Fan Site civfanatics.com has gotten its hands on an advanced copy of the January issue of PC GAMER. In it are the first ever details of Sid Meier's Civilization IV, including screenshots. The title is being developed by Sid Meier himself at Firaxis.

Here's some details of the game as provided by civfanatics.com:

• Development is being headed by creator Sid Meier himself.
• Civ IV has been written entirely from scratch.
• The 3D engine will allow you to zoom smoothly from a global view all the way down to a single city.
• Individual units will gain experience and acquire new upgrades such as bonuses against specific enemy types and the ability to use enemy roads.
• No more spearmen defeating tanks.
• Besides incorporating new technologies, the tech tree has been changed to allow radically different research paths to the same high-level technologies. Now you won’t have to follow a strict research path to be competitive later in the game – a design that opens up a whole new world of possibilities.
• Civilization IV has been designed to fully support the mod community. The game is written using flexible XML data files and the Python scripting language so that modders will have no trouble at all creating their own personalized worlds, units, technologies, and historical events. Advanced modders will even be able to control the AI.
• Civ4 has been designed from the outset to include the multiplayer mode. You will be able to team up in co-op mode against the AI or other teams of players, and a random-map generator ensures an equal start.

Its a bit too early to speculate on a Mac version, so be sure to stay tuned to IMG for any further developments.

Civfanatics.com

MacSoft (add to watch list)

Firaxis Games (add to watch list)

Civilization III (add to watch list)

Buy Civilization III

Search for other Mac games news stories or browse our Mac Games News Archive.