#Civ 5 as a strategic war game series#

There was never a time that I felt I could fill every tile around me with the most obviously ‘correct’ district or improvement and call it a day. If I did, I’d miss out on the chance to clear out all the trees later on, plop down an industrial district surrounded with mines, and enjoy a huge boost to my production. When I unlocked the ability to build a Holy Site, I had to ask myself if I wanted to nestle it in the middle of all those forested hills to gain bonus faith from the adjacent, natural splendor. With districts and wonders each taking up a whole tile, and being the most powerful tools I had to catapult myself toward victory, city planning became a huge focus of my every move. Terrain and tile types have always been a factor in Civ, but they’re at the heart of nearly everything in Civ 6. It’s critical to getting the most out of the game. Spending a lot of time staring at hills, valleys, and potential pyramid locations isn’t just enjoyable and informative, however. But I also worry that Firaxis may have sailed a bit beyond the calm waters of accessibility for more casual strategy fans, and any expansions that add major features or new systems could heighten the barrier to newcomers. The feature richness averts the common problem with strategy games on day one where I feel I’m being sold a platform on which a great game will eventually be built. The depth and variety of systems resembles a Civ game that’s already had two or three expansions added on top-from the new Districts that perform specific tasks and spread my cities out into an often messy but somehow pleasing sprawl, to a whole separate 'tech' tree for civic and cultural progress that ties into a sort of collectible card game for mixing policy bonuses to build a unique government. It mirrored my memories of past Civs closely enough that hints from the in-game adviser were all I needed to course-correct when something I hadn’t seen before came my way.īut there are so many of these new features that it could feel overwhelming at times. You still settle cities, develop tiles, train military units, wage turn-based warfare, and conduct diplomacy. There’s definitely a learning curve to overcome, but much of what you need to be to be victorious isn’t necessary when you start exploring. While Civ 6 is probably the most transformative step forward for the series, its changes shouldn’t trip up longtime players too much.

#Civ 5 as a strategic war game series#

The storied series has crowned a new king.