Sid Meier's Civilization: Beyond Earth

 PC
User Score
5.5

Mixed or average reviews- based on 1084 Ratings

User score distribution:
  1. Positive: 343 out of 1084
  2. Mixed: 374 out of 1084
  3. Negative: 367 out of 1084
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  1. Zapiii
    Jul 31, 2023
    0
    The black sheep of the franchise, and for good reason. It tries to do something new, and fails, spectacularly.
  2. justandi
    Jul 14, 2023
    0
    Feels like a cheaper copy of Civilization 5, diplomacy is even worse than Civilization 5
  3. Worstgamever
    Jul 30, 2022
    0
    Worst game I have ever played my entire life I would rather consume a bucket of paint
  4. Wrathzo
    Mar 25, 2022
    4
    Sid Meier's Civilization: Beyond Earth is a turn-based strategy, 4X video game in the Civilization series developed by Firaxis Games and published by 2K Games. The game's setting is unique to the Civilization series in that it takes place in the future, with mankind traveling through space and founding colonies on extraterrestrial planets after Earth becomes uninhabitable due to anSid Meier's Civilization: Beyond Earth is a turn-based strategy, 4X video game in the Civilization series developed by Firaxis Games and published by 2K Games. The game's setting is unique to the Civilization series in that it takes place in the future, with mankind traveling through space and founding colonies on extraterrestrial planets after Earth becomes uninhabitable due to an undescribed disaster known as "the Great Mistake". Beyond Earth is a turn-based strategy game played on a hexagonal-based grid, iterating the ideas and building upon the engine of its predecessor, Civilization V.[8] Co-lead designer David McDonough described the relationship between the two games by saying "The bones of the experience are very much recognisably Civ. The idea of the cities, city-base progression, leaders, the passage of time, tile-based, turn-based, building improvements, technologies. A lot of them are very familiar themes to the Civ player.… Expand
  5. gracjanski
    Nov 2, 2020
    4
    The idea of the game makes you surely curious to play it: the best strategy gameplay combines with an interesting sci-fi setting, where you try to survive against the aliens (hmm...in truth we are the aliens ;) ) and compete with other colonists. Great cinematics improves this feeling to get into a new world, the music is also great.

    But...it is true, the game is not done, even in 2020.    The idea of the game makes you surely curious to play it: the best strategy gameplay combines with an interesting sci-fi setting, where you try to survive against the aliens (hmm...in truth we are the aliens ;) ) and compete with other colonists. Great cinematics improves this feeling to get into a new world, the music is also great.

    But...it is true, the game is not done, even in 2020.
    Something is missing, somehow it is boring to have more or less the same units, buildings and the same era.
    The quests are a good idea and well written, but they are only text, at least there should be some pictures. In addition the messages are so political correct, as the whole game.
    The tech tree is very important in the Civ series and was understandable, here it is confusing with a lot of branches and mixed with an affinity system.
    And yes, the AI is so bad sometimes, they declare war on you, although they are much weaker and you had very good relationship before. In another game they went on war and the AI was much stronger, but their army was far way. In a third game I was dominant and had 2 allies, a lonely and weak AI declared war anyway, lol. So stupid, it ruins the game a lot and it is impossible to change the AI via modification. Overall there are not many good mods out there, I recommend Codex overhaul and Infoaddict.
    And, this is not the end of the bad things in this game. We have end of 2020 and this game is 6 years old. On steam this game costs 60€ with the very needed DLC Rising Tide. 60€ !!. This is unacceptable, so I didnt buy it, but played it anyway. It should cost about 10-15€ today by the way. An alternative is to play it retail, where the prizes are lower, but still too high. Or you play the "lost copy from the truck".    … Expand
  6. xspidermanx322
    May 13, 2016
    4
    I'm a huge fan of the Civ series and I was very excited for this version of Civilization. However, since Civ VI is coming out and they've only released one expansion trying to fix this game I can't give it more than a 6. It's just not that great. It's pretty, but everything that makes a Civ game great seems incredibly lacking in this version. Diplomacy is a big deal for me and theI'm a huge fan of the Civ series and I was very excited for this version of Civilization. However, since Civ VI is coming out and they've only released one expansion trying to fix this game I can't give it more than a 6. It's just not that great. It's pretty, but everything that makes a Civ game great seems incredibly lacking in this version. Diplomacy is a big deal for me and the diplomacy in this game is AWFUL. It's laughably bad. I suggest buying this if it's ever on a damn good sale. Until then, you might as well stay away.… Expand
  7. paranoid77
    Jan 20, 2016
    3
    Please, please; dont put civilization and Respectful Sid Meier name on this game. Its a shame and disappointment to make a game like this from S.Meier. A very very bad imitation of civilization.
    They just change the terrain and units and buildings and science. But where is AI. Its soo stupid.
    Dont buy this game, buy CIV 5 and play with mods, Mods created by players are much better then    Please, please; dont put civilization and Respectful Sid Meier name on this game. Its a shame and disappointment to make a game like this from S.Meier. A very very bad imitation of civilization.
    They just change the terrain and units and buildings and science. But where is AI. Its soo stupid.
    Dont buy this game, buy CIV 5 and play with mods, Mods created by players are much better then this and its free.    … Expand
  8. AnarchyAus
    Oct 26, 2015
    4
    I decided to play the game because of how much I loved Civ 5 and to say I was disappointed was an understatement. I would make the comparison that it feels like more of a Civ 5 mod then an actually stand alone game but that honestly would be insulting to the Civ modding community considering I have played mods for Civ 5 that have more more depth than Beyond Earth.
  9. omalley
    Jul 24, 2015
    1
    I am new to the Civ series. This was the first civ game I bought. I wasn't too impressed so I bought civ V. I was blown away by how better it was. Stick with Civ V. Way better.
  10. Derringer
    Jun 28, 2015
    0
    So from now on, after playing this one and Civilization V, I will consider Sid Meier's and their new games as . very good example of money leeches (like a lot of other videogaming companies). They give up any attempt to make a good deep game.They're recycling any good idea they had in the past and they are doing it wrong they are killing the very essence of Sid Meiers. only after the moneySo from now on, after playing this one and Civilization V, I will consider Sid Meier's and their new games as . very good example of money leeches (like a lot of other videogaming companies). They give up any attempt to make a good deep game.They're recycling any good idea they had in the past and they are doing it wrong they are killing the very essence of Sid Meiers. only after the money now. Huge dissapointment.

    Instead you should save your bucks and play again Alpha Centaury or Civilization II.    … Expand
  11. CarlosEmirSF
    Jun 22, 2015
    2
    Simple.. i just come here to negativate this game and i going back to play sid meiers brave new world..
    "here your least 150 chars......................"
  12. RickAucoin
    Jun 16, 2015
    1
    Talk about incredibly disappointing. Had no one in the dev team ever looked at Sid Meyers Alpha Centauri or Alien Crossfire?
    Did they not take note of how much atmosphere and character the SMAC devs managed to include in that game from low rez still images and voice-overs? How distinct the factions were from each other and how there was never any confusion as to what the goals and    Talk about incredibly disappointing. Had no one in the dev team ever looked at Sid Meyers Alpha Centauri or Alien Crossfire?
    Did they not take note of how much atmosphere and character the SMAC devs managed to include in that game from low rez still images and voice-overs? How distinct the factions were from each other and how there was never any confusion as to what the goals and actions of the various factions might be if you found yourself opposing them?
    If Sister Miriam ended up next door you knew what you were in for.
    So much incredible CHARACTER was in that game, and it was established by the technology voice-over quotes and the world wonder quotes as much as anything.
    Beyond Earth has NONE OF IT.
    And everything that is bad about CivV is included here in spades, just in case you missed needing a space the size of Nevada to make a u-turn in your bomber plane or needed a space the size of the Great Plains to have two tank divisions and an infantry squad maneuver.
    What was the point of this game? It's not even a good CivV reskin!
    There's no character. There's no FEEL to it. There's no distinction between the "factions" you get to pick from. There's no significant difference in how one or the other will behave when they are your neighbor. You will NEVER feel dread from discovering "Oh, no, Whatsername is my neighbor!" It just doesn't matter.
    And the Wonder Movies? Hah! The endgame? Hah!
    How, HOW, can an entire highly paid developer team not get ANY of the aspects that made SMAC a true classic of the genre right in this game? It doesn't appear that they even TRIED to do so.
    Trying and failing would be one thing. But this... this is just basic CivV with all its many flaws and shortcomings, with a mediocre sci-fi style mod set.
    I wouldn't approve of this if it were a freebie mod I downloaded for CivV. Much less as a full priced game.
    And the worst part? Firaxis will look at this game's poor performance in sales and critical reviews and just say "Well, there you go, turn based strategy just doesn't do well these days. Let's go spend all our time making Call of Duty knockoffs!"
    When it's not the game genre that is the problem. It's the utter lack of Firaxis even TRYING to make this game include all of the amazing stuff SMAC had.
    SMAC was Firaxis's first real success. There's no way I'll believe Firaxis doesn't know exactly what was awesome about that game. I just can't believe that.
    So why is none of it IN THIS GAME??    … Expand
  13. Critical_Fun
    Jun 10, 2015
    3
    I tried liking this. I tried for 68 hours. I don't get this game. What is the point? It's Civ V with different units and tech trees and terrain. And they are not improvements. The alien beasts require a maxed out tech tree and large army to defeat. Not sure why they did this. I ended up going back to Civ V and not looking back. I should not have spent the money on this. The worstI tried liking this. I tried for 68 hours. I don't get this game. What is the point? It's Civ V with different units and tech trees and terrain. And they are not improvements. The alien beasts require a maxed out tech tree and large army to defeat. Not sure why they did this. I ended up going back to Civ V and not looking back. I should not have spent the money on this. The worst thing about it, is that this was time wasted that they could've been working on Civ 6. Everything in this game, Civ V does a lot better.… Expand
  14. michael__b
    May 19, 2015
    4
    as of may 2015 this game is veryu buggy at best , worker automation is not working ( after some time they just stand there and do nothing but it spend there movements as if they did work ) the tech tree is horrible , so large and confusing you have no idea what to do or where to go to even build some new combat units , the affinity part is also broken you need to level up on one of 4as of may 2015 this game is veryu buggy at best , worker automation is not working ( after some time they just stand there and do nothing but it spend there movements as if they did work ) the tech tree is horrible , so large and confusing you have no idea what to do or where to go to even build some new combat units , the affinity part is also broken you need to level up on one of 4 style of game but have no clue how to .

    this is basically a haft baked civ 5 wannabe -- just get civ 5 or ANY other 4k game

    this game is simply not worth it - pending some massive updates I will stop playing    … Expand
  15. owen445x
    Apr 6, 2015
    3
    Regret buying this.

