Rule your own world

Volume 48, No. 10, June 15, 2006

Civilization IV
PC

Build ‘em up: You’re the boss in Civilization IV.

The game:
The game starts in 4000BC in a prehistoric village.

From there you find and expand your civilisation by building cities and advancing your society through different eras such as the Stone Age, Iron Age, through to the Space Age.

Along the way you research and learn new technologies until you have replaced your clubs and spears with nuclear weapons.

You can war with other civilisations or engage in trade and diplomacy. You decide how your society works from its economics, politics and religion.

The play:
Playable in either single-player or multi-player mode, you can choose from a number of different cultures to begin the game.

Each culture has two leaders you can choose from, and your choice will determine the style of your play. For example, if you play as the French, you get to choose to play either as Napoleon or Louis XIV.

As you research new technologies you gain access to new religions and new civics. Civics are spread across five areas: government, religion, labour, law and economy.

Each religion gives you certain benefits and advantages, and you can train missionaries to try to export your religion to other cities and nations. You are not limited to the number of cities you can build and your cities can span continents.

There are a number of different ways to play to win the game. By conquering enough of your neighbours or expanding your borders to possess the majority of the world you can win through domination and elimination.

Culture victory requires you to build three cities to a legendary culture-level, while the space race merely requires you to construct the pieces needed for the ship.

Once it’s complete, you’re declared the winner. The diplomatic victory requires you to be the first civilisation to build the UN wonder. Once the wonder is built, elections are held to determine who gets to be Secretary General. The Secretary General then gets the chance to propose new resolutions each turn.

These resolutions would open up new trade, ban nuclear units, or force all the civilisations in the game to adopt certain civic options. If enough civilisations vote in favour of the proposal, it becomes a global rule.

The final proposal basically asks the other civilisations to vote you a diplomatic victory. If you gain the majority of the votes, you will win. By the time the game reaches 2500AD, the most advanced civilisation takes the game.

The terrain:
With a number of different worlds to choose, from desert plains, islands dotted on an endless sea and even a world modelled on our own, there are enough worlds to satisfy all.

Maps are detailed and the animations are fantastic, from being able to watch wild animals walking around the terrain to your troops in combat, you’ll be entranced.

The experience:
This is a highly addictive game that is hard to put down and is a much-improved version of the previous Civilization games.

There is just so much to experience in this game you will want to play it again and again.

Paintball fun for everyone
XBox

Greg Hastings’ Tournament Paintball Max’d

The game:
Run around in teams and shoot your mates with paintballs.

The play:
Simplze controls and simple terrain maps mean instant play and easy work for multi-player gaming.

The more points you win the more you can upgrade your gear to become more stealthy, more accurate and send more ammo down-range.

The terrain:
There are hundreds of maps but if you don’t like them you can make your own.

There’s heaps of variety and small compact areas, good for quick and decisive victories. The soundtrack is average and the sound effects – well they’re paintballs so they make different sounds depending on what they hit.

The experience:
Go seven-on-seven with your mates online, with the communicator open for cyber sledging.

Do some drive time at home

V8 Supercars 3
XBox

V8 Supercars 3

The game:
If you’re a car racing nut – then Atari has the title for you. If it has four wheels and it’s currently raced in motorsports today then you can simulate it.

The play:
Race how you want – be it championship mode in a professional career, or leap in and bash, thrash and hack through the circuits at one speed – flat out.

116 championships with authentic race rules and regulations will keep you on the straight and narrow.

You can still play last man standing thanks to the realistic damage engine which will not allow you to simply drive away after hitting a wall at over 200km/h.

Your tyres warm up and wear, your engine heats and blows and your competitors nudge and bash you just to add to the realism of the experience.

The more points you win the more you can upgrade your gear to become more stealthy, more accurate and send more ammo down-range.

The terrain:
Codemasters and Atari have done an excellent job on the graphics and the scenery is good.

The sound effects are awesome in surround sound. My neighbours could feel the throbbing of the mighty V8s on the grid just before the green light.

Go online with 12 of your mates and then see who really is the last person driving.

The experience:
This title has plenty of variety for all car enthusiasts which is what makes it so great. Highly recommended for the collection.

Driver – Parallel Lines
PS2

Driver - Parallel Lines

The game:
It’s 1978 and you are 18-year-old TK. You have moved to New York City in search of excitement and you’ve found it in the underworld and are looking to make it big.

Things don’t go too well for you and, after some time in the joint, you’ve got a bit of payback in mind.

The play:
Standard gangster / car racing deals here – race, collect packages, steal a car, fit it with a bomb and then drive it back to where you found it so the owner can get an explosive surprise.

Some missions are on foot, but mostly you’re behind the wheel and, when you’re trying to shoot and drive, you’ll find the in-game targeting system quite annoying.

The police will only mildly harass you as they’re never too difficult to avoid.

The terrain:
First up – the cut-scenes are superb.

The cars can handle a massive amount of unrealistic damage, the sound effects are decent and there is solid music in the 1978 section.

The experience:
This version is pretty much a Grand Theft Auto clone although you do have to obey the law (at times) – it’s a reasonable title and the 70s portion rocks.

- SQNLDR Nick Hogan

UP FOR GRABS

We have a copy of each of the games reviewed to give away. Send one entry to ADFgamesmen@bigpond.com.au with the name of the game in the subject line.

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