colonization posts

Despite having a stellar main series, Civilization is hardly the only game of its kind. Even among the designers and devlopers of Firaxis there are multiple offshoots, with many later feeding concepts back into the main series. It's an interesting evolutionary process that makes each main Civilization game better - in different ways - through variation. One can't look back on the Civilization series and merely ignore the side games, otherwise one will miss many of the inspirations behind complex, entertaining features in the main series.

According to the developers a Firaxis Games, Colonization is one of the most requested revivals among all the classic Sid Meier games. Seeing as how games like Pirates! and Railroads! already saw remakes, it's only logical that Colonization should see its turn too. On its surface, Colonization comes off as a highly detailed mod for Civilization IV. However, once you get beyond the familiar Civ4 graphics and interface, you'll find a game that bears only a passing semblance to Civilization. Unlike Civ4, Colonization only has one goal: to build a self-sufficient colony in the New World and amass enough wealth to declare independence from the mother country (England, Spain, France or the Netherlands) within a designated number of turns. Even though there's only one victory condition, it's a mountainous one, and colonizing the New World gets tough pretty fast.

Strategy fans won't need to wait much longer for Civilization IV: Colonization, the remake of the classic game. This trailer looks like it will be the opening cinematic for the game and outlines its goals, which is to establish colonies in the New World and eventually fight a war for independence. The game is currently scheduled to release in the fall of 2008.

Download the Civilization IV: Colonization HD Trailer (188 MB)

Gearbox Software's hotly anticipated Borderlands will be among the games presented by publisher 2K Games at this year's E3 conference. The game, which was first revealed late last year in Game Informer magazine, is an (apparently) open-world first-person-shooter with cooperative multiplayer, randomly generated levels ala Diablo, and some RPG elements. It's set in a Mad Max-esque post-apocalyptic wasteland. Gearbox and 2K have high expectations for the game; they hope it will birth a franchise. It's scheduled to release sometime in 2009.

2K will also be showing Sid Meier's Civilization IV: Colonization at the show. If you haven't been keeping up, just know that it's a remake of Sid Meier's original Colonization, which was released back in 1994. It uses the same basic technology as Civilization IV, but it's a stand-alone game with decidedly different gameplay. Oh, and it's a PC exclusive, so hurray for that! For more on that one, check out our hands-on impressions.

[Via videogaming247]

Since 1991, Sid Meier's Civilization games have allowed armchair gods and generals several opportunities to "build an empire that would stand the test of time," as per the game's documentation. From the Stone Age to the Space Age, gamers pleading with loved ones for just one more turn have spent countless hours conquering barbarians, building cultural wonders, and launching space shuttles to Alpha Centauri.

Despite the popularity of the four core Civ titles and their all-encompassing historical time span, many conquerers preferred another Sid Meier title's emphasis on the year 1492 when, as we all know, Columbus sailed the ocean blue. Rather than plop them into the stone age with a loin cloth and the urge to discover fire, Sid Meier's Colonization tasked settlers with occupying the New World over the time period of 1492 to 1850. One of Meier's more popular titles, Colonization has remained a classic that many fans, enviously noting multiple Civilization sequels and expansions, hoped would receive a remake.

Enter Sid Meier's Civilization IV: Colonization.

2K Games has announced Sid Meier's Civilization IV: Colonization, a stand-alone expansion that recreates the classic Colonization game.

"We've received many requests from fans over the years to bring back Colonization and now seemed to be the perfect time to do that," said Sid Meier, director of creative development at Firaxis Games.

The original Colonization charged players with conquering the New World using one of four European nations. While the concept remains the same in Civilization IV: Colonization, the Civ IV engine will add a number of new features such as "a brand-new interface, improved diplomacy options and the included modding tools."

Civilization IV: Colonization will be available Fall 2008.