    Everyone hates you if you shoot an alien.. literally hate you.. so why play 2 of the factions that dont mind killing them.

    Researching is boring as sh*t, literally just research points that have the color faction you want to become.

    I played a few games and literally have no desire to continue what so ever.
  16. Megatanis
    Mar 23, 2015
    4
    Sid Meier's last good game (and it was very good..) was Civilization IV. Ace patrol was nice, yeah.
    Beyond Earth is boring, it's a reskin of Civ5 (which I absolutely disliked), and as a successor of Alpha Centauri it doesn't even get close. I still remember those secret project videos, absolutely brilliant. Alpha Centauri was (is) a much better game. Beyond Earth is not a terrible game, I    Sid Meier's last good game (and it was very good..) was Civilization IV. Ace patrol was nice, yeah.
    Beyond Earth is boring, it's a reskin of Civ5 (which I absolutely disliked), and as a successor of Alpha Centauri it doesn't even get close. I still remember those secret project videos, absolutely brilliant. Alpha Centauri was (is) a much better game. Beyond Earth is not a terrible game, I just find it uninteresting, boring and easy. Would deserve a 5 but I'm angry, because I know the Man can do a lot more, even though it's ten years things got a bit..streamlined.    … Expand
  17. Dartboard
    Mar 11, 2015
    4
    Feels like a comprehensive mod for Civ V, if anything. The AI is as incompetent as it has ever been, the diplomacy is lacking, and the decisions you make start to have little meaning to you as a player as time goes on. The lack of eras really gives you a feeling of little progression. There is nothing genuinely innovative to this game that keeps you hooked, either. When compared to Civ V +Feels like a comprehensive mod for Civ V, if anything. The AI is as incompetent as it has ever been, the diplomacy is lacking, and the decisions you make start to have little meaning to you as a player as time goes on. The lack of eras really gives you a feeling of little progression. There is nothing genuinely innovative to this game that keeps you hooked, either. When compared to Civ V + expansions, it really pales.… Expand
  18. uenoparker
    Feb 20, 2015
    1
    This review contains spoilers, click expand to view. After having a great time playing Civ IV and Civ V, I confess to being very disappointed with Civ BE. When you think of a futuristic game, what comes to mind? Advanced technologies? Maybe that's too much... what about modern, 21st century technologies? Still too much? How about mid-20th century? No?

    This game purports to have you as an interstellar colonial mission, and yet you are unable to map the planet's surface before landing. You are unable to develop a satellite that actually orbits the planet. You rely on trucks and ships to move materials rather than aircraft. Your scouts are ground-bound.

    What is the point of this? Civ V (and even Civ IV) plays better. Skip this over-priced offering and stick to one of the older games that's likely available much cheaper and with less room to disappoint.    … Expand
  19. Mittsies
    Feb 18, 2015
    0
    Are you new to the Civilization franchise? Play Civ V instead - it's a more complete game that outshines Beyond Earth in almost every single aspect. Are you already a Civ fan? Steer clear. Beyond Earth adds nothing new to the franchise and has no style. It feels like a total conversion mod of Civ V, but with extremely limited features. I guess you can wait for 2K games to pump out a bunchAre you new to the Civilization franchise? Play Civ V instead - it's a more complete game that outshines Beyond Earth in almost every single aspect. Are you already a Civ fan? Steer clear. Beyond Earth adds nothing new to the franchise and has no style. It feels like a total conversion mod of Civ V, but with extremely limited features. I guess you can wait for 2K games to pump out a bunch of costly DLC and then maybe the game will be playable once you've bought it 3 times over, but even then I have major doubts.

    Bottom line: an extreme disappointment. Don't be fooled by paid reviews and hype.    … Expand
  20. rodericrinehart
    Feb 7, 2015
    4
    Civilization has to be one of my 10 favorite franchises over the past 30 years and has brought me possibly thousands of hours of entertainment and great memories.

    This game honestly was disappointing and does not live up to the Civ name. It was tedious, lacked the depth of Civ V, and is really a watered-down, poorly done skin on Civ V. I wish I had never bought it.
  21. Jack_TheRipper
    Jan 25, 2015
    0
    This game is nothing but a watered down pos re-skin of civ5 with a plethora of bugs almost no new content over civ5 but some content from civ5 striped out or dumb ed down and at a price of $49.99 its a insult to any gamer please do yourself a favor and pass on this game that will not even be respectable until it gets its 2 mandatory firaxis expansions priced at $29.99 and a few dozen minorThis game is nothing but a watered down pos re-skin of civ5 with a plethora of bugs almost no new content over civ5 but some content from civ5 striped out or dumb ed down and at a price of $49.99 its a insult to any gamer please do yourself a favor and pass on this game that will not even be respectable until it gets its 2 mandatory firaxis expansions priced at $29.99 and a few dozen minor dlcs priced at about $5-$15 a piece just to make it worth taking a look at. But at that point you have to spend nearly $100 usd to make this game good; now ask yourself this should you have to pay that much for a OK game. NO! so send a message to firaxis and pass on this gold painted turd… Expand
  22. Stefanakis
    Jan 24, 2015
    2
    Lots of gamers awaited this game for a long time. Too much time passed between this and Alpha Centauri. Me of course among them. But I am sad to say this is a shadow of a game. Did they try out the mechanics ? Every time you end up micromanaging a fleet of trade vessels while waiting. There is no real choice in anything. This game needed another 6 months of testing and/or development.Lots of gamers awaited this game for a long time. Too much time passed between this and Alpha Centauri. Me of course among them. But I am sad to say this is a shadow of a game. Did they try out the mechanics ? Every time you end up micromanaging a fleet of trade vessels while waiting. There is no real choice in anything. This game needed another 6 months of testing and/or development.

    And I can proudly say that I am a Sid Meier fan. Civilization is the game I played and am playing more than any other game combined. I hope they take another good look at it . Maybe a DLC and another 50 bucks will fix it ...... /irony off    … Expand
  23. Atr0s
    Jan 22, 2015
    3
    Completely disappointing. Even though it's marketed as a completely different game, it's just a Civilization V with different wrapping. Yes, the UI is less intrusive and the game slightly more complex in some areas but there are too many downsides to it. For example, there are fewer choices of civs and all of them can pretty much follow the same paths, with their unique trait being a minorCompletely disappointing. Even though it's marketed as a completely different game, it's just a Civilization V with different wrapping. Yes, the UI is less intrusive and the game slightly more complex in some areas but there are too many downsides to it. For example, there are fewer choices of civs and all of them can pretty much follow the same paths, with their unique trait being a minor advantage at best and being the only way to distinguish themselves (they have access to the same units, no matter the path taken). They at least took note of previous criticism and actually introduced more customization as "random" event choices ("random" as they're mostly tied to your colonies' buildings and research) but failed to be creative in several other areas, for instance most of victory conditions (besides Domination) consist of researching a technology and building its associated Wonder.
    This could be a Civilization V mod if there were any grand modders like in the past (as of Civilization IV). We've got to thank the developers for that, for making such crap they basically shoved this part of the community through the back door. If you had experience with previous titles (when Civilization was still a good reference), you should stay away from this release.    … Expand
  24. Vayra
    Jan 20, 2015
    3
    C:BE is a difficult game to review negatively when played only for a short period of time. At first glance, you are offered a new Civilization game with a completely overhauled tech tree, new units, new surroundings and a new setting. It holds promise until you have finished a couple of games and realize the truth behind this Civilization V reskin.

    Did I just say 'Civ V reskin'? Indeed.    C:BE is a difficult game to review negatively when played only for a short period of time. At first glance, you are offered a new Civilization game with a completely overhauled tech tree, new units, new surroundings and a new setting. It holds promise until you have finished a couple of games and realize the truth behind this Civilization V reskin.

    Did I just say 'Civ V reskin'? Indeed. Every resource has been converted into a seemingly different, yet extremely similar mechanic. Gold has become Energy, for example, and Happiness has been changed to 'Health'. Sensible choices for the setting the game is in, but these design choices make C:BE feel, play and look like a reskin. The game is not helped either by the minimalistic UI and the complete lack of backstory or CGI movies, every pop up feels like a glorified text box with little flair or soul to it.

