Civilization-Revolution
Latest
Civilization Revolution, Dungeon Defenders free on Xbox Live Gold in March
Xbox spokesperson Larry "Major Nelson" Hryb has revealed the next two games to join the slate of free titles offered to Xbox Live Gold members: console strategy hit Civilization Revolution and co-op action-RPG Dungeon Defenders. Civilization Revolution will shed its standard $30 price point on March 1, and will remain free to all Xbox Live Gold subscribers until March 15. Then, on March 16, Dungeon Defenders will take its place as the service's gratis offering. Like previous free games, both Civilization Revolution and Dungeon Defenders will be yours to keep once downloaded, even if you let your Xbox Live Gold subscription lapse. However, you only have two weeks to initiate the free download, after which time these games will revert to their original prices. [Image: Trendy Entertainment]
XCOM: Enemy Unknown among 2K games discounted on iOS this week
2K is discounting a number of its mobile games this week, the publisher announced. The Mobile Fall Sale runs from November 27 through December 2 and applies to six iOS games. Among the 2K-published games on sale this week are NHL 2K11, Civilization Revolution and Sid Meier's Pirates, each discounted to 99 cents. Lucid Games' racer 2K Drive, which launched in September for $7, will be $1.99 on iOS as of Wednesday. Lastly, NBA 2K14 will drop down to $2.99 while XCOM: Enemy Unknown will be $9.99.
Firaxis' Haunted Hollow combines monstrous fun with some serious strategy
Hearing that Firaxis Games (the famous studio behind great games like Civilization and XCOM -- which itself is coming to iPad very soon) is making an original game for iOS is very exciting. That game is Haunted Hollow, and I got to see it in action this week at GDC. Lead designers Will Miller and David McDonough have overseen the game's development for about a year. The group hopes to release Haunted Hollow later this spring. The game is surprisingly complicated, and though it definitely follows the Firaxis tradition of very well-crafted and complex strategy games, it also makes you wonder how the typically casual iOS audience will take to it. Miller told me that Haunted Hollow has always had a haunted house vibe to it. He showed off a picture used in the initial pitch, featuring two different haunted houses dangling over the edges of a town in the middle. The game contains online Game Center multiplayer, a pass-and-play mode and a single player vs. AI mode, so the title always pits you as the caretaker of one house against another house-building opponent, with a town of unsuspecting civilians lying in the middle. Each turn tells you which kind of room to build, and provides action points (called "fear points"), with which to perform various actions. Building a room allows you to create monsters, which you can then send with a movement into the town below. You pick up to five monsters to play with per game, and they all are of three types: Scary, "Fighty" or Special. Scary monsters can be used to scare townspeople, and scaring a house wins it to your side, with more fear points coming to you if you can scare a whole block. Fighty monsters can be used to fight and kill other monsters, and Special monsters offer a blend of those, or other different abilities. Ghosts, for example, are very scary but they don't survive long. Werewolves are very fighty, but can't be used to scare very well. Special monsters each have their own abilities: Wendigo can freeze the opponent, and zombies can raise an army to join the battle. As the game progresses, each player claims houses in the town by scaring them with various monsters, and the eventual goal is to claim the whole town for your color. Managing the monsters is fairly deep in terms of strategy, and other mechanics build to further complicate things. The rooms you build onto your house can be doubled up and upgraded, if you build them in the correct layout and order. There are different types of houses to choose from at the beginning of the game, each with their own strengths and weaknesses. Scaring people in the town can rile them up into an angry mob, which is a completely neutral unit that can not only kill monsters on either side, but even tear down houses completely, which means not as much territory to conquer. While the graphics on the monsters and houses may be cartoony and colorful, the strategy is definitely not playing around. Miller told me that the game should work for children, but I can't imagine anyone but the very smartest of 7-year-olds really figuring out the mechanics and best strategy. Matches are supposed to last as long as a short game of Civilization Revolution, which means this game will likely be the length (and have the depth) of a fairly serious board game. Still, for strategy junkies like myself, Haunted Hollow sounds terrific. The model may give some gamers pause: The title will be free to play, with only five monsters available for free. Firaxis plans to charge for other monster types, up to 12 different monsters at a rate around US$1.99 per monster. That would make the entire game about $24.99, which isn't a bad price, but which isn't cheap for an iOS title, either. Especially if one of the monsters is unbalanced (not likely with Firaxis at the helm, but still), the model could backfire on them. But Miller did say the team was considering a "pay-once-for-everything" price, so hopefully that will work out right. Outside of the payment model, Haunted Hollow seems like an iOS game that fits perfectly with the great Firaxis tradition and reputation, and a solid entry on the platform for the studio. I'm very excited to dive into its fascinating strategy mechanics when it arrives on the App Store this spring.
