Sid Meier's Civilization VI: A Game of Exploration and Strategy

As a long-time fan of the Civilization series, I was excited to dive into Sid Meier's Civilization VI. The changes and updates that were made to the game were super intriguing to me, especially when it came to the city-building aspect. In previous games, cities were built and then stacked on top of each other, with little attention paid to aesthetics or functionality. But in Civilization VI, the city-building aspect has been overhauled, with a greater emphasis on districts and planning.

The new system requires players to think ahead and plan their city's layout carefully. This means that you need to decide what kind of district to build first, whether it's a Commerce District for trade or an Industrial District for manufacturing. And as you progress through the game, you'll need to balance your city's needs with its limitations, making sure that each district has enough space and resources to function effectively. This level of planning and management adds a new layer of strategy to the game, one that requires players to think critically about their city's layout and growth.

One of the most interesting aspects of Civilization VI is the way that different civilizations interact with each other. In previous games, AI civilizations were relatively one-dimensional, with little personality or motivation beyond basic aggression and expansion. But in Civilization VI, each civilization has its own unique traits and behaviors, reflecting its history and culture. For example, the French civilization is known for its love of art and architecture, while the British are more focused on trade and commerce. These differences can have a significant impact on gameplay, as players must adapt their strategy to take advantage of their chosen civilization's strengths and weaknesses.

The game's AI, however, is still not quite up to par. While Prince difficulty provides a challenging but fair experience, higher difficulties quickly become frustratingly easy or excruciatingly difficult. This lack of balance can be frustrating for players who have invested hours into the game, only to find that the AI is no longer providing a suitable challenge. And while multiplayer mode is excellent, it's not enough to make up for the AI's shortcomings.

One area where Civilization VI truly shines is in its user interface and usability. The game's graphics are stunning, with beautifully rendered cities and landscapes that bring the world of civilization to life. But some of the UI elements can be confusing or frustrating, particularly when it comes to clicking through menus or navigating the game's various systems. And while the tutorial provides a helpful introduction to the game, it's clear that many players will struggle to navigate the game's complexities.

The game also features a new system for governments and policies, which is implemented as a deck of cards. Players can unlock these cards by researching certain technologies or completing specific objectives, and then use them to influence their government and shape their civilization's future. This system adds a new layer of depth and complexity to the game, allowing players to experiment with different strategies and combinations of cards.

Despite its many strengths, Civilization VI is not without its flaws. The AI, as mentioned earlier, can be frustrating at times, and some of the UI elements can be confusing or annoying. But overall, I believe that these issues are minor compared to the game's many benefits. And with the release of expansions and mods, there's no shortage of new content to look forward to.

In conclusion, Sid Meier's Civilization VI is a game that offers something for everyone. With its emphasis on city-building, strategy, and exploration, it's a game that will appeal to fans of the series as well as newcomers. While it may have some flaws, including an AI that can be frustrating at times, I believe that these issues are minor compared to the game's many strengths. If you're a fan of strategy games or just looking for a challenging and rewarding experience, Civilization VI is definitely worth checking out.

The game's multiplayer mode is also excellent, offering a fun and competitive way to play with friends or strangers online. The game's graphics and sound design are top-notch, with beautifully rendered cities and landscapes that bring the world of civilization to life. And while some of the UI elements can be confusing or frustrating, the game's overall usability is generally good.

One thing that stands out about Civilization VI is its sense of freedom and experimentation. With a wide range of civilizations to choose from, technologies to research, and policies to implement, players have the freedom to experiment with different strategies and combinations of cards. This level of depth and complexity adds a new layer of replayability to the game, making it feel like a true simulation rather than just a casual strategy game.

Overall, I believe that Sid Meier's Civilization VI is a game that will continue to be enjoyed by fans of the series for years to come. With its emphasis on city-building, strategy, and exploration, it's a game that offers something for everyone. While it may have some flaws, including an AI that can be frustrating at times, I believe that these issues are minor compared to the game's many benefits. If you're a fan of strategy games or just looking for a challenging and rewarding experience, Civilization VI is definitely worth checking out.