    The above is especially disturbing when you consider this is a 4X developed by Firaxis, a company that released a game such as Alpha Centauri. There are loads upon loads of hidden references to that game, but not one single moment does C:BE aspire to that level of greatness, polish or immersion.

    Every faction in the game feels like a lifeless husk dropped onto an alien planet with an odd and surreal backstory, supported by what is supposed to be the backbone of the game: Affinities. It is through this mechanic that you progress to stronger units with more unique abilities. Affinities can be combined, mixed and matched in any way the player sees fit; another example of a game mechanic that just hasn't really been fleshed out and thought over critically, because it results in every game becoming an 'affinity race' and having access to more than one at high level is always a huge advantage. End result? Every game is exactly the same: you rush a few cities, a few starting techs to boost production or fill the blanks in your economy, and the affinity race starts. Early game units are nowhere near strong enough to rush enemy cities or really make a lasting difference, since the alien population will most likely destroy those attempts completely, while becoming utterly worthless and underpowered once you obtain the first Affinity-based unit. Oh, and don't even think those aliens will ever be an issue, or the planet will ever be a threat to your growth and prosperity. There IS no threat in C:BE. There is only the 'next turn' button, which you will find yourself clicking like a madman to finish that affinity race and finish the game.

    C:BE misses the mark completely as an enticing, deep or challenging 4X. It looks nice, sounds good, and that about sums it all up. All the rest feels like an incomplete shell of rehashed Civ V mechanics that lack in every respect.

    My two cents: avoid like the plague, maybe revisit after it has been expanded and properly fleshed out. C:BE is a shameless copy of tried and tested concepts with a price tag of a whole new game, which it is clearly not. There are dozens of 4X games that do literally every single thing a lót better.    … Expand
  25. pettina
    Jan 18, 2015
    1
    This game was a huge disappointment. It's trying to be something what they couldn't do. Game is just too complicated even oldschool civ fan. Tech trees is too complicated. Units get killed one shot by aliens in field. I can recommended this game only for star-craft people. And only if you like turn-based combat !
  26. diehard-gamer
    Jan 17, 2015
    1
    Slow. Slow. Unplayable slow. My basic Win 8 laptop will happily run Skyrim (low settings, game controller, all DLC plus 50 or so mods) at 25FPS. But Civ Beyond Earth (small world or tutorial, min graphics settings) runs like a snail swimming uphill through treacle. It takes so long to load the game and menu screens I'm never sure whether its crashed - then simply scrolling around the mapSlow. Slow. Unplayable slow. My basic Win 8 laptop will happily run Skyrim (low settings, game controller, all DLC plus 50 or so mods) at 25FPS. But Civ Beyond Earth (small world or tutorial, min graphics settings) runs like a snail swimming uphill through treacle. It takes so long to load the game and menu screens I'm never sure whether its crashed - then simply scrolling around the map in game is a frustrating jerky nightmare. This is a sim FFS - so how much graphics power does think it needs! It may be a good game, but I doubt I'll ever find out. The developers need to get the programming sorted.… Expand
  27. Canisrah
    Jan 17, 2015
    2
    This game is little more than a mod for Civ 5 - and not a very good mod at that. I don't know how they managed it, but Beyond Earth takes an interesting premise and the engine from Civ V and takes away all traces of personality, atmosphere and...fun. It's a soulless game which seems to be more about learning the game systems to win without ever engaging the player in the sorts of emergentThis game is little more than a mod for Civ 5 - and not a very good mod at that. I don't know how they managed it, but Beyond Earth takes an interesting premise and the engine from Civ V and takes away all traces of personality, atmosphere and...fun. It's a soulless game which seems to be more about learning the game systems to win without ever engaging the player in the sorts of emergent game play and stories for which Civ V and it's predecessors are famous. That addictive 'one-more-turn' mentality that Civ V promotes is simply absent in Beyond Earth and it's more of a chore to keep playing than a pleasure.

    Disappointing.    … Expand
  28. condythug
    Jan 15, 2015
    1
    Terrible game and not fit to bear the Civilization name. Sid Meier must be nearing his retirement if this is the sort of trash that he is turning out nowadays. i stopped playing it once i got into the early turns; boring graphics, strange bugs, stupid gameplay and quest goals. looks like games nowadays are all following the same formulae, "go there get that, come back get rewards"Terrible game and not fit to bear the Civilization name. Sid Meier must be nearing his retirement if this is the sort of trash that he is turning out nowadays. i stopped playing it once i got into the early turns; boring graphics, strange bugs, stupid gameplay and quest goals. looks like games nowadays are all following the same formulae, "go there get that, come back get rewards" repeat 100000 times.

    thank god i manage to get a refund for this piece of trash. advise to PC players, save your money and go play the old Civilization games instead (Civ 4) if u want a really good Civ game. This one is for the dustbin.    … Expand
  29. Dethmar
    Jan 12, 2015
    4
    I've been coming to metacritic for years to read reviews and opinions. You always have to read the user reviews with a grain of salt as there are far too many gut reaction reviews thrown in. However, I've put in a good 20 hours into this game and can't help but feel utterly and completely cheated and disappointed.

    I am a big fan of the series, recently playing Civ V for over 60    I've been coming to metacritic for years to read reviews and opinions. You always have to read the user reviews with a grain of salt as there are far too many gut reaction reviews thrown in. However, I've put in a good 20 hours into this game and can't help but feel utterly and completely cheated and disappointed.

    I am a big fan of the series, recently playing Civ V for over 60 hours...I absolutely loved that game. Beyond Earth takes so many of the things that were good in Civ V and either simply rehashes them with space-like skins or removes them from the game entirely. Believable AI personalities with character? Gone. A good variety of units for each race? Gone (yes you get more variety as you progress through the game but a lot are just a very slight variation on the previous unit). Building an empire through various Ages in technology and innovation? Gone (instead a dependent-based tech tree is utilized and it's not pretty).

    Beyond Earth uses the same graphics engine as Civ V...this isn't necessarily a negative b/c I love the art style in both games. However, it makes it feel like a professional mod instead of a full priced game. In fact, almost every aspect of the game could have been created with a mod. If the game sold as a $25 expansion, it would have been a good addition to the series.

    In my over 20 years of gaming, I've never been so upset and disappointed in a release. This past fall saw some great games drop (see Dragon Age, Destiny, Endless Legend, Divinity, Talos Principle) and I was looking forward to Beyond Earth above them all. All in all, the game has a great concept that is lazy in its execution and innovation.    … Expand
  30. Zeriel
    Jan 6, 2015
    0
    Wow is this game a huge disappointment! basically the same exact thing as Civ V but remove ALL OF THE CIVILIZATIONS and replace them by some customizations that will always play the same! The game is repetitive and boring! It may not deserve a Zero, maybe a 4 but I'm giving it a 0 to combat all of the dishonest critics giving it 10s just because is a Civ game

    I want another Warlock game!
  31. Swiftright
    Jan 1, 2015
    3
    Writing this review kills me, I wanted to love this game, I really did. But it is just a re-skinned version of Civ5 minus all of the character that made civ5 enjoyable. It's especially disappointing considering that SMAC was possibly the greatest "world" that a 4x ever existed in.

    Factions feel like spreadsheets. Units might as well be archers and musketmen in SPACE! and while the tech    Writing this review kills me, I wanted to love this game, I really did. But it is just a re-skinned version of Civ5 minus all of the character that made civ5 enjoyable. It's especially disappointing considering that SMAC was possibly the greatest "world" that a 4x ever existed in.

    Factions feel like spreadsheets. Units might as well be archers and musketmen in SPACE! and while the tech web is an interesting idea its really just a different way of displaying a tech tree. I understand that SMAC has gone to the IP graveyard but come on, why couldn't they have just done Sid Meier's Beta Sirus??

    Sales wise the game has not faired well which I expect will be blamed on a lack of demand for sifi 4x vs consumers rejecting a poorly thought out game which means that we won't see another game like this for years. And 2k, how much money did you spend on reviews??? Rarely do you see a game with such a huge divide between professional critics and gamers. SMBE might have been a decent game if 2k would have taken the money spent on review writers and hired a professional scifi writer to flesh things out for their game.    … Expand
  32. FreeAsInBeer
    Dec 29, 2014
    2
    Let me start by saying that I've never played Alpha Centauri, so I don't have any expectations for this being a "spiritual successor," etc. However, I have spent hundreds of hours with Civilization V, its expansion packs and some of the previous Civilization games. That said, my expectations for this game were quite high. And unfortunately, I was disappointed.

    This game feels like a    Let me start by saying that I've never played Alpha Centauri, so I don't have any expectations for this being a "spiritual successor," etc. However, I have spent hundreds of hours with Civilization V, its expansion packs and some of the previous Civilization games. That said, my expectations for this game were quite high. And unfortunately, I was disappointed.

    This game feels like a reskin of Civ V, but not as polished; most aspects of the game have a one-to-one correlation with it. Instead of gold, you have energy. Happiness is now health. Workers now ride in robot machine things (which can enter water tiles, so that's cool). Espionage is still there, founding cities works relatively similarly, and fighting is exactly how it did in Civ V (with the exception of getting mutilated by incredibly overpowered and sometimes aggressive aliens).