Developers drop prices on super popular App Store apps
If you thought yesterday's App Store sales were nice, you haven't seen anything yet. For some reason, a whole bunch of terrific apps are dropping their prices this weekend, and Touch Arcade has put together a nice roundup. TUAW Daily App choices Osmos, Archetype, Civilization Revolution, Secret of Monkey Island (and its sequel) and Hybrid 2 are all on sale for as cheap as 99 cents, as is Telltale's Puzzle Agent, Popcap's Bookworm and Peggle, and a host of other high-profile titles. Pretty crazy -- some of the App Store's most popular titles, including EA's Need for Speed series and Activision's Call of Duty Zombies games, are seeing the biggest drops in their lifetimes. My best guess for the big drops is that the financial year 2010 ends today, and these companies are trying to pad out their mobile app sale numbers before (or while) the quarter turns over. But whatever the reason, we consumers benefit -- if you've been waiting to pick some of these games up, now's your chance. And I think we'll be seeing a lot more of this. Companies, especially companies that have been premiering their apps as high as $9.99, are learning that dropping the price like this moves copies quickly, so as we move into the frenzied holiday season for gaming, we'll probably see more than a few big sales come down the pike. Stay tuned.
TUAW's Daily App: Civilization Revolution Lite
Apple has launched a new "Try Before You Buy" section in the App Store, and while it's a poor excuse for an "official" demo system (it's basically just a collection of free apps with full versions to purchase later), there is some good stuff to find in there, like this one. Today we're passing on the casual games for something a little deeper. Civilization Revolution is a somewhat pared-down version of the awesome strategy game, but it's still got the empire building, trading, and various battles that you'll find in the main series. This lite version is great -- all it does is keep you from saving, so if you have the time to run up a full campaign, you can. The app was popular when it first released, so you may already have it, but if you haven't tried it yet, now's the time to give it a look. It'd also be nice on the "Try Before You Buy" section to at least have links to the full apps -- you can usually find those by clicking on the "More iPhone apps by..." section of the App Store, but if Apple is specifically promoting demos, shouldn't they also promote the full apps. Anyway, the full version of Civ Rev is currently $6.99 on the App Store. That's much cheaper than the versions on any other system, so if you try the demo and really enjoy it, feel free to get the full app for the total experience. And if you like Civ Rev, do yourself a favor and head back to the main game -- Civ 4 is an excellent title as well, and the new version looks great, too.
Civ Rev, BioShock join Xbox Games on Demand (check your region)
Xbox 360's Games on Demand offering has been updated with the addictive Civilization Revolution and the sublime BioShock for the European regions. Civilization Revolution -- Available in Canada, Germany and the US for $30. BioShock -- Europe (already available in the US) for £19.99, which seems a bit high. There is also an update for the Japanese region, which adds Earth Defense Force 3, Armored Core 4 and Wartech: Senko no Ronde for 2000. We feel obligated to mention that these prices seem to miss the point of digital distribution from the consumer perspective.
Impressions: Civilization Revolution on iPhone
2K Games' Civilization Revolution is ready to explore, expand, exploit and exterminate on iPhone/iPod Touch, having sneaked its way onto the App Store today. The full version is a bargain at $5 and comes with the standard game, along with a little under a dozen scenarios. We had an opportunity to spend a fair amount of time with the game prior to release. Developed by 2K Games China and overseen by Firaxis, the iPhone version is a faithful translation of the Civ Rev experience that works intuitively on the platform's touch screen. Anyone that's played the game on another platform will instantly know what's going on and ease right into the experience. Civ Rev on the iPhone is certainly as addictive as it is on other systems, but not without some issues. First, and most likely to be fixed, is that the version we played had awkward sound spikes. The volume would be fine one second, get really loud and then go back to normal. It's not so bad when you're at home, but definitely not good on a train or with earphones on. The other thing is that the art style appears to be an evolution from the DS version of the game, which wasn't exactly the nicest thing to look at. The iPhone likely has the power to bring a little more pretty than what's seen in the game. It's like an actor wearing Old Navy to a Hollywood premiere; sure, they look good, but you know they could have done better. Civ Rev on the iPhone/iPod Touch brings the epic experience to those looking for a 4x strategy title on their Apple handheld. It may not be all it could have been on the eyes, but it definitely pokes the organ it's supposed to properly -- your brain. %Gallery-69694%
Civilization Revolution available now on iPhone
Civilization Revolution has apparently made it's way to the iPhone and its purchase can now be rushed for $5. There is also a "lite" version of the game to test things out. It's good to finally see an epic strategy title make its way to the iPhone/iPod touch. We'll have our impressions of the game up shortly (like, a couple hours from now). Impressions are go.
