Civilization® V 12

Civilization 5 vs Civilization 6 – a clash of civilizations

Why did Civilzation 5 endure so long in the hearts and minds of 4X fans?

After several years of ‘will they, won’t they?’ in 2019 Civilization V and Civilization VI finally switched places on Steam’s ‘most played games’ list. After an expected-yet-slightly underwhelming launch and a small controversy over the price of expansions, the latest release in Sid Meier’s 4X series has surpassed the previous entry by a decisive margin.

Newer games dethroning predecessors is in most cases inevitable, but in Civilization’s case the timeline took slightly longer than predicted. Even after the release of both major DLCs, the fifth Civilization game was still holding strong for two years into Civ VI’s life cycle. Even today it brings in an average of 18,000 players, peaking at 26,000.

You should read our original Civilization VI review, if you’re interested in what we thought at the time.

While Civ 6 is now comfortably beating Civ 5’s player numbers , that took a long while to achieve. So what gave Civilization V such long-lasting appeal in the first place?

Civilization Goes Mainstream

First, a little bit of history. Sid Meier’s Civilization V — the fifth entry in the legendary strategy series created by Sid Meier — came out in September 2010 to universal acclaim. Urban legend has it that Civ 5 had an unpopular reception, although major outlets actually gave it scores above 90%; essentially, because it was such a radical departure from Civ 4, it split the player base somewhat much like the split between Civ 5 & Civ 6, except everyone got over it much quicker.

Over the next couple of years, Firaxis unleashed two expansions for Civ 5 that expanded the scope; added proper diplomacy, religion, and culture to the game; and transformed it into a mile-wide, mile-deep 4X experience that catered to a large amount of playstyles. Fast-forward to October 2016, and Sid Meier’s Civilization VI launches to generally favorable reviews. A few points below the scale of the previous game, but still in the upper 80s and low 90s. The audience, however, is significantly less impressed.

The end result was a prettier game. but which still came up short of Civ 5 and its expansions.

Unlike Civilization V, which drastically changed the formula and map of the game world of its predecessors, Civilization VI was more of a tweak of the same formula. While the game itself was in a better state content-wise at launch than Civ 5 was, the game changed or removed many features — like the United Nations or proper trade systems — that were fully integrated into the previous game. The end result was a prettier game complete with a new district system and a fully baked-in religious system straight out of the box, but which still came up short of Civ 5 and its expansions.

The price was and still is the biggest obstacle to Civilization VI’s appeal. After the game launched and was found wanting, the world was faced with the option of getting the brand-new Civilization VI for £40, or the vast, excellent, and battle-tested Civilization V with all of its DLC and updates for £10. The idea of paying four times for something that was seen as a mild upgrade at best was daunting, and many veteran players who had already forked out a lot of cash on Civ 5 were reticent to spend money on what could be considered a downgrade.

Civilization 6 vs Civilization 5

Change itself was also the issue. Every new or revised mechanic is bound to stir up dissent, but some fundamental changes ended up being at odds with the how the series’ player base expected to play their game. The move to Housing and Amenities instead of Food to regulate growth effectively removed player’s abilities to shape their own civilisation, adding hard gates to progression in the form of districts and tile space that could only be unlocked with time instead of brute force via proper management.

The lack of meaningful penalties for more cities — a staple of Civ 5’s strategy — meant that every single culture was now able to expand unregulated from the first turn, which then transformed Civ from a mix of capital, main, and satellite cities into the endless micromanaging of dozens of small cities. In essence, one of the main issues of Civ 6 is that while it caters to more playstyles on paper, in practice it caters for less.

Civilization V’s mechanics and design philosophy offered deeper differences between empires, from the Egyptians flat 20% bonus to wonder constructions to the English’s +2 movement bonus on sea units. In Civ VI, the Egyptians get a slightly smaller 15% bonus to wonders that *only* applies on tiles near rivers — making them true to Ancient Egypt but ignoring 90% of the game map’s tiles — and the English get a rather boring boost to Archeological Districts that only really makes a difference late game (and even then, it’s marginal).