    There are several negative changes to the game as well. Some of those include:
    - Barbs have been replaced with aliens, which are even more random and difficult to deal with. They don't attack your cities as frequently, but they can utterly destroy early game units. If you're unfortunate enough to have several nests located near your founding city, and you're playing on anything beyond easier difficulties, exploration can be hindered because of this.
    - When you research a tech or build a wonder, a dialog pops up with a quote (and no picture). The quote is entirely fictional and doesn't carry emotional/historical weight like the quotes from Civ V.
    - No religion. I know this was part of a Civ V expansion, but without this system the game feels less complete. Being in space there are tons of new systems they could incorporate that wouldn't work as well in a historical setting. It seems like this could have been in vanilla BE, and they simply chose not to include it.
    - Victory conditions are not equally difficult to achieve, meaning that most players will opt for the easier win conditions.
    - Owning a sprawling empire is simply not economically possible like it was in Civ V. If you own any more than a handful of cities in the first 150 turns, your economy will tank.

    Perhaps I'm judging this game too harshly because I know what Firaxis can achieve, and this simply misses the mark. Perhaps I'm being unfair comparing Civ V + expansions to a recently released title. But even comparing BE to vanilla Civ V, this game is a disappointment and would be better offered as an optional expansion pack to Civ V than a standalone game. I recommend waiting to purchase this game until an expansion comes out that balances what's there, and adds more systems to make the game feel more complete. Maybe I'll give it another shot when that happens.    … Expand
  33. Ehriggn
    Dec 28, 2014
    1
    In no way deserving of a high score, large important parts of the game do not work properly.(covert ops, improvement repair, station spawning, line of sight), and the parts that work perfectly are poorly thought out(Affinity system is imbalanced at end game, sponsors and cargo choices are imbalanced at start).

    There would be a lot of good things to say about BE if those things were in    In no way deserving of a high score, large important parts of the game do not work properly.(covert ops, improvement repair, station spawning, line of sight), and the parts that work perfectly are poorly thought out(Affinity system is imbalanced at end game, sponsors and cargo choices are imbalanced at start).

    There would be a lot of good things to say about BE if those things were in anyway new. or even improved from Civ 5. The list of things that are copy/pasted from Civ V is long and shameful. (DIplomacy, city management, trade, SAME BUGS like planes not finishing an animation, just repeating it over and over, worker improvements, Multiplayer instability, Even the opening screen that states the game has a HISTORICAL setting and any similarity to people is coincidence, etc, etc)

    Beyond Earth is half the game Alpha Centauri is, and not even a fraction of the game Civ 5 is. I would recommend either of those games over Beyond Earth.    … Expand
  34. MongoLloyd
    Dec 20, 2014
    3
    five dollar game at best. why that requires a hundred and fifty characters to get across is absurd. the beauty of language is the minimal effort it takes to say, "the game is not so good. 310. wait for it to be five dollars" done.
  35. owen1218
    Dec 14, 2014
    4
    Exactly what Firaxis said it wouldn't be: a mod of Civ V. For the standards of a mod it isn't a bad one, but it's absurd to sell this as if it was a new game.
  36. Lord_Rapo
    Dec 14, 2014
    3
    I have started with Civilization 1. In my opinion, the game got with every release better.
    Sid Meier achieved the peak with Civ4 - Conquest.
    All Civ's after where not anymore the game liked so. Civilization:
    Beyond Earth is definitely the last Civ i bought.
    The game develops in a direction that I do not like anymore.
  37. dshuflin
    Dec 11, 2014
    3
    Pros: Beautiful graphics. Excellent game concept. Fun early game play.
    Cons: Ergonomic nightmare warning. User interface is poorly thought out causing lots of pain. All the upper screen information is very small leading to problems for most people over 35-40. All small writing should be at the bottom of the screen.
    Inconsistent menu commands. All menus should work the same. You should    Pros: Beautiful graphics. Excellent game concept. Fun early game play.
    Cons: Ergonomic nightmare warning. User interface is poorly thought out causing lots of pain. All the upper screen information is very small leading to problems for most people over 35-40. All small writing should be at the bottom of the screen.
    Inconsistent menu commands. All menus should work the same. You should not have to reach from the bottom of the screen to the top and then back to the bottom to click something in a menu screen.

    I have played Alpha Centuri for 15 years because of the infinite game play. It has true customization features. Beyond earth is pretty low on the control side of things. Basically only a few strategies to play.

    My biggest complaint is that after completing the required steps to reach a victory you are left guessing who will get there first. Turn after turn you are clueless. Then you get a screen that says. You lost. No explanation, No out come, you don't even know who won. A beautiful intro video took lots of time to watch. The endgame leaves you wondering what happened and who won.    … Expand
  38. ravinhood
    Dec 9, 2014
    0
    I give this game a 1/10. I do this after reading all the reviews, and I AGREE with them and will say why.

    Why I agree: People wanted an entirely different game? Like Alpha Centuari was to Civilization? Everyone I know LIKED Alpha Centuari. It differentiated itself from Civ A LOT, and over-all was GREAT. Then when they make a this POS Civlike game and keep many of the mechanics that    I give this game a 1/10. I do this after reading all the reviews, and I AGREE with them and will say why.

    Why I agree: People wanted an entirely different game? Like Alpha Centuari was to Civilization? Everyone I know LIKED Alpha Centuari. It differentiated itself from Civ A LOT, and over-all was GREAT.

    Then when they make a this POS Civlike game and keep many of the mechanics that worked LIKE CHIT well people complained... and a very darn good reason to complain too..

    Review:

    Graphics: I HATE them. I HATE them I tell yah. They are an NOT an improvement over Civ V, and DO NOT work well. Now on some planets It can be a bit tough to differentiate Tundra and plains at a glance, but it's an alien world and the terrain, flora and fauna are different than that of earth. It just makes DOO DOO NON sense.

    Sound: Again, I HATE the sound. It's NOT an improvement over Civ V. Less traditional music but that's the case, it's the future and you left tradition behind.

    Game Mechanics: (the big part)

    1) Cities. HATE THEM. Build buildings, then get a choice of customization on their function/abilities through a choice. ASSanine! I can play differently (who cares), plan out what I want to (who cares). The Unit customization based on what you do and how you do it is AWFUL. I can make an army designed to kill other units or attack cities, heal quickly etc BFD. lol

    I HATE the new espionage functions. It's NOT an improvement over Civ V's. The Level gain is also WORSE, and if you're in the lead there is NOTHING your Spies can do. Technology isn't linear anymore, it's a web. (WhooptifarkinDOO)

    The Tech Web: HATE it. Linear tech IS realistic future, decisions, Values, Philosophy, Play-style all should and can play a part in how you advance. Once I got FIGURED it out, I say it's the WORST part of the game.

    Diplomacy: Meh. It's the same as Civ V (you got that right) :) except you can trade with people who have nothing to give to you with "favours" I can trade Titanium I'm not using and don't plan on using for a while to Civ's that may or may not need it for Favours. I can effectively bank them for later. I don't really like this. In Civ games I NEVER ignore diplomacy, not because It's a bad feature, but because I care about my opponents. I play to HELP them not work with them. For my play-styles I just wish some of the phrases the AI used in the screen were more varied and different than Civ V when I refuse 100% of the time to aid them in war, and I always refuse all requests to stop settling near them etc.

    I'm sure there are people who play civ, and by the comments I can see it, that HATE diplomacy... I find that it's the same as liking the garnish in a 6 course meal. I play to interact diplomatically with AI's. I give them and their wants/needs I'm so nice. :)

    War, movement, is all the same as CIv V but with the added unit complexity. And I HATE this. Resources are a little hard to figure out at first (cause he's a dumbchit lol). I know what Wheat does, but what about Chitin? Or Fibre? all it takes is a few 100 games to get this as 2nd nature. A

    Alien Life: They could have done a LOT better job of taking advantage of this, and it's why this game gets a 1 and not a 0. You can kill the roaming aliens but still 'preserve' Life on the planet and that makes sense. Some life is hostile, you deal with it, and the rest isn't. As tech advances I'd have liked to see alien life not interrupt your use of a tile for resources, or even try to attack you, and they get small (graphic wise) and become part of the background animations. Or you can keep killing them.

    I HATE the ideology of Purity, supremacy and harmony. I also HATE how virtues replace several key racial bonuses or wonder bonuses of Civ V that were mandatory and you needed to RUSH (I like to RUSH) to have a given play-style.

    Wonders: they are there, just a tad hidden, and when you look for them on the tech tree you're uncertain if it is or not until you figure it out and just remember it. They also could have done a LOT more art-work on the wonders graphics... they are all whiteboxed...

    Overall this is a CRAP POS game. Some EXTREME fixes they should put in and then this game is a 5/10 lol    … Expand
  39. Mike_M
    Dec 3, 2014
    2
    Too many game design flaws mar what could be a great single-player strategy game:
    Dumb AI opponents. Alliances are basically meaningless.
    Dumb AI workers.
    Different planets with the same aliens over and over.
    Even on the lowest difficultly levels, the game handicaps success.
    The franchise has taken a wrong turn since the first expansion for Civ5
  40. faelinn
    Nov 30, 2014
    3
    Once again, extremely disappointed.

    Game is a cash grab. It has new art, and new music. With a tech tree that makes 0 sense, wonders that do not have ANY benefit to any victory and 95% of the military units are useless.

    I strongly advise you stick to Civ 5. This game was undoubtedly a project from a junior producer.

