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Civilization V: Gods & Kings demo now on Steam
Who can afford to blindly purchase games they think may be good? Not in this economy, buster – free demos are a necessity. Today, a demo for Civilization V: Gods & Kings is available for download on Steam.Gods & Kings launched earlier this month – we enjoyed it – and is currently available as a $29.99 expansion. Of course, you must already own Civilization V to play.
Civilization 5: Gods and Kings review: March of progress
The board game Clue (Cluedo to those in Europe) was created in 1949. About 40 years later Clue Master Detective was created, leaving the core game intact, but adding more suspects, weapons and rooms. Civilization 5: Gods and Kings follows a nearly identical model. Seemingly a response to criticism that there wasn't enough going on in Civilization 5 as there was in Civilization 4, the Gods and Kings expansion tosses a bunch of balanced mechanics into the game simply to give more.To understand the present we must look to the recent past. Civilization 5 already had its "Game of the Year Edition" launch last year, normally marketing's indication that a game's development has come to a conclusion. Yet, here we are with Gods and Kings, a $30 expansion that adds new civilizations, wonders and buildings; with two big game mechanic additions being religion and espionage.I appreciated Civilization 5 for being a better game than any of its predecessors, opening up the series to more players, instead of creating the strategy game feedback loop that only builds mechanics for the hardest of hardcore, thus leaving newbies locked out or working eight times harder to understand what's happening. Civilization 5 streamlined nearly every mechanic in the series and made combat tactical for the first time, only allowing one unit per hex instead of a "stack of doom."Boiled down: Civilization 5: Gods and Kings takes two years of patches and adds religion and espionage to the mix for those who felt the game wasn't busy enough. Oddly, and not in a negative sense, the new mechanics actually simplify the game in many ways, with religion and espionage supplying bonus options that can be used to devastating effect by those with a strategic mind.%Gallery-152923%
Civilization 5: Gods and Kings finds religion, release date on June 19
Civilization 5's "Gods and Kings" expansion is set to enter the timeline on June 19 and 22 in North America and internationally, respectively.At GDC, developers gave us a better idea of the changes in the expansion pack, which will add 27 new units, 13 new buildings and nine new Wonders and civilizations. The big changes will include the addition of religion and espionage, along with tweaks to diplomacy. We're still looking forward to hearing more about the game's additional scenarios, including the "Victorian science-fiction scenario." %Gallery-150141%
Civilization 5: Gods and Kings devs discuss community-driven changes
Civilization 5's "Gods & Kings" expansion is looking to satisfy the demand for more depth in the strategy, following the game's launch just under a year and a half ago.One of the top three changes made due to community feedback, according to Lead Designer Ed Beach, is that the AI opponent no longer holds grudges that last millennia. He also noted that diehard Civilization 4 players complained there was a lack of depth in the gameplay, which is why religion, diplomacy and combat were added or overhauled. Finally, the combat tech tree doesn't have awkward dead ends anymore. Crossbows can now become gatling gunners, which then become machine gunners.Producer Dennis Shirk echoed Beach, saying the religion, espionage and combat mechanics were the focus of change. Specific changes affect certain naval units, which now have "melee" abilities that allow them to invade cities after significant bombardment. There's also more flexibility in stacking units, though don't expect the classic "stack of doom" to return. Finally, espionage is handled through one screen with no actual units on the board, streamlining the process of cost and consequence.The expansion includes 27 new units, 13 new buildings and nine new Wonders, which Firaxis didn't describe further at this event. The expansion is expected to launch in late spring, sometime "before the kids get out of school." Study comes first, kids!
