Excellent transition to console
I'm a long time Civver, so I've played Civ on the PC for quite a few years. I knew that the game would have to be streamlined when I heard that it was coming to the console, and I was curious, and perhaps concerned as to how that would affect the game overall. I needn't have worried. The move to a version of Civ for consoles is worthwhile, and will no doubt bring a lot of new Civvers into the fold. From what I've heard the initial run of CivRev has sold out, so what does that tell you?

Anyways, from a long time Civ player and new console player, I can say that CivRev is an awesome game, and very fun to play, even for my kids who, before now, would never touch a game like this. For that reason alone the game is worthwhile.

I would even venture to say that after playing CivRev, that certain aspects of Civ4/BTS make more sense. That's how good they present game concepts to the player.

The debate still rages among hardcore Civvers as to the merits of CivRev, but I think anyone who enjoys a good game will really have fun with this one. 5 stars.

The Civ we know and love
Sid Meier has done it again!
The Good:
Absorbing and addictive gameplay, this reminds us all of the "just one more turn" policy with the other Civ games.

Easy to control.

Better graphics than some say. Not as good as some games, but you easily get used to it.

A good selection of civilizations to choose from.

Just a great game overall.


The Bad:
Too short! I almost hit the turn limit. I was just really starting to annihilate my enemies when the advisor guy said I had 5 turns left.

Everyone speaks gibberish. It's not so bad at first, but they could say at least one real word!


Overall:
Great game. Get it. Sixty bucks is a little pricey, but get the game when the price goes down and you will be well satisfied. Now, if you have played Civilization 1,2,3,4 with a passion, you probably won't like this. If you have played some Civ, you won't be dissappointed. If haven't ever played Civ, try it out. It's a great game.

Sid Meier Does It Again!
First, the Sid Meier games aren't for everyone. Period. That said, if you enjoy turn based strategy games, Civilization is the grandaddy of all turn based strategy games dating back to the early 90's, this being what I consider the most polished of them all.

Many of the reviews for this game so far all have some truth to them, so instead of repeating all those comments, let me take a few moments to dispell some of the more misguided comments, for better or worse:

- Indeed, this is addicting! The graphics are the best of ANY Civ game ever produced (at least 3 prior to this version!), and are very conducive to great game play. This isn't a first person shooter game, it's a top down strategy game, and as such the graphics are not only great, but keep the game moving.

- Advisors: They can be turned off/on, or set to different levels of "interjection". One reviewer complained that they're always butting in...use the options and tone them down or turn them off

- Stupid AI??: Sorry, the AI is FAR from stupid in this game. Depending on which level of difficulty you've set the game at, indeed the AI is adjusted accordingly. Ramp up the difficulty if you'd like AI that dosn't make mistakes. Simple.

- Game Difficulty: There are FIVE levels of difficulty. FIVE!! These take you from "n00b" tutorial mode to full blown "you better be awesome" level. Many games only have 2 or 3 levels of difficulty.

- Game Options: Not only are the standard "randomized" games fabulous and new everytime, but they have included 10 scenarios which are spectacular and lots of fun to play. AND, as a bonus, there is a "Game Of The Week" option where, if you're on the net, you can download each week, play single or multi, and rank against others, etc. As always, there are FOUR ways to win, by military dominance, by attracting "great people", etc. When you've beaten the game as Warlord in a military dominance, try it again as Warlord, but try to beat it by getting the most civilization adavances. LOTS of fun!

This game is the absolute PINNACLE of what a turn-based strategy game should be. VERY innovative, yet enough of the original Civ1/Civ2 to keep all us Old School fans very happy.

When you want literally 100's of hours of endless, entertaining gameplay and great gaming value and longevity for your money, you need look no further than Civilization Revolution. Worth every penny. Now, if someone can give me some tips on how to peel myself AWAY from this game maybe I could get some sleep!!!

This game is SO good I went out and bought the DS version as well. I'm obviously sick! HELP!! ;)

A revolution for console gaming.
In about the first fifteen minutes, you may be asking yourself, "Why did I buy this?" But eventually, it all starts to grow on you, eventually forming into the standard obsessive routine of explore, build, and expand that pervades in all Civilization games.

Going into Civ Rev, you need to keep in mind that this is a console game, designed towards console gamers. Instead of the week consuming PC Civ game, you can accomplish this in one sit-down (three hours on easiest, but the difficulties will increase this quite nicely).

Multitasking has essentially been removed from Civ Rev. Instead, you can focus on your goals and how you're going to win, and you no longer need to worry about funding that vast horde you built. One thing I found lacking was the diplomacy. Apparently, in order to keep it simple, it has been butchered down to "Give me this, and if you don't, we're at war." It's every Civ for them self in this game, and if you're near to achieving a victory, they will make a desperate attempt to stop you.

Combat still has that good `ole Civ feel of creating a powerful unit form countless victories. Units gain experience, and in Civ Rev also gain ranks, and then eventually purchase upgrades that can change how it fits into your strategy. A problem does arise that you can't upgrade a unit to its next advancement (i.e., you can't improve an archer into a musket man; it is, and will always will be, an archer). You can, however, sell of your units, so you're not forced to go on suicide missions with them.

As far as graphics go, they're not top quality, neither are they bad. Fights are fun to watch, and the only annoying thing is your advisors, whose ubiquitous presence and pop-ins will begin to annoy some. But after awhile, they become more like an annoying friend more than anything. The sound isn't much, but this is probably a game where you will find yourself listening to your own music.

One thing I'm sure will annoy PC veterans is no control over your map. It's usually one continent with a few islands (don't quote me on that, though), and I believe the size is the same. Still, the maps are different every game, providing an essentially limitless replay ability.

Definitely different, but still a great game. $60, though? Play the demo off Xbox Live, or rent it for awhile, and if you find yourself getting hooked, than this will be worth it.

Not as good as the PC version
Well, I'm not going to say all of the same stuff as the other reviewers, most of which I agreed with.

I did want to add a few comments, tho.

I did not agree the the game was horribly slow. The speed was just fine for me while maneuvering around the screen and I felt that if the panning across the screen had gotten any faster, I would have lost track of where I was. Occassionally, as it was going from the map view to another view, it would hang up a little bit, and that was mildly irritating, but it wasn't bad enough to say the game speed was horrendous. It just wasn't up to expectations.

I didn't think the graphics were that bad. They weren't high end, tho. What I was most disappointed by was how close I could zoom in. The controller lets you pull up a little higher, but no zooming in really close.

I wasn't a big fan of the navigation in the civilopedia. It wasn't horrible, but it also wasn't the fastest experience trying to find information.

I kind of missed the little workers. That surprised me.

And I REALLY missed the musical score I am used to hearing in the background. I turned down the volume on the advisors since the gibberish they talk got to be ridiculous, but all I heard after that was some of the sounds from the cities (production noises). I wondered at the lack of music. It really lowered the fun value to not have it there.

The navigation took a little while to get used to. Once I got it, it flowed fine.

What I really missed was the little cheater blue circles that showed the ideal place to put your cities. It makes it a little harder to decide where to put them. Kind of a bummer.

And near the end, the advisors showed up every two seconds to tell me how I could win the game (by doing this or that) and if I didn't do what they asked, they wouldn't stop showing up. That got to be a bit ridiculous.

Anyway, if you are a hardcore fan of civ, you probably won't be very excited by this version. It is REALLY pared down. There were little differences everywhere, but not big enough to warrant a $60 purchase. I think this is a good game if you want to play a quick civ game. But you might want to reconsider if not. I'll still play it, tho, since my pc version always freezes up on me. I just hope that they make some serious improvements in future versions.