    Stay very far away
  41. atr577
    Nov 28, 2014
    3
    A boring reskin of Civ5.
    I quit when I suddenly realized I was making myself to make that one more turn. Nothing new was going to happen anyway.
    In 30 minutes I lost that feeling, I was doing something meaningful; I was simply gathering resource to gather more resource to build that victory condition. Hard to say exactly why, but in CivV I constantly feel like I am choosing a way for my    A boring reskin of Civ5.
    I quit when I suddenly realized I was making myself to make that one more turn. Nothing new was going to happen anyway.
    In 30 minutes I lost that feeling, I was doing something meaningful; I was simply gathering resource to gather more resource to build that victory condition. Hard to say exactly why, but in CivV I constantly feel like I am choosing a way for my people to develop. Here, I dig res.

    Things I did not like:
    - Resources are a copy paste from CivV with different names. Not bad in itself, but not good either.
    - Civilizations are all the same. Bonuses differ, but leaders do not feel unique. Just random talking heads saying all the same. No feeling "that civ has a background" like in CivV.
    - Civilizations do not do anything interesting. The only things I got from them was "stop killing these aliens" and "give me something, and I will be grateful to you for that". Was fun the first time I received these, but then they just kept spamming same messages repeatedly. They never tried to push me in any manner.
    - Units are all the same. They start to differ when you develop an affinity, but still, they feel all the same. Just units, able to deal damage. I did not feel the need to think like 'ok, i will place an archer behind that militia so that if the barb moves that way, he would be blocked and if that way, he will be stuck in mountains'. Just push with whatever...
    - Units have no tactical promotions. They just increase in strength (the only promotion is +10% str). In CivV I had to think whether I want strength bonus to deal with barbs, or ranged def to attack a civ soon.
    - Units get upgraded to next tech tier at once. No need to plan your finance to be able to upgrade the army for upcoming war. Just research the tech.
    - Tech web is confusing. It is probably not bad, but confusing. The development variants are quite numerous (which is good!), but unless you studied and memorized the whole tech web, a good decision cannot be made. Each time I opened the web I pondered for several minutes, thinking what I would get from a tech, and which techs I will access after that. I do not want to spend time studying game mech, I want to feel I can make a valid, if not optimal, game decision on spot.
    - Wonders are stuff you build to get resource bonuses. No wonder picture, just some blueprint. No short and clear description what that thing actually is. No feeling you build something unique. Just another resource factory.
    - Caravans now originate from each city and have to be assigned manually. You also have to remember if you have max number of them in every city. Tedious.
    - It is probably just me, but I did not like the landscape colors. Overall, the land is bleak and inexpressive. Again, I liked it first, but it became a boring view soon.
    - (Fun part) In intro, a priest is crossing the Russian vessel before launch. I know they really do it (sadly) nowadays, but flying on holy spirit is a slap in the face of science. Disliked it.

    Things I liked:
    - Affinity system idea. Not how it was done.
    - Aliens. Piu-piu.
    - Space theme. Unit models look good.

    Definitely not worth the money, probably not worth to play at all. Might get better with DLCs, but unless they get REALLY positive reviews, it is hard to believe BE will ever surpass CivV.    … Expand
  42. Vendaron
    Nov 27, 2014
    4
    Graphically the game is impressive. However if you've been playing Civ 5 there's not enough newness to justify paying $49.99 for this game. If you haven't played Civ 5 before then maybe the $49.99 is justifiable.

    Given the hype of the game before launch my expectations were high, however they were dashed soon after I started playing. :(
  43. vjosullivan
    Nov 27, 2014
    3
    Early days yet but very disappointed, so far. CBE appears to be little more than an "alien" theme or skin thrown over Civilization V. The game play is identical and the various bonuses and hazards dotted about the landscape behave in much the same way as before, albeit while looking totally different. Side quests are new and welcome but are little more than a distraction on the way toEarly days yet but very disappointed, so far. CBE appears to be little more than an "alien" theme or skin thrown over Civilization V. The game play is identical and the various bonuses and hazards dotted about the landscape behave in much the same way as before, albeit while looking totally different. Side quests are new and welcome but are little more than a distraction on the way to WORLD DOMINATION (oops, I meant world harmony, peace and love).

    The empires are very impersonal and I am experiencing little of the "one more turn" drive that comes from the motivation to make your own empire bigger and better. Here, I find myself mildly interested but not really engaged with my "colony".

    Graphics are very dark and very cluttered making it very difficult to see exactly what is in front of you.    … Expand
  44. dhegelund
    Nov 26, 2014
    0
    I feel tricked into buying an unfinished game. I love Civilization games. This game, however, feels like they didn't even try. It doesn't feel finished... at all.

    I feel tricked into buying it, because the trailer and ads made me think this would be another awesome Civilization game. Instead it seems as if the sole purpose of this game is to make some quick bucks. The game has no soul,    I feel tricked into buying an unfinished game. I love Civilization games. This game, however, feels like they didn't even try. It doesn't feel finished... at all.

    I feel tricked into buying it, because the trailer and ads made me think this would be another awesome Civilization game. Instead it seems as if the sole purpose of this game is to make some quick bucks. The game has no soul, no sense of awe. It does not qualify as a new game. It hardly qualifies as an expansion.

    Don't even think about it. Do not buy this game. Not yet, anyway. Maybe after they release some expansions. What a waste of hard earned money, tie and expectancy.    … Expand
  45. yaeger
    Nov 22, 2014
    0
    This is the most disappointing game from a very reputable company. Unfortunately, the game is just a re-skin of Civilization 5. It is amazing to look at, the graphics are what you would expect from a new Civilization game. However, the game runs just like Civ 5 for the most part. The technology web was not as i thought it was going to be. In Civ 5 you had a tech tree that would progressThis is the most disappointing game from a very reputable company. Unfortunately, the game is just a re-skin of Civilization 5. It is amazing to look at, the graphics are what you would expect from a new Civilization game. However, the game runs just like Civ 5 for the most part. The technology web was not as i thought it was going to be. In Civ 5 you had a tech tree that would progress you through time with different inventions and technologies. In Beyond Earth you have a Tech Web which at first is a little hard to understand, and then just turns into a mess while you are trying to stick to a certain affinity. I would not recommend this game to anyone.… Expand
  46. Agilio333
    Nov 21, 2014
    3
    8/10 according the the " professional critics". Clearly they are neither professional (paid off shills who refuse to rate bad games bellow 8/10) and certainly aren't critical of anything.

    Beyond Earth is an over hyped, under developed game. Maybe if the franchise spent more money in actually developing the game, instead of paying off "professional critics" and marketing the game, they    8/10 according the the " professional critics". Clearly they are neither professional (paid off shills who refuse to rate bad games bellow 8/10) and certainly aren't critical of anything.

    Beyond Earth is an over hyped, under developed game. Maybe if the franchise spent more money in actually developing the game, instead of paying off "professional critics" and marketing the game, they would actually have something. this game looks like it is pre-alpha. Nothing you do is of any consequence, the colors of the terrain looks like a rough draft. Nothing in this game has any strategy to it. It's a mere re-skin of the original, but with many of the features and polishing removed, never to be re-added. Oh wait, maybe you can buy the "rest" of the game as an expansion for $100. This is scam-ware, and the company is paying off it's gamer gate reviewers because nobody would actually buy this game if they played it beyond 8 hours.    … Expand
  47. Stevie_D
    Nov 21, 2014
    3
    I was worried that this would be just a graphical total conversion of Civ 5, and be me wasting my money.

    I was largely right. The bit i wasnt right about was just how convoluted and bogged down in frivolous ideas it is. They obviously felt they needed to -try- and add something other than just new graphics, so kudos for trying, but the ideas themselves are lackluster afterthoughts that    I was worried that this would be just a graphical total conversion of Civ 5, and be me wasting my money.

    I was largely right. The bit i wasnt right about was just how convoluted and bogged down in frivolous ideas it is. They obviously felt they needed to -try- and add something other than just new graphics, so kudos for trying, but the ideas themselves are lackluster afterthoughts that feel pointless and meaningless.

    The developers would have been better served by thinking "lets not worry about keeping it SO close to the original Civ5 experience, and introduce some bold new ideas that may disgruntle 1 or 2, but make it more fresh for everyone else."

    Its game design by attempting add safe, little ideas that dont change it from being Civ5. But Civ5 was already at that point of being streamlined enough, but having enough features to keep it interesting.

    I felt bored. I felt bogged down, and like i was being asked to play Civ5, but with a lot more pointless-feeling tasks, and a tech tree that was counter intuitive and lacked playtesting.

    And because of all this, it still felt like just an expansion, and not worth the money of a new game in its own right. A large disappointment for me indeed.    … Expand
  48. Shatosen
    Nov 19, 2014
    2
    Beyond Earth lacks many of the features that made Vanilla Civ 5 so good - luxury resources, natural wonders, and other features. As a whole, it is a lesser game when compared to its predecessor.
  49. theirrelephants
    Nov 19, 2014
    1
    There are few things that can make me mad enough to rate a game lower than 5. The game has to be completely broken, bug filled, or just genuinely not fun at all. Or, in the case of Beyond Earth, a reskin of an existing game with no new features (unless you count bugs as a feature) repackaged and sold as a new game for full price in an attempt to cash in on an old, dead series that wasThere are few things that can make me mad enough to rate a game lower than 5. The game has to be completely broken, bug filled, or just genuinely not fun at all. Or, in the case of Beyond Earth, a reskin of an existing game with no new features (unless you count bugs as a feature) repackaged and sold as a new game for full price in an attempt to cash in on an old, dead series that was actually good (Alpha Centauri).