But neither of that even comes close to Venice — Civilization’s most unique civilization, and the stark difference between both games’ interpretations. In Civ V, the fan-favourite faction of Veneza represented by Doge Enrico Dandolo cannot found or annex cities — its expansion is restricted for most of the game, leaving players with a single city to weather any storm. To make up for it, trade route slots double in size, allowing Venice to stockpile money in fantastic amounts and eventually buy city-states with the use of the Merchant of Venice.

The necessity to build tall instead of wide presents an experience unlike any other in Civ V, and Venice can easily stand toe-to-toe and even steamroll other Civs when played properly thanks to its lack of expansion penalties, its super developed capital, and its overflowing gigantic coffers. Civ VI, on the other hand, has no culture that comes even close to that, and the game straight up punishes building tall over the overwhelming incentive it presents to go wide with expansion.

The general expectation was that Venice or factions like it would come to the game eventually, and once Civ VI went on sale and had a few proper DLC under its belt, it would be a real contender — but that never came to pass. When the first and second expansions finally arrived, they continued the launch trend of asking the price of a full game for what was essentially a modicum of content. Four years after launch, prospective Civ VI players are looking at +£100 if they’re not willing to wait for a sale.

King of the 4X

Over the last few years, Firaxis has discontinued support for Civ 5. Multiplayer games — the stability of which ranged from reliable to infuriating — have degraded further since Civ 6’s launch. It’s gotten to the point where many have begrudgingly decided to move to the newer game for a more stable environment for online play. It helps that since Gathering Storm was released in February 2019, Civ 6 has enjoyed plenty of sales. It was even running a 71% discount at one point and was recently offered for free via the Epic Games Store. All of which helped ease the transition.

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Related: The best 4X games

Now, Civilization VI stands far above Civ V in Steam’s player count. It’s actually the 15th most played game on Steam currently for the past 48 hours, and the highest strategy game on that list. There were rumours of a third expansion, which is one more than Civ 5 would have gotten, but instead it seems Firaxis have opted for a ‘Season Pass’ model, where they will be rolling out a wave of smaller DLCs over a longer period. The New Frontier Pass will be adding new factions and new game modes, along with other smaller bits of content every two months.

One thing is for certain: while Civ 6 may have finally surpassed its predecessor in terms of player-base, it may take an inevitable Civilization 7 to finally unite the two warring sides of the Civilization community and finally surpass the legacy of Civilization V.

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User Reviews

Civilization V is a deep, refreshing take on the Civilization franchise. In past iterations the player needed to be diplomatic in order to Civilization V is a deep, refreshing take on the Civilization franchise. In past iterations the player needed to be diplomatic in order to rule the world. Oh, did I say deep and refreshing? Forgive me, I meant to say that Civilization V, in comparison to its predecessors, is shallow in game mechanics which ultimately left me regretful for not reading more reviews before the big purchase. Luckily I found Civ V on sale for about $20 dollars and that’s just about what this game seems to be worth. Why Sid Meier and his teams left critical gameplay features on the cutting room floor escapes me. Religion, a major staple of the Civilization franchise, has been completely removed. Diplomacy consists of few clickable options such as trading, war, and “discussions,” which truly only serves as a shortcut to the trading screen. However, Civilization V is not a hole-filled game.

After playing several long matches on standard settings I will say that Civilization V picks up the slack of its former iterations. Cities are much harder to capture. They require the coordination of several units, all on the offensive against powerful city cannons that can brush away small forces. Military combat is much more streamlined; with hexagonal tiles and no unit stacking, smart tactical management of the player’s units takes a major role in world dominance. Although combat is much improved, other methods of winning matches are shadowed by the polished combat systems. In every match I played, online and offline, I found that players and AI opt for the Dominance victory instead of the more peaceful options such as cultural or scientific victories. Towards the end of long games, many players will have a hefty income of gold and will be able to instantly purchase whole armies or buildings, easily turning the tide of a battle. Whether or not this option is a glorious feature or a mechanic hinderance still eludes me, perhaps some sort of penalty for abusing the new system could be set in place.

