BENGALURU: When it came out in 2016, Civilization VI had pretty big shoes to fill. Not only was it the latest game in an incredibly successful and critically-acclaimed series that dated back to 1991, Civilization V had been universally hailed as one of the best games in the series till date. VI certainly suffered a little in comparison when it was released, but how does it fare five years later?
First, the basics in Civilization VI, you take the role of a legendary historical leader, aiming to guide your civilization from humble beginnings in the age of antiquity all the way into modern times. You could be Trajan leading the Romans, for example, or perhaps Montezuma on the Aztec throne. Your warriors will begin with clubs, but they could end with laser cannons that’s the scope we’re talking about here. Along the way, you’ll institute society reforms, governmental changes, build wonders of the world and engage in diplomacy and warfare with the other civilizations you’ll meet in each game.
The above is true of every game in the series, but Civilization VI made some notable changes to the formula. The cities you build over the course of the game are the heart of your civilization, and they saw the biggest changes — in earlier games, whatever you constructed in a particular city was in the single grid or hex where that city was located. In VI, you have to construct entire districts around your city centre in order to develop it.
For example, you need a campus district before you can start constructing scientific buildings. This radically shakes up the game now, cities sprawl untidily over the map as districts are constantly being added and eating up available space. It’s certainly more realistic than the old way of doing things, it looks fantastic on the map and it creates interesting choices that you have to make sure, your scientists’ research might benefit if you place a campus right next to that volcano, but there might be reasons to keep a safe distance as well. It’s fantastic, but it certainly does take up a lot more of your brainpower than the old system ever did.
And that’s a common theme with Civilization VI it forces you to engage more with the game from a much closer point-of-view. You’re still an omnipotent eye-in-the-sky, yes, but you do have to get to grips with many things that were just handwaved away earlier. Take workers, for example, the units that built just about everything for you outside your actual cities — you used to be able to automate them, and just have them build up your resource-gathering and infrastructure on their own. Now, you’ve got to tell them what to do and they can only do so much - forcing those decisions again. For veterans of the series, it must have felt like busywork; but coming back to it now after five years, it feels fresh and innovative.
I think Civilization VI was given a raw deal upon initial release by many people, myself included, who compared it to its illustrious predecessor. It’s worth remembering, though, that Civilization V took a few years and a couple of expansion packs before it became the best it could be. Civilization VI has benefited from the same time and from some groundbreaking expansions, and it’s a joy to play. Because it doesn’t sit on its laurels and it tries so many new and praiseworthy things, it might just be my favourite Civilization game of all.
What’s New?
Dungeons & Dragons: Dark Alliance
The Dark Alliance games of the early 2000s were popular action RPGs set in the Forgotten Realms; however, with the last release coming in 2004, many assumed that the series was dead. Not so — the new Dark Alliance is set in the storied region of Icewind Dale, and will feature a number of characters that will be familiar if you’ve read or played any of the stories set therein.
Necromunda: Hired Gun
The Warhammer universe hasn’t really set the world of video gaming alight, but they’re certainly giving it a go lately. Their latest effort is Hired Gun, set amidst the legendary criminal underworld of Necromunda, in which you’ll play as a mercenary plumbing the depths of the dark future.