sid-meier posts

This week is apparently the 20th anniversary of the release of Civilization, the first game in the centuries spanning turn-based strategy series from "game god" Sid Meier. It remains one of the most respected game franchises of all time. To celebrate, Steam has put the last two games in the series on sale for this weekend. Civilization IV The Complete Edition is now available for just $7.50 while the recently released Civilization V is now on sale for $29.99.

Speaking of Civilization V (and we were) the next major patch for the game is in the works and this week some partial patch notes were posted on the game's official message boards. There will be a bunch of balance changes in this update along with other changes and bug fixes. It should be released sometime in February.

It's been a long, long time since we have heard anything about the status of the Facebook strategy game Civilization Network, a game that was first announced back in October 2009. Today the game's designer and "game god" Sid Meier broke his long silence with a new post on the game's Facebook page. The note announced a title change for the game to Civilization World (or Civ World if you prefer). Meier states that the name change "reflects the main theme of the game"

More importantly Meier states that the closed alpha testing for the game will begin on January 12. Folks can go ahead and sign up to be a part of the alpha test right now. The catch is that for this phase the development team at Firaxis Games want teams of players of between five to 50 people to sign up rather than as individuals (single players can still play the game when it officially launches). Meier states, " ... to win in Civ World, you'll need to collaborate with your friends in order to do well in the game and become ruler of the world, so in our early Alpha testing, we're grouping people together to simulate how the game will work when it's available to the world at large." People who are picked to be in the alpha test will get "a special item that you can proudly display in your throne room."

Civilization V is getting yet another major patch and this week some of the changes were revealed in a new message board post on the turn-based strategy game's official forums. The patch, which as of yet doesn't have a release date, will concentrate on changes and improvements for its AI and diplomacy although there will be other things included.

Some of the patch notes for the Firaxis Games-developed title include improvements to the AI pillaging code (because all of us enjoy a good pillaging) having cities heal more quickly (you know from all that pillaging) and a couple of diplomatic systems: Declaration of Friendship and Denounce. We wish to denounce any declaration of friendship right now; if you are a true friend you shouldn't need to declare it.

It's perhaps one of the most long awaited Facebook-based games ever announced and, well, it looks like it will still be waiting for a while longer. During today's BMO Capital Markets 18th Annual Digital Entertainment Conference Take Two Interactive's executive chairman Strauss Zelnick stated that developer Firaxis Games' Civilization Network will launch sometime in 2011, adding that the public will get to see the game "relatively soon."

The game, which has direct design input from Civilization's creator Sid Meier, was first announced over a year ago and at the time Meier said a closed beta would begin "soon". Since the announcement there's been little info on the game's status and the game's Facebook page has not had an official update since May.

[Via Joystiq]

Fans of Civilization V will soon be able to access the first official downloadable content extra for the recent turn-based strategy game. Publisher 2K Games just announced that two DLC packages will be made available to owners of the Firaxis Games-developed title on October 25.

One of the pack will be free to download and will add the Mongols civilization to the game along with a new scenario pack. The other DLC release will be the Babylonian civilization which is normally part of the Digital Deluxe version of the game. People who own the regular edition will be able to download the Babylonian pack for $4.99.

[Via email press release]

We have to admit it: we are total Civilization junkies. Stick us in front of any game with Civilization in the title or Civilization designers at the helm, and we'll love it. So it's absolutely no surprise that we love Civilization 5. After all, every game in the series has been well-received by both critics and consumers, and this latest iteration is no exception. While it goes without saying that we feel Civilization 5 is definitely worth a purchase, there are a slew of changes that both improve and detract from the experience. The result is a Civilization game that, while familiar and enjoyable, plays quite a bit differently from its predecessors. Unlike Civilization 4, it doesn't replace its forebears, but rather offers an alternate vision of what Civilization should be like.

Civilization as a series is one of the great constants of PC gaming. Started almost two decades ago, it's been going strong the entire time. Every release in the main series has been, critically and commercially, a blockbuster. With Civilization V coming out, it's important to take a look back at the previous games in the series. After all, Civilization is a series built on the shoulders of both its predecessors and offshoots. Even though many of today's gamers weren't even born for the first few Civilization games, they still remain hallmarks of complex, yet accessible, game design.

While a demo for Civilization V won't be out until the day the turn-based strategy game sequel is due out in stores on Tuesday, the folks at publisher 2K Games are trying to make up for it with the release of a massive new gameplay walkthrough video for the title.

You can check out the 13 minute + video above which is narrated by Peter Murray of developer Firaxis Games. It goes over a number of the changes in Civilization V compared to previous games in the series such as the switch to hexagon tiles over square ones and not being able to pile tons of units on one of those tiles. Oh, and there's a nuke at the end (no spoiler there; nukes are always a popular choice).

You really didn't think there wasn't going to be a special edition of Civilization V, did you? Well if you did you obviously underestimate the need to spend lots of money for extra "stuff". Publisher 2K Games announced the contents of the Civilization V Special Edtion today which will set you back a whopping $99.99.

What do you get for 100 bucks (besides the game that is)? You get a 176 page hardcover book with artwork from the Firaxis Games-developed title. You also get a two disk CD with the sountrack from the title along with a behind-the-scenes DVD. Finally you get five metal figurines based on five of the game's units made by Reaper Miniatures. So is all of this worth the extra $50 compared to the standard edition? You be the judge when both ship to stores on September 21.

Gallery: Sid Meier's Civilization V Screenshots

Now here's a trailer which is scary real. If you're anything like us, you've been addicted to the Civilization series at some point or another. When Civilization IV came out, it was followed by a trailer depicting an eerily plausible Civilization Anonymous group that aims to break people's "one more turn" addictions. They've resurrected the advertisement for Civilization V, and our feelings are still the same. A support group of this kind is a very real possibility.

Download HD Civilization V 'CivAnon' Trailer (445MB)
Check out all Civilization V downloads