Civilization V would have worked at a higher plane had it choose to adopt the micro mechanics of Civilization IV while keeping the new military system. Diplomacy definitely needs more depth; the detail of the different world leaders and their backdrops are fun and animated, but it’s only the icing on a cake made from rocks. … Expand

This game is a disappointment. It’s playable — it’s very playable — but it’s shallow, and too easy. Yes, Civ IV had a lot going on, and this This game is a disappointment. It’s playable — it’s very playable — but it’s shallow, and too easy. Yes, Civ IV had a lot going on, and this could be a challenge for the mythical mainstream audience (“mythical” because they’d never buy a Civ game in the first place), and it could certainly have been made to flow more easily; but the right way to make a game flow more easily is to refine problematic but life-like features, not yank them out altogether.

In particular, I was looking forward to a game that handled religion more realistically than the baby-steps of Civ IV — one in which Islam, Confucianism, and Hinduism were not equally congenial to aspiring world empires, and in which a Christian-Jewish-Muslim city was not a model of ecumenical harmony — but what the developers gave us was a backing off from the subject again.

The “one unit per tile” rule is not bad — it makes war feel less like Civ 3 and more like, well, war — but I didn’t know that archers had a range of several hundred miles; I also didn’t know that classical armies raised entire armies (division-strength? Larger?) equipped with nothing but bows. The right solution for this kind of thing is to train brigades and use a theater model, like that of _Hearts of Iron III_; will game development ever get over _Panzer General_ and its cartoonish style of combined arms?

And lastly, what is _up_ with this game’s graphics? Ruinously high requirements; it chugs on my new laptop (which is Windows 7, but with Aero disabled); and it doesn’t even look as good as Civ 3 (let alone 4)! I think it’s a matter of bad artistic design. although even bad artistic design doesn’t explain why the game has late-1990s-level lag in loading ground textures. … Expand

Другие версии этого продукта

Sid Meier’s Civilization V. Полная коллекция содержит оригинальную игру, а так же все вышедшие к ней дополнения.

Sid Meier’s Civilization V. Дивный новый мир – второе масштабное дополнение для пошаговой стратегии Sid Meier’s Civilization V, признанной одной из лучших компьютерных игр 2010 года.

Игра Sid Meier’s Civilization V – последняя на сегодняшний день часть прославленной пошаговой стратегии – на русском и английском языках, а также все дополнения вышедшие к неё на февраль 2013.

Набор дополнений Explorer’s Map Pack и Denmark – The Vikings открывает пользователю доступ к цивилизации Дании и позволяет исследовать ранее незнакомые территории новых карт.

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Набор новых карт Sid Meier’s Civilization V. Explorer’s Map Pack с нетривиальными условиями. Каждая карта станет своеобразной «проверкой на прочность» для исследователей и завоевателей новых земель.

Набор из двух дополнений, Korea и Wonders of the Ancient World открывает пользователю доступ к цивилизации Корея и позволяет соорудить новые величественные чудеса древнего мира.

Дополнение Sid Meier’s Civilization V. Wonders of the Ancient World Scenario Pack добавляет 3 новых чуда света для Sid Meier’s Civilization V: Мавзолей в Галликарнасе, статуя Зевса и храм Артемиды.

Дополнение Sid Meier’s Civilization and Scenario Pack. Polynesia включает в себя как новую Полинезийскую цивилизацию, так и новый сценарий, «Обнаруженный рай» («Paradise Found»).

Дополнение Civilization and Scenario Pack: Denmark – The Vikings открывает вам доступ к цивилизации Дания и новому сценарию 1066: Судьбоносный год для Викингов, расширяя и без того огромные возможности игры Civilization V.