DS releases for the week of January 26th
There's plenty available to DS gamers this week. Heck, when is that not the case? Gosh, we love the DS. It just gets so many darn good games. Like, all of the time. So, check out which games are going to be begging for your money this week below.This week's North American releases are: The Chase: Felix Meets Felicity Imagine: Cheerleader Jojo's Fashion Show Coraline Head past the break for the rest of this week's releases around the globe.
Civilization Revolution pack-in DLC available for redemption
Those who purchased Civilization Revolution know the game shipped with a pack-in card with a code to download exclusive content based on their retailer of choice. The only problem is, the content was not available when the game launched. A few days ago the 2K Games Code Redemption site updated to reveal pack-in cards can now be used to download the free pack via the Xbox Live Marketplace. Using the code found packed in with your copy of Civilization Revolution, gamers can get a Marketplace code good for a download of fresh content for the turn-based strategy game. What is the content? Well, that depends where you bought your copy of the game. Jump in to find out.[Thanks, Frosty22]
DS Daily: The other Wi-Fi
While there are lots of DS games that support online multiplayer over the Nintendo Wi-Fi connection, there are also many titles that use the service for some other online content. Level sharing is becoming a more common feature, and even downloadable content is available in a few games (though sometimes, it seems to really just be unlockable content). While we know many gamers crave online mutliplayer to extend the fun and replay values of their games, we're finding that these other uses for Nintendo's Wi-Fi can be just as interesting. Sometimes, of course, they're mediocre, but that's par for the proverbial course with any feature. The question is -- do you enjoy these options? Do you remember to use them? Have you unlocked puzzles in Professor Layton and the Curious Village or check out Civilization Revolution's games of the week?
Civilization Revolution gets 1.20 patch
If you have Civilization Revolution, you might want to pop in that disc and upgrade your game to v1.20. The new patch adds some new features, as well as fixes some problem spots. Most of the new patch has to do with preparing the game for recognizing future DLC (which we're taking as a hint will come soon), but most importantly it seems to have fixed some connectivity issues with online multiplayer. Other minor gameplay issues have been tweaked. You can see a full list of patch details after the break.[Thanks Rafael!]
X3F Review: Sid Meier's Civilization Revolution
History teaches that Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi (or "The Gandh" to his pals) was an influential spiritual and political leader of India, a man whose pacifist ways solved many political problems. According to textbooks, kissing babies, implementing civil disobedience for causes such as poverty, and being an all-around nice guy were Gandhi's favorite hobbies.That's what history says. So there I was in 2024 A.D., trying to bring the Greeks to greatness while mostly minding my own business, and Gandhi decides to show his dark side. Let's be allies, he said. We'll share technologies, he said. Family barbecues, he said. Next thing I know, Gandhi and his lackeys have Sparta, my main science city, completely surrounded by tanks and bombers, the Americans took back New Orleans by overcoming my tank with a catapult (it was a really, really big rock) and Cleopatra decides to stab me in the back by taking the 1200 gold I paid her to attack the Indians for 10 turns and signing a peace treaty with The Gandh after only five turns!All of that, and why? Because my trigger finger was slick with sweat and accidentally nuked India? Big deal! I said I was sorry!If there's a video game that better demonstrates the medium's potential for non-authorial storytelling better than Sid Meier's Civilization, I've yet to play it. Rewriting history to my design always proves more fun than decapitating zombies or battling any number of demons. For years, the appeal of Sid Meier's "One more turn!" opus has been enjoyed primarily by PC gamers with ten-plus hours to kill if they want to experience a complete campaign.Probably to the chagrin of significant others across the globe, Firaxis Games released Sid Meier's Civilization Revolution in early July, a Civ developed specifically for consoles that, while not as deep an experience as any PC version of Civilization, is more than enough to captivate couch-bound gamers looking for something more involved than the never-ending stream of FPS titles.
Show and Tell: Surviving Civilization Revolution
This week is a bit of a departure from the regular Show and Tell format, but if you think about it, we're not really making much of a turn. We've celebrated the products of all sorts of fandom in this space, but there's one devoted group we haven't addressed: the writers of guides and walkthroughs and FAQs of all sorts.Maybe you've looked a few things up now and again: a short cut, a question about deleting a save, or a hint when you were stuck. Guides are freely available, and there are all different sorts ... and most of them are written by just plain folks. So why are we bringing it up? The folks at WiiHD recently put out a preview of sorts for the recent release Civilization Revolution -- a preview that includes vital game information. There's no Civilopedia in the DS version of the title (for the uninitiated: the massive information files common in Civ games). Even veteran Civ players might miss the information in the new handheld for its descriptions of unit capabilities, terrain types, and resources. Luckily, fans have swept in to fill the void. WiiHD isn't the only site working to provide information to new (and old) Civilization Revolution players. We've got a list of a few of the guides after the break, and we offer our hearty thanks to the people who work to put them together. That's really all this week is about: the people who take the time to help others with their gaming. Next week, we'll be back to the stuff.%Gallery-14922% Show and Tell is all about your stuff, so long as it's Nintendo-related. We love to see your collections, your crafts, your frosted creations, your t-shirts and swag of all sorts. Just snap a few pictures, tell us what's up, and send it all to showmeit [at] dsfanboy [dot] com. We'll take care of the rest.