    I'm not sure exactly when things like this became acceptable to do, but it certainly explains why pirating video games is now so widespread. When you can't trust your brand new purchased game to actually be a new game, pirating becomes a must in order to save your wallet.

    This is over fifty dollars I'm never going to get back, so yeah, I'm a little mad I got ripped off like this. Civilization V didn't hold a candle to Civilization IV, but at least it was a new game.    … Expand
  50. ddkehr
    Nov 17, 2014
    4
    I've been playing Civ since the beginning and each version has grown to be better for the most part, however, Civ:BE is a different case. I was really looking forward BE, a new Civ and Alpha C combined! NOT...It is for lack of a better description Civ 5:Lost in Space, but somehow more boring...Even with fast play on it drags to the point I have actually fallen asleep playing. I'm not sureI've been playing Civ since the beginning and each version has grown to be better for the most part, however, Civ:BE is a different case. I was really looking forward BE, a new Civ and Alpha C combined! NOT...It is for lack of a better description Civ 5:Lost in Space, but somehow more boring...Even with fast play on it drags to the point I have actually fallen asleep playing. I'm not sure where they were going with this game or even if they cared. If they put as much though in the game as the trailers it would be a great game. I like the mapping, units and tech web, even though it is a bit confusing at first. The game play is what really sucks here, it's slow and tedious, making for a boring game. I've actually provoked other civ's to attack me so I had something to do. Could have really been something wonderful, too bad, this will probably kill the franchise.… Expand
  51. KyleSearle
    Nov 17, 2014
    4
    Civ: Beyond Earth is a giant meh, that compares rarely poorly with it's prior art, Alpha Centauri. Here I was hoping for something with some novelty, like Sid Meier's Colonization, but in space. Instead we get the same old Civ formula, with some new skins. The gameplay itself is very cookie cutter and lacks any of the energy that Alpha Centauri carried to the table. AI is also massivelyCiv: Beyond Earth is a giant meh, that compares rarely poorly with it's prior art, Alpha Centauri. Here I was hoping for something with some novelty, like Sid Meier's Colonization, but in space. Instead we get the same old Civ formula, with some new skins. The gameplay itself is very cookie cutter and lacks any of the energy that Alpha Centauri carried to the table. AI is also massively inferior to Alpha Centauri, and provides no challenge even on the very first playthrough. This was a good opportunity to try and explore colonization on an extra-solar world and the designers were -far- too conservative and made a very dull reskin.

    Short answer: get Alpha Centauri on Gog.com.    … Expand
  52. psybient
    Nov 14, 2014
    1
    Made an account here just to warn people about this game. Do not buy. It is an overwhelmingly mundane and even boring experience. The game doesn't make you care about the world at all. The different faction leaders have no personality and compared to SMAC the game is an absolute let down. Being Australian I paid almost $100 for this game and feel completely ripped off. Also the game hasMade an account here just to warn people about this game. Do not buy. It is an overwhelmingly mundane and even boring experience. The game doesn't make you care about the world at all. The different faction leaders have no personality and compared to SMAC the game is an absolute let down. Being Australian I paid almost $100 for this game and feel completely ripped off. Also the game has issues on some PC's (even top model PC's with latest specs) and keeps crashing on my main gaming rig before I can even load a map so I've been playing it on a laptop.

    The game looks nice (as long as you don't choose an Arid climate otherwise even the graphics are dull) but there is so substance to it whatsoever. It is a mashup of popular sci fi concepts with the very heart and soul ripped out of them leaving you clicking your mouse doing repetitive tasks and not really caring what happens to your civilisation. Winning the game on hardest difficulty is very easy if you just always max out trade routes. It's a shame when you have more than 5 cities you spend half your play time clicking just to manage the trade routes.

    Judging by the difference between user reviews here and critic reviews I can no longer trust big gaming website's reviews: they are obviously just in bed with the developers and were paid to write glowing reviews of a garbage game. Play SMAC instead and I've just purchased Pandora as I've realized that might be the game I've been looking for all along.

    Don't pay full price. Wait for the mods and the patches and get it on sale if you're going to spend your money on it at all.    … Expand
  53. Ragotag
    Nov 12, 2014
    1
    Civ5 caused me to loose faith in the Civilization franchise; with Beyond Earth I've now lost all faith in Firaxis and Sid Meier. What a huge disappointment.
  54. flemieux
    Nov 12, 2014
    0
    A 50$ mod and an ugly one at that. I am a Civ fan. Played Civ 2 on my 486 for days.... Loved Civ 4 for ages, have learned to enjoy civ 5 since.

    But BE dissapoints on so many levels.... I have finished the game several times in several several ways. I gave it a go, gave it a chance, hoping my initial impression was wrong, that it wasn't just an oversimplified Civ 5 with ugly graphics.    A 50$ mod and an ugly one at that. I am a Civ fan. Played Civ 2 on my 486 for days.... Loved Civ 4 for ages, have learned to enjoy civ 5 since.

    But BE dissapoints on so many levels....

    I have finished the game several times in several several ways. I gave it a go, gave it a chance, hoping my initial impression was wrong, that it wasn't just an oversimplified Civ 5 with ugly graphics.

    It is.

    It is now shelved and will remain shelved.    … Expand
  55. Boras
    Nov 12, 2014
    4
    Is this game Bad? YES! definitely. I felt so disappointed when I saw that this was another Civilization 5 with new graphic, a stupid techtree and a meaningless Victory.

    They tried to add narration with Quest System, it could work, but why there is no conclusion at the end of the Game? no explanation, no story, nothing, you go back to the main menu and that's it... so contraddicting    Is this game Bad? YES! definitely. I felt so disappointed when I saw that this was another Civilization 5 with new graphic, a stupid techtree and a meaningless Victory.

    They tried to add narration with Quest System, it could work, but why there is no conclusion at the end of the Game? no explanation, no story, nothing, you go back to the main menu and that's it... so contraddicting

    no new mechanics, it is Civilization 5 with new graphic, nothing more.    … Expand
  56. MrM2014
    Nov 10, 2014
    4
    The core game itself is adequate. It is not anywhere near as complete as Civ V, but is enjoyable enough. The new tech tree does feel genuinely innovative and the alien world very much comes to life. The affinity system also feels fresh and new.

    However, other than this it's really CIv V with a different coat of paint and some things are worse. Trade Routes are a complete nightmare to    The core game itself is adequate. It is not anywhere near as complete as Civ V, but is enjoyable enough. The new tech tree does feel genuinely innovative and the alien world very much comes to life. The affinity system also feels fresh and new.

    However, other than this it's really CIv V with a different coat of paint and some things are worse. Trade Routes are a complete nightmare to micro-manage, and the diplomacy feels very limited.

    Now with all that alone, I would consider giving this a 7. It gets a 4 because this game was released unfinished with insufficient QA. There is a widespread problem preventing users playing full screen when their monitor reports more than 48 resolution/refresh rate combinations available. This is a very simple bug which can be resolved with a Registry Edit, yet after two weeks Firaxis have failed to produce a patch or even any ETC. Secondly, another widely reported bug is a failure to start - I suffer this with AMD Mantle mode despite the supported hardware configuration. As a result I have had to game in a window so far in the standard DX11 mode.

    There's some promise here, but don't buy until the game is on discount and a patch is released. Following this I will not be purchasing any Firaxis game on release again.    … Expand
  57. AlphaAtom
    Nov 9, 2014
    1
    Unfortunately, this game is pretty bad. This game isnt cooler than CIV5, but its very expensive. 1299 Rubles is very expensive for this game. And it isnt interesting and isnt beautiful.

    Gameplay is 3/10 - very stupid gameplay and thats all. and tech tree and techs at all is pathetic. Graphic is 2/10 - ugly graphics, thats all. all others is the same as in CIV5 but this game is    Unfortunately, this game is pretty bad. This game isnt cooler than CIV5, but its very expensive. 1299 Rubles is very expensive for this game. And it isnt interesting and isnt beautiful.

    Gameplay is 3/10 - very stupid gameplay and thats all. and tech tree and techs at all is pathetic.

