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Civ V
The unboxing of the box
This review/unboxing may come at an odd time. Most people who were waiting for this game have it already and the rest are willing to wait till the price drops. Well here it is anyway.
I was waiting for this game more than any other, I even pre-ordered it and I have never done that before. With pre-orders there was a big decision to make: which version. I could have gone steam order and got the cheaper regular version or for a $10 bump got 1 more map and a civ. I was tempted. But as I live in Taiwan I did some local online shopping. I found the regular disk was about the same as steam, but the box set had different goodies. Again I have never ordered a collectors, bonus or box set before, so I decided to splurge. I got the deluxe box set for about $65us shipped to my local 7-11. Most of the big convenient stores offer a shipping service here. They can do UPS, fed-ex but they also have their own. This is very convenient as I can pay cash and don’t have to worry about pick up. When the tracking said it had been sent from the local depot to the store I sat waiting by the phone. It seemed a long wait but right on time it came. And here it is:
![]()
Inside the plain brown box is... another box.
![]()
No packing material at all!
![]()
Would peanuts have been so hard to throw in? Lucky it seems none the worse for its trip. Outside the retail box is a nice paper sleeve, easy to remove.
![]()
![]()
Inside is a well packed box. First out is a coffee table book of art and game design information.
![]()
![]()
![]()
Next is the game disk itself.
![]()
Inside the folder is the one game disk and some advertising.
![]()
Also a big fold out tech tree and unit upgrade and experience chart.
![]()
![]()
This would have been good to read but who has time when there are barbarians waiting at your gate. While the game loads lets look what else is in there.
There are 2 bonus material disk folders.
![]()
The first is a 2 CD set of game music. Nice for any time you want to lave action the game in your living room or want to fall asleep away from the computer. The other is a making of DVD that I will confess I have not even opened yet.
![]()
Lastly, tucked away in a nice black fake felt box are these special miniatures.
![]()
They will look a lot better when painted but here is a good look at them naked. I even made a cheesy video so you can catch all the angles.
The box seemed to protect them well during transport and foiled my early attempts to remove them at all. But once a suitable tool was found to pry them loose I able to easily straighten the 2 with bent guns and they look nice. I would say on par with GW produce but with a bit less parts and more tiny details.
Now, on to game play. I had no trouble installing the game. I had heard it would require a big steam download and/or patch. This proved not to happen on my main computer. Once steam updated and was running on the computer there was only a small patch and check with steam. Then I was playing the game. One minute tops.
It was supposed to remove the demo from steam as well but this did not happen. I wonder if its because of my location. Either way, I was playing the game very quickly. However, when installing it onto my laptop it did need a huge download. This laptop needed to be updated with drivers and have steam installed. It then continued installing the game from steam instead of going back to the local disk. I assume you should install steam first and then insert the disk and install Civ. I will try that later.
I heard of some having issues with multi monitors or odd mouse behavior. I did find some evidence of this. If a Skype msg popped up or other programs asked for attention the mouse to screen aliment went out. But this was easy to fix by simply minimizing civ then returning to the game using the Alt+Tab keys. It was annoying enough that I turned off skype and as many other programs as I could. I also had an odd glitch with the opening movie. I remember this being a problem with other civ games. It is also hard to skip the opening adds and movie. Then an online rating warning pops up every time. OK, why no dismiss forever check?
I have a good system but not great. I can play the game on maximum settings smoothly and it looks great! It does slow down a bit on the end game, the time you have to wait after hitting “end turn†is the only delay I can feel though. I like the look of hexes. I only notice the difference when trying to attack a city.
The game plays a lot like the previous Civ’s, don’t expect a whole new game here. All the basics are still here and if you have played before you can jump right in. The changes are many and subtle however. Some I did not notice right away while others jump out right away but soon seem ordinary.
For example, the city states. These are smaller one city civ’s that can give bonuses to you or the opposing players. They can be a nice boost or a light snack depending on how aggressive you are. Getting a free unit of tech is never a bad thing. Its tempting to take them over early but I like to keep them for interest and to see what they can bring. They can also act as a buffer between you and other nations and even hold them off with a unit gift or too when you need time to take on other things.
Another is the demise of troop transports. After a tech or two any unit can just jump into the water and turn into a boat. A week easy to kill boat, so you will want to protect them. Some civ's even get a bonus to this and loose negative for jumping in or out of the water. Its a fun thing to play with!
![]()
Hexes, love em or leave ‘em, they are the new squares. Movement seem natural while buying tiles in the map screen took some getting used to. Losing the unit stacks is not a bad thing and remember some units can still stack or move over others. The map feels more real and movement and logistics is more important now. My old city placement grid does not work and cities seem to use more of the map now. Resources are slightly different now. If you only have one of a needed item you can only produce one unit that needs it. I found myself using the resources and rivers to place cities more. Line of sight is also blocked by hills and other raised terrain, making ranged unit placement not as easy as you might think.
Each leader has the unique abilities and units. I try to use leaders that have good beginning of game units and abilities. The Germans had panzer's. I found by the time I can build them the game is already decided. Its a nice mix of civilizations some old and some new and each has a few difficult achievements to unlock.
The difficulty does ramp up quick if you pick any harder than the first 2. The biggest thing is happiness. I was rampaging over all my neighbours on one game but had to stop and build happy buildings in all my towns. Even leaving new cities as puppets eats your happiness quite quickly. The tec tree seems very similar to older versions but there are hidden gems that help more than others. On harder difficulties I can see needing to pick much more carefully.
So all in all, this is a great game. A true addition to the long line of Civ’s and worthy of the “just one more turn†achievement. I stayed up 3 hrs past bed time on a work night the first day. I highly recommend this to anyone looking for a solid turn based strategy game. It won’t fix your twitch need but if you like to think in your games this one is for you. So stop waiting and get it now!
