Sid Meier’s Civilization IV

Civilization continues to improve with each installment. With this fourth attempt, the series has cleaned up almost all of its old shortcomings. The interface is nearly as streamlined as gameplay this complex will allow, and the controversial “strategic resources” from III have been made more plentiful and less decisive. In fact, due to overhauls of several mechanics, especially combat, this is probably the most balanced these games have ever been. It feels more organic than past titles as well – large cities spill out into adjacent tiles, the spread of religion across societies is only moderately controllable, and there are more numerous and interesting options for government style, unit promotion, and Great Person behaviour. The only remaining issues that aren’t endemic to the genre (such as game speed) are in the presentation. Outside of the famously incredible title theme, the music is quite boring, there are some odd sound effect choices, and the jump to 3D visuals had mixed results.

Note: this score was changed from 8.0 to reflect the author’s changing opinion.