    Graphic is 2/10 - ugly graphics, thats all.

    all others is the same as in CIV5 but this game is most expensive and very expensive and its too much.

    my rate is 1/10 becouse this game isnt good for this price. 30 $ its too much for a such bad game. CIV5 is better and cheeper. Play CIV5 and dont buy this game!    … Expand
  58. croc
    Nov 9, 2014
    0
    can't score higher than 0 because game is broken, 2k is happy to take our money (yet again), charge it as it was full new game (it is nothing more but civ5 mod, bad one on top of that) and once they got our money they think it is ok to treat us like dirt, major bug preventing people to run at full screen unless you run low resolution gone unfixed for 2 weeks now, any other even sloppycan't score higher than 0 because game is broken, 2k is happy to take our money (yet again), charge it as it was full new game (it is nothing more but civ5 mod, bad one on top of that) and once they got our money they think it is ok to treat us like dirt, major bug preventing people to run at full screen unless you run low resolution gone unfixed for 2 weeks now, any other even sloppy company would have it patched asap but they think its ok to take money for faulty product and act as nothing is wrong.… Expand
  59. CalmDown
    Nov 8, 2014
    0
    what a disaster.. I normally don't make reviews and just created an account to write this one.. This game had so much potential to be good. First off we have NO fullscreen for 144hz monitors.. a good amount of gamers run 144hz monitors that's just madness. The game has no innovation, shows no shine, has nothing new but different atmosphere. The game overall is just a mess, and its a shamewhat a disaster.. I normally don't make reviews and just created an account to write this one.. This game had so much potential to be good. First off we have NO fullscreen for 144hz monitors.. a good amount of gamers run 144hz monitors that's just madness. The game has no innovation, shows no shine, has nothing new but different atmosphere. The game overall is just a mess, and its a shame because it could of been SO good. I guess money means more then releasing good content now adays..… Expand
  60. Reiver1
    Nov 8, 2014
    1
    I have specifically signed up to this site just to warn others how bad this game is. Civ 5 has a lot of flaws, this is a re skinned version of the same game.
    I played it for a day - then bought Alpha Centuri and spent the rest of the week playing that! So i suppose that's where the score of 2 comes from.
  61. Timmah
    Nov 7, 2014
    0
    I have spent 1000's of hours on each and every Civilization since the first one, well until you guys took 5 bloody years and decided to charge $50.00 on a game that could have been sold as a mod to Civ 5 for a few dollars. I really hope lots of people were fired over this game. Why in the world would Cid Meier put his name on this steaming pile of monkey Crap!

    Take Civ V, strip away 80%    I have spent 1000's of hours on each and every Civilization since the first one, well until you guys took 5 bloody years and decided to charge $50.00 on a game that could have been sold as a mod to Civ 5 for a few dollars. I really hope lots of people were fired over this game. Why in the world would Cid Meier put his name on this steaming pile of monkey Crap!

    Take Civ V, strip away 80% of the content, slap a coat of Sci-Fi paint on it and ship it out the door.

    Very disappointing. Beyond Earth should have been sold as a Civ V mod for a fraction of the price. This game has slightly more content and replayability than the Steampunk DLC released for Civ V.

    There are only 8 civs to choose from, but that doesn't matter because they are effectively identical anyway.

    There are only about 8-10 units in the game, and it's the same 8-10 units regardless of which civ you choose.

    The landscape is crowded with features and resources that have very little purpose. You can comfortably set your Workers on auto and ignore them.

    All 5 Victory Paths are Science driven, making everything else largely irrelevant. Even the Domination Victory depends heavily on the Science resource in order to unlock the automatic upgrades for the 2 or 3 units you will need to win.

    Trade is crucial to success, but very tedious and not fun at all to manage. Every turn, I would get 1 or 2 messages from Trade units asking me to confirm that I still want it to keep doing what I told it to do the last 20 times it asked.

    Diplomacy is irrelevant. All other Civs can be safely ignored unless you feel like conquering them. Other leaders will frequently harass you with pointless offers or empty threats, though, and that gets annoying fast.

    Exploration is largely pointless and unrewarding. The whole world is one homogenous smear of resources. Clear out your own little plot of land and don't bother going anywhere else.

    Seriously, I want my money back on this one    … Expand
  62. Parragu
    Nov 7, 2014
    4
    Lets be frank here Civilization:BE was really a disappointing game. Basically a expensive re-skin of civilization 5 there is no new content. In the beginning it's awesome to see new units, new civs and worlds. But after a few hours of game play, the game becomes uninteresting. Following the same plot every game, along with same quests. This game had the potential to be an awesome game butLets be frank here Civilization:BE was really a disappointing game. Basically a expensive re-skin of civilization 5 there is no new content. In the beginning it's awesome to see new units, new civs and worlds. But after a few hours of game play, the game becomes uninteresting. Following the same plot every game, along with same quests. This game had the potential to be an awesome game but 2k and Firaxsis kinda screwed it up. I feel like this game we a major let down for a Civ player like myself and I would not recommend it to huge Civ fans.… Expand
  63. Kriss_A
    Nov 7, 2014
    0
    Little more than a mod, being sold for full price. Absolutely disgusting and immoral. I don't understand how anyone can get behind this and support practices like this.
  64. vandana
    Nov 7, 2014
    4
    I should start this review by saying that I love Civilization and I have played all games in the series since Civilization II. Although the vanilla version of Civilization V was rough, I loved that release as well - one unit per hex combat, new graphics and leaders full of character were refreshing enough to bear with the game until the expansions made it truly great (especially Gods &I should start this review by saying that I love Civilization and I have played all games in the series since Civilization II. Although the vanilla version of Civilization V was rough, I loved that release as well - one unit per hex combat, new graphics and leaders full of character were refreshing enough to bear with the game until the expansions made it truly great (especially Gods & Kings). I believe Beyond Earth is somewhere at the stage where Civilization V was at the release gameplay-wise (much to be improved, but can be easily achievable with expansions and patches). At the core design level however, affinities (affinity decides the way you play the game - it is a philosophy deciding your path of progress and victory) have been separated from leaders and that is something that took all character from the game away. The leaders and writing are generic and dull, lacking any emotional connection known from previous games. Moreover, I believe this core flaw cannot be fixed unless many more affinities were introduced and linked to leaders somehow which I simply cannot see happening at all. The result is a bland game, with potential for growth mechanically, but lacking character and because of design decisions simply not capable of getting anywhere near the legendary status of Alpha Centauri, of which the game is supposed to be a the spiritual successor. I hope I am wrong and the designers will find a way of making this game alive but right now it is a pretty space game, with marvelous music, unpolished gameplay that will be fixed in expansions and zero character. Not worth £30 and not a must play. I'll wait for the expansions and I regret not buying it on sale. I guess most people buying this game wanted another Alpha Centauri and this is not it and probably never will. Even comparing to Civ5 with expansions, already cheaper bundle, this game simply cannot stand its own and such comparison is inevitable when the engine is basically the same and the game plays like a glorified mod.… Expand
  65. a20012322
    Nov 6, 2014
    2
    Disappointing game. Nothing like alpha centauri other than it is sci-fi theme.

    1) Turns are slow, actually everything is a bit slow and it gets worse as the game goes on (Worse than Civ5 when it clearly is using the same engine, so there is some regression in their optimization that is for sure). 2) Boring, there is very little to differentiate anything everything comes from the base    Disappointing game. Nothing like alpha centauri other than it is sci-fi theme.

    1) Turns are slow, actually everything is a bit slow and it gets worse as the game goes on (Worse than Civ5 when it clearly is using the same engine, so there is some regression in their optimization that is for sure).

    2) Boring, there is very little to differentiate anything everything comes from the base set of units and just has a skin that changes with alignment.

    3) Three alignments are basically the same thing, wonders are useless, and so on...

    Terrible, seems like a mod of Civ5 not a full price game.    … Expand
  66. kuburga
    Nov 4, 2014
    2
    I'm a huge Civilization V fan. However this game turned out to be very shallow, very disappointing. Nothing that is worth the price, gets boring pretty fast.
  67. Sergiohs
    Nov 4, 2014
    4
    The game is worse than previous civs... It should had been sold as one expansion/mod theres almost no new mechanics. Also there is a huge resolution / full screen bug which is preventing alot of people from playing the game correctly (me included).
  68. SuperMe
    Nov 2, 2014
    2
    I haven't played a Civilisation game since Civ3 and it looks like I haven't missed anything. The graphics are an improvement but same dull core remains. The game is a tedious chore to play and I've uninstalled after just 5 hours.
  69. Canonvillage
    Nov 2, 2014
    0
    Das Spiel an sich ist ein purer Abklatsch von Civ 5. Man hat an jeder Ecke das Gefühl, dass man vom Entwickler über den Tisch gezogen wird, die alte Grafikengine des Vorgängers wurde 1:1 mitsamt all ihren Bugs übernommen. Offenbar wurde auch an vielen anderen Stellen einfach Quellcode kopiert: Es sind viele Bugs aus Civ V Vanilla enthalten, die bereits mit GK gefixt waren. Peinlich.
  70. PaladinF1
    Nov 2, 2014
    3
    After first game on mid difficulty it was pretty nice - new techs, quests, etc. Probably I was going to rate game 6/10. At the end of game and in 2nd game on high difficulty I found that AI is completely not working like it have to - automatic workers are bugged, alien scripts are bugged, and also enemy fractions are bugged too - they don't even move units to your borders after declaringAfter first game on mid difficulty it was pretty nice - new techs, quests, etc. Probably I was going to rate game 6/10. At the end of game and in 2nd game on high difficulty I found that AI is completely not working like it have to - automatic workers are bugged, alien scripts are bugged, and also enemy fractions are bugged too - they don't even move units to your borders after declaring war! Also they are not declaring you war when you are winning, most of very important features missing. I can't imagine how they suppose to make game on civ5 engine that have in fact worse AI than civ5 itself! Bad interface - even miracle projects are not highligthed in research tree. That's just crazy, game is simply unfinished at all. 3/10 only cause game is partially done. No replayability… Expand
  71. skarr
    Nov 1, 2014
    2
    The ideas/features introduced in this game are quite new and interesting. Affinity is a nice addition that really impacts the gameplay in all its aspects. However, compared to the Franchise, a lot of elements seem to have been stripped bare. Overall, the game seems to have been rushed for release with fewer mechanics, features that it ought to have had. It just feels more like a patch/modThe ideas/features introduced in this game are quite new and interesting. Affinity is a nice addition that really impacts the gameplay in all its aspects. However, compared to the Franchise, a lot of elements seem to have been stripped bare. Overall, the game seems to have been rushed for release with fewer mechanics, features that it ought to have had. It just feels more like a patch/mod of civ than a full blown game of its own. Finally, the difficulty is a joke, you will beat Apollo on your first run. For the hardcore fans/collectors of Civ-like games, this is of course a must have and it will give you some new strategic decisions and new aspects to take into account while playing this game, for the rest, I am not sure if this title is worth getting.… Expand
  72. Gethrow
    Nov 1, 2014
    2
    Very frustrating for the game to work one day, and without anything changing to my computer, not work the next. When it does load however, it is a very disappointing game lacking any sense of connection with the player.
  73. SoakerCity
    Oct 31, 2014
    4
    Very disappointing. Alpha Centauri was one of the best games ever made. It seems as though this one was dumbed down, leached of mature content and graphics (these are too cartoony), and light on the serious depth of the spiritual predecessor.