![]()
The unboxing of the box
This review/unboxing may come at an odd time. Most people who were waiting for this game have it already and the rest are willing to wait till the price drops. Well here it is anyway.
I was waiting for this game more than any other, I even pre-ordered it and I have never done that before. With pre-orders there was a big decision to make: which version. I could have gone steam order and got the cheaper regular version or for a $10 bump got 1 more map and a civ. I was tempted. But as I live in Taiwan I did some local online shopping. I found the regular disk was about the same as steam, but the box set had different goodies. Again I have never ordered a collectors, bonus or box set before, so I decided to splurge. I got the deluxe box set for about $65us shipped to my local 7-11. Most of the big convenient stores offer a shipping service here. They can do UPS, fed-ex but they also have their own. This is very convenient as I can pay cash and don’t have to worry about pick up. When the tracking said it had been sent from the local depot to the store I sat waiting by the phone. It seemed a long wait but right on time it came. And here it is:
Inside the plain brown box is... another box.
No packing material at all!
Would peanuts have been so hard to throw in? Lucky it seems none the worse for its trip. Outside the retail box is a nice paper sleeve, easy to remove.
Inside is a well packed box. First out is a coffee table book of art and game design information.
Next is the game disk itself.
Inside the folder is the one game disk and some advertising.
Also a big fold out tech tree and unit upgrade and experience chart.
This would have been good to read but who has time when there are barbarians waiting at your gate. While the game loads lets look what else is in there.
There are 2 bonus material disk folders.
The first is a 2 CD set of game music. Nice for any time you want to lave action the game in your living room or want to fall asleep away from the computer. The other is a making of DVD that I will confess I have not even opened yet.
Lastly, tucked away in a nice black fake felt box are these special miniatures.
They will look a lot better when painted but here is a good look at them naked. I even made a cheesy video so you can catch all the angles.
The box seemed to protect them well during transport and foiled my early attempts to remove them at all. But once a suitable tool was found to pry them loose I able to easily straighten the 2 with bent guns and they look nice. I would say on par with GW produce but with a bit less parts and more tiny details.
Now, on to game play. I had no trouble installing the game. I had heard it would require a big steam download and/or patch. This proved not to happen on my main computer. Once steam updated and was running on the computer there was only a small patch and check with steam. Then I was playing the game. One minute tops.
It was supposed to remove the demo from steam as well but this did not happen. I wonder if its because of my location. Either way, I was playing the game very quickly. However, when installing it onto my laptop it did need a huge download. This laptop needed to be updated with drivers and have steam installed. It then continued installing the game from steam instead of going back to the local disk. I assume you should install steam first and then insert the disk and install Civ. I will try that later.I heard of some having issues with multi monitors or odd mouse behavior. I did find some evidence of this. If a Skype msg popped up or other programs asked for attention the mouse to screen aliment went out. But this was easy to fix by simply minimizing civ then returning to the game using the Alt+Tab keys. It was annoying enough that I turned off skype and as many other programs as I could. I also had an odd glitch with the opening movie. I remember this being a problem with other civ games. It is also hard to skip the opening adds and movie. Then an online rating warning pops up every time. OK, why no dismiss forever check?
I have a good system but not great. I can play the game on maximum settings smoothly and it looks great! It does slow down a bit on the end game, the time you have to wait after hitting “end turn†is the only delay I can feel though. I like the look of hexes. I only notice the difference when trying to attack a city.
The game plays a lot like the previous Civ’s, don’t expect a whole new game here. All the basics are still here and if you have played before you can jump right in. The changes are many and subtle however. Some I did not notice right away while others jump out right away but soon seem ordinary.
For example, the city states. These are smaller one city civ’s that can give bonuses to you or the opposing players. They can be a nice boost or a light snack depending on how aggressive you are. Getting a free unit of tech is never a bad thing. Its tempting to take them over early but I like to keep them for interest and to see what they can bring. They can also act as a buffer between you and other nations and even hold them off with a unit gift or too when you need time to take on other things.
Another is the demise of troop transports. After a tech or two any unit can just jump into the water and turn into a boat. A week easy to kill boat, so you will want to protect them. Some civ's even get a bonus to this and loose negative for jumping in or out of the water. Its a fun thing to play with!
Hexes, love em or leave ‘em, they are the new squares. Movement seem natural while buying tiles in the map screen took some getting used to. Losing the unit stacks is not a bad thing and remember some units can still stack or move over others. The map feels more real and movement and logistics is more important now. My old city placement grid does not work and cities seem to use more of the map now. Resources are slightly different now. If you only have one of a needed item you can only produce one unit that needs it. I found myself using the resources and rivers to place cities more. Line of sight is also blocked by hills and other raised terrain, making ranged unit placement not as easy as you might think.
Each leader has the unique abilities and units. I try to use leaders that have good beginning of game units and abilities. The Germans had panzer's. I found by the time I can build them the game is already decided. Its a nice mix of civilizations some old and some new and each has a few difficult achievements to unlock.
The difficulty does ramp up quick if you pick any harder than the first 2. The biggest thing is happiness. I was rampaging over all my neighbours on one game but had to stop and build happy buildings in all my towns. Even leaving new cities as puppets eats your happiness quite quickly. The tec tree seems very similar to older versions but there are hidden gems that help more than others. On harder difficulties I can see needing to pick much more carefully.
So all in all, this is a great game. A true addition to the long line of Civ’s and worthy of the “just one more turn†achievement. I stayed up 3 hrs past bed time on a work night the first day. I highly recommend this to anyone looking for a solid turn based strategy game. It won’t fix your twitch need but if you like to think in your games this one is for you. So stop waiting and get it now!