Дополнение Sid Meier’s Civilization and Scenario Pack. Korea открывает вам доступ к цивилизации Корея и новому сценарию «Вторжение Самураев в Корею», расширяя и без того огромные возможности игры Civilization V.

Дополнение Civilization and Scenario Double Pack: Spain and Inca описывает 1942 год. В суд Англии, Франции и Испании пришли бесстрашные исследователи, желающие отправиться в плавание через Атлантический океан на поиски западного пути в Китай и Индию.

Глобальная пошаговая стратегия Sid Meier’s Civilization 5, предоставит вам возможность создать и развить свою цивилизацию с древних времён до ближайшего будущего.

Первое дополнение для пятой части культовой стратегии Sid Meier’s Civilization, признанной одной из лучших игр 2010 года многими российскими и зарубежными специализированными изданиями.

Sid Meier’s Civilization V

Legendary strategy game is a hit with history buffs in school and out

Take a look inside

Pros: It’s an expansive, gorgeous sandbox with time-tested and wildly popular gameplay.

Cons: Could prove too challenging for some students and too taxing for older computers.

Bottom Line: For flexible classrooms, creative teachers, and sharp students, Civilization V is the perfect platform for making rather than memorizing history.

How Can I Teach with This Tool?
What Is It?
Is It Good for Learning?

How Can I Teach with This Tool?

With pre-planning and a solid curriculum, Civilization V could act as either a formative or summative assessment of learning, and as a bridge between traditional content learning and a final project. In an American History class, students could start with reading, note-taking, and discussion on the background of the American colonial struggle against England. Students then enter into local network games of Civilization V, assuming different roles (English, French, Americans, Iroquois). After each session, students discuss what happened, and record reflections in a shared Google doc. As a final project, students write a persuasive research essay (using primary and secondary sources in addition to game experiences) responding to a prompt like, “Were England to win the American Revolution, describe what North America would look like today” or “Explain how democracy would be different without the United States Constitution.”

Continue reading Show less

Common Core ELA

What Is It?

Civilization V is an entry in the historic Civilization franchise, the premier turn-based strategy series. Players expand and grow civilizations through time, pursuing historically based — but ultimately fictionalized — scientific, political, and societal advances as they explore the world, stake their claims, and grow their cultures and cities. They also build (or dismantle) relationships with other growing societies through diplomacy, trade, culture, and war. Civilization V lets students step into scenarios spanning time and geography from Colonial America to Feudal Japan to the Ottoman Empire, and they can do so via single-player play or through complex local multi-player games with other students or online. Be aware that multi-player games support text and voice chat, and if played online rather than locally, students can encounter others.

Two major expansion packs exist for the game: Gods & Kings and Brave New World. These packs round out the base game to include more robust religion and diplomacy options.

Is It Good for Learning?

Civilization V can be a powerful learning tool for classrooms — specifically for social studies -– but it requires creative teaching. Rather than play through history as it was, students experience an alternative history that highlights how multiple factors (military, economic, social, scientific) go into any historical event or decision and nothing is ever certain. It introduces big, exciting questions: What would have happened to Constitutional Democracy if the American colonies signed a peace agreement with Great Britain and ended the war? How would Europe be different if Spain had conquered Elizabethan England? Integrating these scenarios into larger units of students will help students think critically about history as a tool — like the scientific method or algebra — rather than a set of facts.

Sid Meier’s Civilization V

Legendary strategy game is a hit with history buffs in school and out

Take a look inside

Pros: It’s an expansive, gorgeous sandbox with time-tested and wildly popular gameplay.

Cons: Could prove too challenging for some students and too taxing for older computers.

Bottom Line: For flexible classrooms, creative teachers, and sharp students, Civilization V is the perfect platform for making rather than memorizing history.

How Can I Teach with This Tool?
What Is It?
Is It Good for Learning?

