Final Beyond Earth

OK, it's time. The fact that I haven't written about Sid Meier’s Civilization: Beyond Earth has bugged me for some time now.

I wanted to play some more before before critiquing it, but other things have come up. And that's a tell. Although I really like Beyond Earth, I haven't had the urge, no, the need to play it like I've played Civ 5.

The reason for this isn't just real life getting in the way, or other games being more alluring. No, it's that Beyond Earth is missing something. I have no idea what it's missing though. When I started playing Civ 5 it was bundled with the Gods & Kings DLC, so I've never played vanilla Civ 5. My version of Civ 5 is now complete with all DLCs, but I get what others have told me about the base game being good but incomplete. This is how I feel about Beyond Earth.

Maybe it's the AI, I'm not sure. I do think the diplomacy system is weak, including the trade. Usually when an AI faction wants to trade, they offer one favor (generic payment) for X resources for thirty turns, but they refuse to return the favor, even if they like you.

I haven't as yet had a war with the AI, so no comments about that, but one thing that bugs me is that all factions start whining if you start killing aliens. Even the factions that don't like aliens, i.e. Purity factions. Seems they should be on your side, after all. (Purity = Humanity is best, screw the rest).

Also, since you can research everything you want, the choices of which paradigm you want to go for becomes somehow lessened. There's just not much of a sacrifice to make.

Otherwise this is a really fun game to play. The overall feel is great, and I love the fact that the first time you build something, you have to make a choice. So when you build, say a laboratory you get to choose if all your labs produce more health for your people or more energy. This allows you to fine tune your needs as you go.

The tech system is also good, and I like the units and the graphics, the music etc. All in all Beyond Earth is a very robust game, that can in time turn into a real classic.

And speaking of classics, I never played Alpha Centauri. The game that was lauded as civilization in space. It always bothered me that I missed such a classic. But now, I see lots of people online complaining that Beyond Earth isn't more like Alpha Centauri, and I think that's a shame. It is after all NOT Alpha Centauri, and it was never meant to be. I of course can't even make such a comparison, and I'm grateful for that.

Actually, come to think of it, one of the somethings that bothers me, is that the factions, led by their distinct leaders lack the personalities that their Civ 5 counterparts have. Sure, this makes them less hemmed in and predictable, but it also means that I can't get a grip on them as easily. I can't really relate to them, I suppose.

Final verdict time. If you like sci-fi and building civ's this is a game for you. To be honest I hope they release a DLC for it soon, but I'm not going to stop playing it either way. And it's actually refreshing to play a sci-fi builder that's not set to an empire scale, and “just” build a large thriving colony.

So, there we are. Job done. Come back next week, and we'll see what I can cook up. Have a great week!

Beyond Earth

OK, so I had this whole thing planned out concerning today's post.

Sid Meier's Civilization: Beyond Earth came out last Friday, and this was going to be a grand review of this game. An intelligent and sophisticated analysis.

But, last night I started getting a fever, and with perhaps four tormented hours of sleep, I crawled out of bed with even more fever.

So, no grand magnum opus today.

However, I will write a good review of SMC: Beyond Earth, probably next week.

Until then, you must content yourself with this:

Beyond Earth is a fantastic game! Built on the Civ V engine, you colonize a planet in outer space. You have lots of options, many grand strategies and on top of that, the game looks frikkin' sweet!

And since you came all this way, and you might want to know more, I'll direct your attention to this Let's Play by my favorite LP'er Quill18. 

Until next week, take it easy.

Sid Meier’s Civilization: Beyond Earth

A couple of weeks ago, I posted about my new found love for Sid Meier's Civilization, in the shape of the fifth installment in the series. I also got my greedy little hands on the second DLC, Brave New World, and it's joy to play.

But Civ V is no joke. Although not nearly as difficult to pick up and play as many strategy games out there – Crusader Kings II comes to mind – there are lots of little things to learn and keep track of. Religion, Culture, Economy etc. all contain hidden depths you need to understand in order to master this great game.

So in order to gain a deeper understanding, I dug around on the web and found a lovely little site called www.civfanatics.com where you can read easy to understand guides in all the aspects of this magnificent game.

But when I went there today, I found some new I just have to share with you all:

Namely, that in the final quarter of 2014 (if all goes well) we will get Sid Meier’s Civilization: Beyond Earth!

Civ in Space! Say it with me, Ciiiv iiin Spaaaaace!

Sorry, I got a little carried away there, but it does look amazing. I myself missed out on Master of Orion back in the olden days, so I'm really looking forward to this.

Now I know I have recently been all giggly about stuff and later on regretted it, but I can't help it this time.

Until next week, here's hoping!