Big Versus compares Civilization Revolution to PC predecessors
Wipe away those tears, sunken-eyed PC loyalists. We know you're upset that Firaxis appears to have turned their back on you in favor of the somewhat fairer console waters, but perhaps the latest edition of Big Versus on Joystiq's youngest sibling, Big Download, will mend your tattered hearts. The console-exclusive Civilization Revolution is measured against the PC-exclusive Civilization IV in this installment -- are PC gamers being robbed of an important chapter in the seminal turn-based strategy franchise, or are they dodging a dumbed-down, oversimplified bullet? You've got to read to find out -- but knowing you brainy PC types, that shouldn't be a problem.
WRUP: Leading the revolution edition
Without a doubt, the biggest and best release of this week is Civilization Revolution. We're big fans of that Sid Meier guy, so his latest game immediately won us over. You can bet we'll be spending a large amount of time this weekend taking Abe Lincoln and the Americans to the top (their bonuses are just too awesome to ignore).What about you all? Going to lead the revolution, as we are, or are you playing something else? How will you fill these last few days leading up to E3 2008?%Gallery-14922%
Civilization Revolution comes with a mini-poster surprise
What's better than a pin-up of Izuna? Well, a pin-up of Napoleon, for starters. Bow chicka wow wow. In all seriousness, we do like this Civilzation Revolution DS poster better (although this blogger isn't exactly in hormone-crazy young male demographic that the Izuna pieces are meant to appeal to). Hormones aside, though, Napoleon is looking pretty badass here, and we're confident he could even conquer the Ziggy Pig looking like he does.So, how do you get one? As with Izuna, this mini-poster comes as reversible cover art, so all you have to do is buy the game. We're starting to get spoiled here, though, and soon we're going to demand that every DS title comes with such an awesome feature.[Thanks to ChristianBK for the tip and picture!]
Metareview: Sid Meier's Civilization Revolution
We may have weighed in on the portable title, but what about the rest of the reviewers out there? Now that the title has been available for a little while now, many of the critics have put out their verdict. And, just as we enjoyed the game, the majority of them also found it to be a good time. Game Informer (85/100) gives it a good score: "Some few sacrifices have been made, notably the absence of the in-game Civilopedia, and the control is nowhere near as smooth as it is on a gamepad. However, you won't find a deeper or more replayable portable strategy experience anywhere. Civilization Revolution is a very worthwhile investment for any strategically minded DS owner." Gamespy (80/100) says it's barebones, but good: "While it won't be winning any beauty contests with its barebones 2D graphics, the play's the thing and the combination of solid controls and lots of content in the form of the technologies, units and variegated civilizations make Civ Rev an enjoyable and entertaining romp through the traditionally staid and somber realm of nation management." Nintendo Power (75/100) said the game lacks any competition: "If you're a fan of the genre, there are few better ways to get your fix on the go." [Aug 2008, p.89] GameZone (75/100) says the DS version loses a bit compared to the consoles, but is still a good choice for on-the-go action: "Civilization Revolution is a solid entry to the series, bringing the experience to a whole new audience. While the DS version loses a little bit in the translation, it's still worth a look from hardcore series fans looking for a portable version of their fix." %Gallery-14922%
DS releases for the week of July 7th
Civilization Revolution may be a wacky departure from the main Civilization series, but as of this week it has at least one thing in common with its predecessors: people can buy it! It's also related, however tenuously, to the only other DS game coming out this week, Carnival Games. Both are published by 2K, yes, and both are designed for casual play, to wildly varying degrees. For Civilization Revolution, "casual" means "more casual than Civ," and for Carnival Games, it means "let the dog play while you take a break to make lunch." Carnival Games Sid Meier's Civilization Revolution After the break, the rest of the world's releases. Europe gets more than two! Japan gets way more than two, including the new Stafy game! %Gallery-14922%
Shipping this week: Time machine edition
When you scan the new 360 releases this week, you may feel a sense of déjà vu. "Unreal Tournament III," you will say, "didn't that come out eight months ago?" Fear not, however, for your eyes do not deceive you. The Xbox 360 version of Unreal Tournament III has finally released, bereft of user created content though it may be. Presenting us with another trip back in time is Civilization Revolution, which has players building their ... civilizations from ancient times all the way into the space age. If you haven't given the demo a try, we suggest you do. It's good fun. Finally, we have Beijing Olympics 2008. We're guessing that one involves a lot of button mashing and stick twirling. You'd best prepare for the calluses now.[Via Joystiq]
