enemy Unknown on PC with DLC for $10 through Amazon
Commander, XCOM: Enemy Unknown is currently $10 through Amazon's digital distribution network. We don't believe this is a Sectoid conspiracy, but that's a pretty good deal, especially since it includes both the Elite Soldier and Slingshot downloadable content packs. XCOM's Enemy Within expansion, which will add new tech, enemies and maps, is currently scheduled for November 12. The expansion is priced at $30 on PC, so if you've yet to pick up XCOM, this deal would be the same as getting the Xbox 360 or PS3 "Commander Edition." That version includes a copy of Enemy Unknown, along with the Slingshot and Elite Soldier content packs for $40.
XCOM: Enemy Within narrated trailer shows contents within
Commander, you shouldn't be required to wait in line, so here's the XCOM: Enemy Within gameplay demonstration from Gamescom and PAX Prime 2013 direct to your personal device. In it, Lead Designer Ananda Gupta briefs you on new weapons, abilities and enemies.
XCOM: Enemy Unknown finds 'Enemy Within' expansion this Nov.
XCOM: Enemy Unknown will seek out the "Enemy Within" when the critically acclaimed reboot receives its first major expansion on November 12. Enemy Within will be available on PC and Mac for $30, while Xbox 360 and PS3 get the $40 "Commander Edition" that includes a copy of Enemy Unknown and the Slingshot and Elite Soldier content packs. Enemy Within takes place in the confines of Enemy Unknown, so it's the same game with more stuff. That descriptive noun includes new soldier abilities earned through alien research, such as gene mods and MECs, more commonly known as "mechs," even more commonly known as awesome mechanical exoskeletons that include flamethrowers and grenade launchers. The expansion also adds new weapons and equipment, new enemies – like the "Mechtoid," a machine-encased Sectoid soldier, more resources, additional "tactical challenges" on maps and much more content for multiplayer. Finally, in celebration of the international Gamescom convention going on right now, Firaxis found the perfect time to add the most important feature to XCOM: More soldier accents! The developer has reorganized the voicebank, so soldiers now have access to all their localized languages. We always did find it odd that XCOM used an international team with only perfect American accents.
Civilization 5's brave new launch trailer
Sid Meier's Civilization 5 enters a "Brave New World" of trade and culture when the expansion pack launches July 9. Similar to Civilization 4's Beyond the Sword, this new expansion is meant for the culture snobs, who believe in taking over the world with a LOLCAT wave.
XCOM: Enemy Unknown for Mac comes to Steam
The Mac version of XCOM: Enemy Unknown is available now on Steam for $40. The news represents a curious turnaround for the Mac version's developer and general Mac specialist Feral Interactive, who told us back in May it "doesn't release games on Steam." A month later, Feral announced the arrival of the Mac version on Steam, which it says supports cross-platform multiplayer across Windows PC and Mac. Also, if you've bought the PC version on Steam, you'll have free access to the Mac version. XCOM: Enemy Unknown launched a full-scale invasion of our Top 10 of 2012 list, eventually notching a commendable second place behind Journey. Since then, Firaxis' extraterrestrial strategy game has hovered across to iOS, where it's currently available for $20.
Daily iPad App: XCOM: Enemy Unknown is great, if you've got the hardware
Firaxis recently announced that it was bringing a complete version of last year's console title XCOM: Enemy Unknown to iOS. The game is now available, at a premium price of US$20.00. That's costly for a mobile game, but the truth is that this is no "mobile" game as you might think of one. It's a full-featured experience that brings the old classic XCOM tactical, turn-based gameplay into the latest generation of graphics and gameplay design. The premise of the game is that you (yes, you) are the "commander" of XCOM, an internationally funded military research organization dedicated to fighting an alien threat. The game spans the entire organization: During fights, you direct soldiers in battle, and outside of combat, you direct funding and try to place satellites in the sky to protect the countries of the world as best you can. The game's balance is just brilliant. Research you do in the metagame opens up new combat options in the various skirmishes you'll fight, and winning fights (or capturing aliens) can kick your research into gear, which helps secure more tools and more funding. The game's graphics are excellent, and the grid-based combat experience used in the PC version has been translated to the touchscreen with care by 2K China. The one big issue with XCOM, however, is that because of its scope, it's a monster to run on Apple's touchscreen hardware. The iTunes listing says the game is best experienced on the iPad 4 and up, and they aren't kidding. I had some issues with slowdowns and crashes while running it on my iPad 2. Hopefully, future patches will fix optimization issues and the game will run better, but you shouldn't even think about playing this on anything older than an iPad 2 or an iPhone 4S. All of that said, however, XCOM is as premium an experience as they come on the App Store. This is a game designed for PCs and consoles, and we got it on iOS in a feature-full version, for half the price (the title is still $39.99 on Steam, though I expect that price to drop very soon). If you've got the hardware, this game is a must-play, both because it's so excellent, and just to support this kind of quality iOS release.
