Civilization Revolution 2
A review.
So it has come to this, writing a review of Civilization Revolution 2, one of my most anticipated games in a long time, and I really wanted to call it How Good is Civilization Revolution 2. But you know what, that wouldn’t have been fair, because this isn’t about how good the game is, but how uninspired it feels.
You see, it’s not that Civilization Revolution 2 is a bad game, because it isn’t. It’s a bit buggy, with some graphics glitching and the controls are somewhat disappointing, but my main gripe with this game is that it’s the same I bought some five years ago. Scratch that, it’s the same game but with less features, lacking multiplayer, and sporting a slower pace due to the new interface. This doesn’t sound like a good thing, does it?
And it’s not, especially since Civilization Revolution 2 comes at a premium price of $15. If you own the predecessor, you’re basically paying for new graphics, a few new leader avatars, and a handful of new units and buildings. Not worth $15 if you ask me.
That being said, I like — not love — Civilization Revolution 2. The original game was also bug riddled to begin with, but the developers have supported it fairly well over the past five years, and I see no reason to not expect the same of its successor. Thus I’m optimistic, if not ecstatic, of the promise the launch of Civilization Revolution 2 entails. I do wish they’d polished the AI since your competing world leaders are often fairly daft, and I really hope there’s multiplayer coming soon, along with tweaks for the game interface. There’s too much tapping and holding, too much waiting around right now. The game does look good (when it’s not glitching, which mainly happens when you’re talking to your advisors or other world leaders), if not spectacularly so.
The big questions then. First, should you buy it if you own the original? No, hold out for a sale, or at least stay tuned for some patches and content updates.
Second, if you skipped the original Civilization Revolution, should you pick up the second one then? Absolutely, this is still a great — and addictive — game of exploring and building the world. I recommend it, despite the harsh words, but I do wish this was better, sporting more news for those of us who’ve stuck with Civilization Revolution the past five years.
- What? Strategy game of the 4X kind
- Played on? iPad Air
- How much? $15 (universal app)
- Worth playing? Only if you don’t own the predecessor, or if you’re a diehard fan
