Sid Meier’s Civilization Revolution 2 Review

Everybody wants to rule the world.

 

While I’m not much of a fan of strategy games, I am familiar with the Civilization series and the accolades that go hand-in-hand with it. The series has a formula that the developers build on with each new installment. When it comes to the Civilization Revolution version of the franchise, players are getting what most consider as a streamlined version of the game. Does Civilization Revolution 2 offer enough to convince veteran players to give the mobile versions a try, or will the knowledge of confined maps and missing features cause them to avoid the game altogether?

 

Like the other games in the series, Civilization Revolution 2 have you take the reins of a small civilization that you must help to grow and prosper over a period of history. Of course, your band of settlers isn’t the only people with the same struggles as yours. The goal is to become the dominant civilization by one of four means and depending on the path you choose you’ll either co-exist peacefully or you’ll constantly be at war for the entire of the match. As usual, the game is turn-based with each turn representing a few years to represent the passage through time from early history into modern times. You can choose from a variety of historical figures who stand for the civilization that they represent such as Winston Churchill for England, Napoleon for France, and Cleopatra for Egypt.

 

The most obvious change from the original Civilization Revolution title on iOS is the shift from sprite-based graphics to a fully-realized 3D world and it looks beautiful on the iPad. Another big surprise is the lack of multiplayer features. We know that the original didn’t launch with a multiplayer option either, but it was later added in an update so I guess we’ll see if Civilization Revolution 2 gets the same treatment.

For those you who desire a challenge, several difficulty options can be chosen. I did play on both the medium and hard difficulties, and while the harder difficulty was more time-consuming, I didn’t find the AI to be that much more challenging.  I assume since the game has been scaled down so much for the mobile platform, developers did the same with the AI so it’s easier to load up a saved game and play a few rounds while on your break or your daily commute.

 

The other new addition is the option to play in live events; currently, the only one available is based on the American Revolution. Aside from a few new leaders and some new units, though, there isn’t much else that sets Civilization Revolution 2 apart from the original. The best thing it has going for it is a ton of replayability, and this is easily one of 2K’s best games in the mobile space. I never had any issues with bugs or crashing during extended play sessions, and if you exit the app without saving your progress, it actually starts you from exactly where you left off, although if your battery dies that might be a different story altogether. The UI is sufficient and only occasionally did I have some clumsiness when moving units around the board.

 

In the end there’s no denying that there’s fun to be had in Civilization Revolution 2. If you’ve played the original, you can safely avoid this one. I guess if you can offset the $14.99 asking price with the lack of IAPs, that can justify the higher price point. Those new to the series or willing to overlook the streamlined feature set will find this to be a solid mobile strategy experience.