A hallmark of the Civilization franchise has been the editing tools. Alas, players will not find an editor here. That means there will be no user-created mods - at least out of the box, that is. According to the Firaxis list of features, official mods will be available though, as Civ Rev includes a Play Scenario tab in the single-player menu. Plus, Firaxis will allow gamers to download new maps in the Game of the Week feature, play them, and then submit their scores to the leaderboards. These features, along with the stellar multiplayer options, will make Civ Rev a game you’ll be playing for a very long time to come.

Ever since Civ III: Play the World, fans of the series have headed online and battled it out for hours on end with other civilization fanatics. Online play is tremendously challenging and rewarding, but also arduous in that it requires an almost unreasonable time commitment. That has been completely remedied in Civ Rev. Online play in this version allows up to four players to wage epic Civilization contests in a couple hours, tops! Plus, the ability to jaw with players in-game via voice chat and then switch to a private parlay make multiplayer battles both fun and strategically limitless. Moreover, technically there’s no lag, and hosts are able to make turns last as little as thirty seconds, which really puts players under the gun to make rapid decisions. All in all, the multiplayer experience in Civ Rev is reason enough for PC veterans and more casual console players alike to give this title a look.

The presentation of the game is very nice indeed. The visuals are lush and interesting, while the sounds are hilarious and engaging. The environments, unit sprites, animations, leaders, and advisors are all very well recreated and pop off the screen with vibrant colors. The game moves along at a fast clip, and the graphics nearly keep up with it. Unfortunately, you will notice some lag and shuddering when leaders and advisors pop in and out of view. However, this doesn’t substantively hamper gameplay, but it is a bit unpolished. As far as sounds are concerned, combat grunts, bombing runs, and the clever use of “Firax-lish” by the leaders and advisors are great. None of the in-game avatars actually speak coherently, but somehow the characteristics of their native tongue or features of their personalities come through (it’s a lot like The Sims that way). Despite how enjoyable this is initially, it can get pretty repetitive, as your domestic advisor just can’t get over saying “Hootoo!”

When all is said and done, Civilization Revolution is an exquisite experience for strategy junkies. PC purists may turn up their noses at it, but I dare them to play through multiplayer with a pair of headsets on and not get giddy. It’s true, Civ Rev is not as deep as its PC counterparts; in fact, there are only five levels of difficulty (what happened to Sid difficulty?), and the maps can feel somewhat uninspired. Nevertheless, advancing through the four eras of history, developing your civilizations, dominating the battlefield, and setting off for Alpha Centauri is an experience that console owners simply should not miss!

By Jonathan Marx
CCC Editor / News Director