The great game is back, and it’s better than ever. If you’re a Civ lover then this is absolutely the very best of the series. If you’ve never Civved – then you simply must play this game, for it is truly gaming perfection and you simply cannot afford to miss out of the happiness it will bring you.
Civ 4 has put the brakes on the weird tangents recent Civs have been heading off on and returns to the classic formula that works. It’s very much Civ 1 with fancy graphics and tweaks where it was needed and not just for the sake of it.

The big change is 3D. The game map is now in fact a globe, which can be zoomed all the way in or out. Mid-way zoom, at about the cloud level, is perfect for strategy big-picture play, while zooming right in shows off the best of the new 3D engine. Now your Civ world has animated units and cities that show the actual improvements you add. Combat too is now animated, adding a tangible satisfaction (or disappointment) to your battlefield shennanigans. Ultimately the 3D and screen details transforms Civ 4 into a what you see is what you get game. The game screen is your world, at last. Playing is now intuitive and replex responses to sudden situations natural and effective. Plus, it’s just nice to see what you build.

The gameplay enhancements are many and deep, and space here doesn’t permit describing their detail and effect – suffice to say that if anything has ever annoyed you in a Civ game it’s been fixed. The beauty of Civ (any Civ) is being able to jump in and intuitively play empirebuilder, but as you understand more of the almost endless strategies and permutations, the magic really goes off.

A couple of big overhauls do rate shouting about. Government has been expanded from just one system to 5 system categories, with 5 sub-categories in each. Playing mix and match through a typical game is essential, allowing you to create the perfect government for your needs at the tie. Religion too is now a complex and powerful tool. You can choose to ignore it completely, or force your choice of one true god upon the people. Politically correct care has been taken not bestow any particular religion with advantage in the game.

There are weeks of satisfying play in this wonderful game, and when you’re done with that, the clever new multiplayer options will extend the fun for as long as you wish.

Civ 4 is almost impossible to fault. We would like the text announcing what the other players did during a turn to be bigger, but that’s it. Civ 4 is the perfect game.