Big hitters Alone in the Dark and Battlefield Bad Company (both 360) arrived this weekend but I've been spending most of my gaming time on an unexpected treat - Sid Meier's Civilization Revolution (360). I get on with strategy games about as well as I do with mobile - ie not very - so was expecting very little from this latest attempt to shoehorn the genre onto a console.
Like the PC games Revolution is a turn-based sim that sees you building up your empire and either dominating your opponents with force or blinding them with science. This is one of the first console games where city building, resource mining, education and diplomacy are as important to success as combat proficiency. But most console strategy games are ham-fisted clunky affairs, almost all of them far better suited to mouse and keyboard PC gaming. But Civ Revolution is a revelation. Logical and easy to pick up controls, well designed and non-intrusive tutorials and a vibrant art style that drags you in. The game is pacey too. Longstanding Civ veterans may baulk at some of the restrictions but strategy and cerebral reflection are still necessary and everything just moves so much faster than the often glacial progress of yore.
I'm roaring through the single player stuff so it looks like multiplayer is the focus. So far Civ Revolution is my biggest and most welcome gaming surprise of 2008. Anyone else played yet?