"WEBVTTKind: captionsLanguage: enGreetings, and welcome to another LGR quickie and today,I would like to somewhat quickly talk aboutSid Meier's Civilization VI.And as you might be able to tell asI flash you with my geeky cred here,I'm a little bit of a Civilization fan.Always have been, really. I was introduced to the seriesas a kid by my uncle and I've been into it ever since!I always loved to check out the new iteration of Civ,but usually, after about a year after its release.You know, after its got a bunch of patches and they've ironed outsome of the kinks and weird stuff, given it an expansion or two.And if you're not familiar withthe whole idea of Civilization, well,well, it's pretty much a 4x turn-based strategy game, so...Explore, Exterminate, whatever the heck - it's one ofthose things where you start off in ancient times or you can,and you go off into the future until you go to space.And it just sort of goes infinitely after that,and you just keep playing one more turn,after one more turn, afterone more turn, until your life is gone...and it's awesome because you were playing Civ.I chose to dive into VI though becausethe changes and the updates and whatnotthey were super intriguing to me.SPECIFICALLY, the city-building aspectthat they have added to Civilization now.So if you weren't aware, in the past,Civilization had you building citiesand then you would just sort ofstack things on that city, and you know,things would get piled in there, andit would kind of look you know, whatever.It could stand to use a little bit of an overhaul andwhat they've done here is that they've unstacked them,much like they unstacked units in Civilization V previously,but it's gone even further with these citiesand now that you have to rely on districts for things -You know, you want a bank, you're gonna have to havea Commerce District, you want a Factory, you need Industrial, etc.So, you have to think ahead and doa little bit of city planning, and as a fan ofCivilization, SimCity, Caesar,and other games of that ilk,this is super fun to me, and...It's also just interesting with some of the effectsthat you don't think about as you're buildinguntil like, much later in the game,like say you discover uranium, and...Whoops, it's underneath your district for Culture!But that, you know, that's the price you pay for choosingNto build the things that you use in each city. It gives...if you play it right, each city more of a specialization.And you're not just having every city to have every single thing.You're just gonna run out of room in a lot of cases.And that's pretty neat.Another smaller change thatmakes a pretty notable differenceis that the civilizations that you run into, like AI playersand whatnot, are each going to have their own agendas.And other details that you can lookinto regarding how they act,what they're gonna expect from you,and it makes things more clear,when, you know, say they denounce you ordeclare war on you for very specific things.It also adds extra options like making more deals:Casus Belli, or however you pronounce it, things like that thatyou maybe you're not gonna have as much of a warmonger policyif you declare a holy war on themin a certain situation, like,it makes that much more fascinatingto deal with each individual civilization.Another thing that they've added is religious stuff,not just to the point of whatthey did in Gods and Kings with Civ V,but also a Religious Victory condition now,so that you have your traditional Domination,and Culture, and Science, and Points,but now you have your Religious Victory andthat's the only victory so far that I havenot actually achieved. I've gotten close, but...as you might imagine, it's pretty hard to convertthe entire world to follow your religion,but I really like the overhauls thatthey've done to religion here.With one exception, and that is religious fighting,like theological debate, I guess it's called.They just call down lightning on each otherand there's not really anything to it,not much strategy or tactics involved there at all.You just send an apostle out and they fight.They've also split up the Technology and Civicsand they're both their own trees now, but...It's all kind of split up, and...actually, I kind of like that becauseit provides some different things to go for in a different orderthan maybe you were able to in previous Civ games,and there's some really interestingcombinations of going for certain Civics.I like that sort of anachronistic weirdnesswhere you get to play with historyand this provides some extra opportunities to that in a...a way that's a little more streamlined, maybe.It looks complicated, but it's really not too bad.Another thing that they've changed in regardsto this, making governments and whatnot,placing policies, they're now cards.And so you unlock these cards and you have slotsdepending on what kind of government you have.I got used to this...surprisingly quickly!As long as your people are sort of okay with that governmentswitch, you can make it at the appropriate time and thentotally go overboard with something that'sgonna help your civilization right that moment!And, it felt... more free, I guess, to experimentwith what kind of government I had,and then mix and matching pieces ofthe other ones with these cardsand placing them in a different orderwith wildcards and things. It's pretty neat!But yeah, this is not a perfect game, even thoughit's one of my favorites of 2016. It's got some issues.The AI, as always, I mean...it's never particularly good.Prince is fine, you stick to Prince difficulty,which is smack-dab in the middle,everything's on a pretty level playing field,but you go above that, and the AI cheats to a ridiculous degree,and you go below that, and they just do nothing! It's no challenge!And um... there's a little bit of leewaythere with some of the difficulties,but it's just not very satisfying afteryou've played through three or four games.And at this point, I've spent about 75 hourswith it and I'm... like tired of the AI, really.So multiplayer is pretty much where I wanna be playingright now. And it's awesome there, multiplayer works great!Also not great are some ofthe *really* bizarre choicesin terms of the user interface andhands-on usability of this game.There's some real problems with stuff- Clicks not going through,notifications not working right or not going away, or...coming up the wrong time, or juststuff totally getting lost! I mean, there's still...icons and buttons that I have no idea what they do.The tutorial only helps so much, the CivPedia...while definitely helpful, leaves somethingto be desired in terms of minutia.it's good at a broad example of what you need to do,but there's a lot of little stuff that is just...super irritating and they takeway too many clicks to get done.Still, regardless of some of the issues that it has and,eh, there's some room for improvement.I am not gonna deny thatit's still been one of the most enjoyable gamesthat I've played in 2016 and it's a *fine* additioninto the Civilization series, in my opinion.In fact, it might be the best base Civ game we've had...in two or three iterations now,and heh, that's worthy of praise.It still needs some work though,so maybe don't spend the $60, uh...or just, you know, wait for a discount, I'm sure there'll bea discount during Christmas, Holidays, that kind of thing, on SteamSo yeah, I'm really looking forwardto expansions and mods and justplaying more because I'm notanywhere near done with this game.It's a lot of fun.\"Embrace the chill winds of the motherland, Tsar Peter.Your fascination with science and culture is a gift.\"\n"