How Can I Teach with This Tool?

Continue reading Show less

Common Core ELA

What Is It?

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Two major expansion packs exist for the game: Gods & Kings and Brave New World. These packs round out the base game to include more robust religion and diplomacy options.

Is It Good for Learning?

Другие версии этого продукта

Sid Meier’s Civilization V. Полная коллекция содержит оригинальную игру, а так же все вышедшие к ней дополнения.

⇡#Золотая река

Поначалу, впрочем, создается обманчивое впечатление, что свежее дополнение удивительно скупо на новшества – религия, перенесённая прямиком из Gods and Kings, не в счёт. Первую крупную «фишку» замечаешь только после того, как цивилизация немного продвинется по дереву технологий и обнаружит, что она в этом мире не одна. Тут-то на первый план и выходит переработанная система торговли.

Теперь можно совершать операции с золотом не только в окне дипломатии, но и с помощью сухопутных и морских караванов. Механизм прост и прозрачен – уже на этапе выбора города, с которым начнется обмен, вы видите итоговую прибыль обеих сторон и то, как она формируется. Впрочем, грабить торговые маршруты не сложнее, чем их организовывать, так что стоит позаботиться о надлежащей охране – Brave New World даёт отличный повод содержать внушительную военную армаду, ведь коммерсанты вливают в экономику страны львиную долю средств, особенно на раннем и среднем этапах развития.

Список игровых самодержцев пополнился Казимиром III

Однако торговые пути не зря называют артериями общества. И если внутри империи они могут переносить продовольствие и производственные мощности, ускоряя рост городов и строительство важных объектов, то из-за границы караваны вместе с золотом привозят новые верования. Но торговцы не только оказывают давление на вашу религию, но и способствуют научному обмену, позволяя менее продвинутым странам не отставать от своих прогрессивных коммерческих партнёров. И если вы являетесь последним, то приходится размышлять, – так ли нужны эти монеты, если их приток ускорит технологическое развитие соседа?

Описание

Experience one of the greatest turn-based strategy games of all time, Sid Meier’s Civilization® V.

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B E G I N · W I T H · 2 0 · H I S T O R I C A L · L E A D E R S
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Become Ruler of the World by establishing and leading a civilization from the dawn of man into the Space Age. Wage war, conduct diplomacy, discover new technologies, and go head-to-head with some of history’s greatest leaders. Build the most powerful empire the world has ever known.

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C O N Q U E R · T H E · B R A V E · N E W · W O R L D
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Brave New World introduces nine new civilizations, eight new wonders, two new scenarios, four new gameplay systems and dozens of new units, buildings and improvements, expanding the ways to build the most powerful empire in the world.

Available now as an In-App Purchase.

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E X P A N D · W I T H · G O D S · & · K I N G S
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Gods and Kings delivers nine new civilizations, such as Carthage, Netherlands, the Celts and the Maya. This robust expansion covers the entire scope of time from founding your first Pantheon of the Gods and spreading religion across the world, to deploying your spies in enemy cities in order to steal information and technology.

Available now as an In-App Purchase.

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T R Y · N E W · C I V I L I Z A T I O N S · & · S C E N A R I O S
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Expand your Civilization® V experience throughout world history with new challenges and leaders from Denmark, Mongolia, Polynesia, Korea, Babylon and more!

Available now as an In-App Purchase.

If your system does not meet these minimums, Civilization® V will NOT run on your Mac.

64-bit processor and operating system
OS: 10.11.6 (Sierra) or later
Processor: Intel Core 2 Duo (Dual-core) 2.2GHz
Memory: 2 GB RAM
Graphics (AMD): Radeon HD 2600
Graphics (nVidia): GeForce 8600M GT
Graphics (Intel): HD 4000
VRAM: 256 MB
Storage: 10 GB available space (20 GB available space required for install)

Civilization® V does not support hard drive volumes formatted as Mac OS Extended (CaseSensitive)

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