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Macworld's Game Room has posted a review of Civilization IV, the latest incarnation of the long running turn based nation building sim. Civ IV adds 3D graphics, national religion, and a variety of other new options to the familiar gameplay. The Game Room gave Civ IV a score of 4.5 out of 5 mice.

From the review:

Civilization IV sports a new game engine with some three-dimensional elements to it. When you engage in combat with an enemy unit, the normal birds-eye game screen will zoom down to the action, where you can watch your larger-than-life units do battle until one of you is defeated. While Civilization IV lacks actual combat along the lines of a game like Warcraft, it is a big improvement over previous editions. During combat, you’ll see the various motions associated with each military units—the longbowmen will draw their arrows. However, there is no actual contact between units, and there is no combat sound, as there was in Civilization III.

This increase in the 3-D graphics’ depth and complexity and the greater complexity of simulation in areas like Civics explain why Civilization IV’s system requirements are considerably higher than its predecessor. Some Mac gamers have fumed over the greater requirements, but, at later stages of the game when empires are particularly large, the game can slow down unless you’re on a machine that matches or exceeds the game’s hefty system requirements. (A G5 or better is mandatory, according to Aspyr.)

Macworld Game Room: Civilization IV Review

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