Review

Finally after waiting and waiting the fourth sequel to Civilization is here with better graphics, sound and much higher emphasis on making the game realistic. City production, combat, and culture have all been improved to allow for more fun within the game. Concepts like civil disorder, predictable war paths, and pollution have all been integrated to allow for a better gaming experience.

New graphics adds life and charm to the world, making the experience really come alive. The interface elements have all been refined to ease access and readability. A large amount of music helps bring players into the world of controlling an empire.

One of the other things that you will have to worry about now that has never been in the game before is religion, which is a big change in the game. If you end up founding a religion it is a big plus. The reason it is a plus is because you make money from all around the world with who ever is with that religion.

There is also a new and improved map that offers a lot more than previous civilization games have had in the past.  Since there are many more types of terrain improvements this time around, you'll be able to tell just by looking at the map whether a given tile is generating food, commerce or production. There are options you can turn on to highlight certain resources. This makes it much easier to pick out where the key deposits are. Similar options let you see military units, cultural ownership and other factors. 

Each city that you have has borders that are determined by that city's culture level as well as how big it is. Border size is important because it determines how much of what tiles your citizens can work. The larger and more advanced the city is, the bigger its borders become, which means that you have more room to produce or build what ever you need to, to make your city bigger. Another concept in the game is research. This allows you to create new units, new buildings, and new wonders by discovering new technologies which will further help you advance your civilization. 

Of course, no game is complete without opponents and in civilization 4 there is plenty, for instance a city's borders can push upon one another. Eventually if your cities borders expand to the point of surrounding the borders of a rival civilization through cultural output, the city that has been surrounded can start a revolution and join your civilization. Also, through the careful expansion and placement of new cities, you can also block a rival's way to bring in resources and stop the expansion of their borders.  

Civilization has a large amount of elements packed into it. On and from what I have seen all of these elements seem to work together flawlessly, and the game play is right up at the top with all of the other greats. This game can and should be played by everyone who is into gaming. People just getting into gaming may have to take some time to learn all the aspects of the game; however this should not be a problem as the game easily grabs you in from your first few minutes of game play. Civilization is at the top of the gaming community right now not only because it is a fun game but because of the improved graphics and new concepts that have put it to the very top.