Sid Meier's Civilization: Beyond Earth Reviews
Civilization takes to the stars, and lands right among them to deliver the greatest strategy game experience in years.
Any game where you can to transform humanity into a race of Cybermen to go back, conquer Earth, and upload everyone's consciousness to a great network is a damn good game IMHO.
I've found Beyond Earth to be the Civ-equivalent of reading a John Grisham novel: you know it's not really the best of its kind, but at the same time it is quite more-ish. It's just as compelling and "one more turn"-ish as the others in the series. For these reasons, and the fact that I had a straight-out great time playing it, Beyond Earth gets the thumbs-up from me.
I'm sure Firaxis will eventually make a great game out of Beyond Earth. They're a smart development team that knows how to improve and iterate on a solid core product, which Beyond Earth certainly is. Right now, though, I can't help but feel slightly disappointed by the state of the game. It's perfectly enjoyable, but for every smart innovation it seems to have lost a portion of both complexity and character. There's potential here, but we'll have to wait for a couple of meaty expansions to see Beyond Earth's promise fully realised.
Civilization: Beyond Earth shakes up the turn-based strategy formula, taking the series to new heights and new locations. The past experiences of the team at Firaxis with Alpha Centuri shine through, blending both styles of games into one of the best strategy games of the year.
Civilization: Beyond Earth is decidedly deserving of carrying the weight of the franchise in a new direction, but it's simply lacking enough variety for it to become the new standard bearer.
Civilization: Beyond Earth takes empire building to the stars with a number of compelling—but familiar—results.
Taking the playstyle from Civilization V and launching it into space, Civilization: Beyond Earth introduces a number of interesting concepts into the series' tried-and-true strategy formula. While the gameplay remains addictive, the learning curve here is steep, with lots of small details that demand your attention. What you make of it depends on your patience and ability to adapt to the cruelties of space.
All-in-all, you can't go wrong with Civilization: Beyond Earth if you love the franchise. Affinities and new units give it enough spice to distract you for awhile, but I did find myself desiring to simply load up Civilization V the more I played for its greater depth.
That's the thing about Beyond Earth: I feel like for every considered, clever addition to Civ's formula, there's always a near miss. War is fun, but the AI is not. Aliens are novel, but humans are dreary. I enjoyed playing it, I'm still playing, but it just hasn't gripped me like previous games. I want it to be better, more interesting, than it is.
So far, Civilization: Beyond Earth is a stellar – no pun intended – new addition to the franchise, and what it lacks in the familiarity of historical cultures and settings it gains with some clever new tweaks and an even grander vision of humanity's potential. See you in a million days. Give or take.
[W]e're left feeling like there's greatness to come. Beyond Earth is a wonderful experience but we can't shake the feeling that the past holds much more than the future, at least for now.
Civilization: Beyond Earth sets itself apart from the previous games in the series in ways big and small, and you would be mistaken to dismiss this entry in the strategy franchise as "Civ V in space." Beyond Earth is an excellent standalone experience that can be enjoyed regardless of your history with the series—though having some understanding of how the turn-based strategy gameplay works is certainly an asset. After 300 hours of Civ V, the time has come to move on; I've left Earth and headed into space, and I think I will be there for thousands more turns to come.
If anyone needs me, I'll be playing Beyond Earth for a very, very long time.
If science fiction Civilization is an appealing prospect to you, Civilization: Beyond Earth will satisfy that promise on nearly every count.
Boasting some clever innovations and generally smooth execution, Civilization: Beyond Earth is a sure bet for fans of the long-running series.
Get ready to lose hours of your life to Civilization: Beyond Earth
While the core game is excellent, it might be extremely difficult for new players. There are plenty of options for replay, but the game might not have the same replay value as previous entries in the franchise. A solid title that will make fans of the Civilization franchise extremely happy, and might even attract some new players - if they can survive the initial challenge.
I'm addicted. In the middle of a holiday season that's seen and will see a lot of strong games, I don't want to put Civilization: Beyond Earth down.
Another success in the line of Civ games. It does a good job of setting the scene and taking the player along on a story of hope, struggle and triumph. The ability to customize your side both before and during the game will lend itself to long debates over the "best " strategies. Replayability and the inevitable mods and expansions will keep this on your hard drive for a long time.