Sid Meier's Civilization Revolution

Sid Meier's Civilization Revolution brought the famous Civilization strategy series to consoles, simplifying it so it could be played comfortably with a gamepad, without needing to know the complicated PC control schemes with dozens of keyboard shortcuts. The player chooses one of the historical civilizations and, from antiquity through to the modern era, builds cities, develops technologies along a research tree, conducts diplomacy with neighbors, and engages in occasional open conflict, with the goal of achieving victory by one of four paths — military dominance, technological progress, economic strength, or cultural influence through the wonders of the world.

Compared to its PC predecessors, the game's pace is significantly faster, the map smaller, and the number of units and buildings more limited, meaning a single game can be completed in a matter of hours rather than the dozens of hours typical of the series' main PC entries. Clear controller-based controls, an easily readable map with distinct colors for each civilization, and humorously portrayed animations of civilization leaders made the title an ideal entry point into the turn-based strategy genre for players who had previously avoided more complex 4X games due to their steep learning curve.

In contemporary reception, the game was praised precisely for making a demanding genre accessible to a wider console audience without entirely giving up on strategic depth and decisions about how to develop a civilization. Civilization Revolution became one of the most successful console adaptations of the Civilization brand and is still remembered as proof that even complex strategy games can work on a console with a controller in hand, without overwhelming players with an excess of menus and numerical values.

On the PlayStation 3, the game was further supplemented by online multiplayer, which for the first time allowed competing for dominance over the world with players far away, a refreshing step for a series until then tied almost exclusively to playing against the computer or on a single computer. Thanks to this, Civilization Revolution also became something of a social phenomenon among players, who arranged matches as regular gaming get-togethers.

Why play it: Thanks to online multiplayer, which for the first time let the series compete for world domination remotely as well, it's a great choice for players who like enjoying turn-based strategy games in the company of friends.