    Also, the lack of an Anglo, Japanese, Scandinavian, German, Canadian, and other cultures make this a big miss. I was going to buy it but its a    Very disappointing. Alpha Centauri was one of the best games ever made. It seems as though this one was dumbed down, leached of mature content and graphics (these are too cartoony), and light on the serious depth of the spiritual predecessor.

    Also, the lack of an Anglo, Japanese, Scandinavian, German, Canadian, and other cultures make this a big miss. I was going to buy it but its a pass, and I will stick with the amazing Endless Legend, the current king of TBS games.    … Expand
  74. MaxFootroom
    Oct 31, 2014
    0
    So we made an interstellar journey and find a new world and what does this game have in store for us? The same old petty squabbling among humans that necessitated a journey to the stars in the first place. Are we really expected to believe that the colonists of a new world have nothing better to do than fight amongst themselves? I expected to have to deal with aggressive aliens, notSo we made an interstellar journey and find a new world and what does this game have in store for us? The same old petty squabbling among humans that necessitated a journey to the stars in the first place. Are we really expected to believe that the colonists of a new world have nothing better to do than fight amongst themselves? I expected to have to deal with aggressive aliens, not more stupid humans.… Expand
  75. NeroNafalus
    Oct 31, 2014
    0
    This game would probably get a better review from me, if ya know A. it'd worked from launch, or B. firaxis/2k had released a statement mentioning that they'd messed up pretty bad the day after they released it, steada waiting a week to do it.
  76. Deathmarch
    Oct 31, 2014
    4
    BORING! the AI is passive and makes illogical decisions ie: declaring war for no reason then offering all their goods and credits 10 turns later.
    Nothing in this game can be discerned "at a glance".
    Tech web is a confusing mess. Glance at the "tech web" and point out a wonder with in 30secs you cant without playing the game for a few hours and alot of reading. The map is muted and dull    BORING! the AI is passive and makes illogical decisions ie: declaring war for no reason then offering all their goods and credits 10 turns later.
    Nothing in this game can be discerned "at a glance".
    Tech web is a confusing mess. Glance at the "tech web" and point out a wonder with in 30secs you cant without playing the game for a few hours and alot of reading.
    The map is muted and dull , you cant tell a desert tile from a plains tile. you can barely tell which tiles have miasma. You'd expect wild contrast in terrain its Fantasy alien worlds there are no rules, you can have yellow oceans and purple deserts!
    combat might be better if Ai get improved but once you build elite units the ai has no chance.
    Missing immersion, ui is dull and lifeless no original artwork like Civ5, the leader scenes they just float on your screen no background to give you a sense of there culture; like Montezuma in his temple.
    If its was another developer I would say its a ok game around 70% buts its Civ Game and with it come higher standards and I feel like I paid full price for a indie game. hopefully they are working hard on improvments and not paid dlcs!!    … Expand
  77. GaelicWarrior
    Oct 31, 2014
    0
    Another poorly thought out modern Civ game from Firaxis. Civilization keeps declining. Since the awful 'Brave New World' DLC for Civ V, the 'strategy' part of Civ games have become so much less important and the game is extremely 'luck' focused. Beating the AI on the hardest setting in 95 turns on my first play through is just not right. Then to multiplayer. Firaxis have again refused toAnother poorly thought out modern Civ game from Firaxis. Civilization keeps declining. Since the awful 'Brave New World' DLC for Civ V, the 'strategy' part of Civ games have become so much less important and the game is extremely 'luck' focused. Beating the AI on the hardest setting in 95 turns on my first play through is just not right. Then to multiplayer. Firaxis have again refused to revamp Civ's defunct and derelict multiplayer engine. Please give us the global chatroom lobby back from Civ 4! The game simply does not function online with more than 4 players in its current state and even then it'll most likely crash. Civilization needs to be developed by someone who understands the game from a multiplayer perspective. This is how civilization will grow its fan base and please its original fans like me. A single player focused strategy game for PC is far too niche in the 21st century. Design this game to be balanced and competitive online and the single player experience will be enhanced and more rewarding. Firaxis needs to move forward and not keep such an eye on what worked 15 years ago.… Expand
  78. FellowTraveler
    Oct 30, 2014
    3
    For a game all about the future, Beyond Earth seems like a huge step into the past. This game is mediocre as a standalone, and disastrous as an entry into the Civilization series.

    I wanted to look this. I wanted to like this so very badly. I've been anxiously awaiting the next Civilization game for years! Civ 5 is one of my favorite games of all time. I was a little hesitant when I    For a game all about the future, Beyond Earth seems like a huge step into the past. This game is mediocre as a standalone, and disastrous as an entry into the Civilization series.

    I wanted to look this. I wanted to like this so very badly. I've been anxiously awaiting the next Civilization game for years! Civ 5 is one of my favorite games of all time. I was a little hesitant when I learned that it was a Sci-Fi game, as those don't tend to be my cup of tea. But then again, neither are historical strategy games - Civilization has won me over before, so I held at hope.
    And then I played this. I was bored, frustrated, and underwhelmed in minutes. But I stuck with it. I sunk hours into the game, waiting to get invested. To just... Have fun. But I never did. Every turn felt like a forced chore. The writing is absolutely atrocious. The tech quotes (those that were quotes from famous historical figures in previous games) will make you cringe they are so bad. The different factions are bland, flat, and really no different from one another. The writers merely chose a race, found every racial stereotype available for that race, and made them into a faction. Seriously, the first words from the hyper-advanced Asian faction was something along the lines of "We honor your ancestors". That works in a historical game. In a game about the future? It is laughable.
    The alien races are ugly as sin, and not in a good way. The barbarians were always obnoxious in Civilization V, but I understood their point. They weren't a huge part of the game. Aliens are EVERYWHERE in this game, and combating them just isn't fun. I don't know why, exactly, since the combat hasn't changed an inkling from Civ5 and I still love that game. But it just isn't fun.
    The tech web is a nightmare as well, since we're now dealing with future tech and future tech alone. In past games, you could get a general idea of what you were researching by the title of that research. Now you have to blindly grasp and try and figure out what a Cryo-this or Quantum-that is and how it is going to affect end game.
    Quests are a mindless time filler. They seem like a decent addition in the beginning, but they recycle quests so often that you'll have seen them all and done them all three or four times by the end of the first game.
    The AI in the Civ games has never been particularly... Well, intelligent. Somehow, it seems this game took a step backwards. The other factions seem to have no discernible personality and are unpredictable in a bad way - They'll declare war on you for no reason, almost immediately after landing. Seriously, that was my first interaction with some of them on multiple occasions. And don't get me started on their **** Remember the "Don't settle near us" complaints from the last game? Well, if you settle a city ANYWHERE on this planet, expect to hear from one or two of them, even if they are on the complete opposite side of the world. Same goes for excavating artifacts. The complaints never stop, so you'll never stop getting obnoxious still-frame popups, because they've done away with animating the actors.
    And finally, the miasma. I don't understand it. I really don't. What is the point? It is obnoxious and that's about it. It damages you when you're standing in it, and the planet is covered in it until you evolve techs to deal with it. Maybe it is supposed to be immersive, but I just find it terribly annoying.

    I uninstalled in the day after I tried it.    … Expand
  79. CakeSpork
    Oct 30, 2014
    0
    The only sensation you will have while playing this game is boredom and extreme disappointment in Firaxis. Perhaps these feelings will show a hint of regret for just having spent 50 euros on a product that should not even be offered on Kickstarter as an Alfa preview to early adopters. It will prepare you for the real world, and the feeling you get when you're home after a long week of workThe only sensation you will have while playing this game is boredom and extreme disappointment in Firaxis. Perhaps these feelings will show a hint of regret for just having spent 50 euros on a product that should not even be offered on Kickstarter as an Alfa preview to early adopters. It will prepare you for the real world, and the feeling you get when you're home after a long week of work to find everything overhauled and a broken window, your TV gone and a mess to clear.

    Don't buy this clickfest of nondecisions. Event though it will probably be amazing in a year after 5 DLC's, I would still advise against spending money on supporting the company that decreased it's standard so much that it let this get past initial QA.    … Expand
  80. Gamling
    Oct 30, 2014
    4
    Aplha Centauri was a piece of art, this game is unbalanced and there is a mayor lack of story compared. The affinty systems feels interesting but is unfortunately mostly driven by the big wheel of technology which is a mess. There are to many buildings do the same things and no graphics to describe them giving any feeling what you are building. The wonders just feel like a couple of stats.Aplha Centauri was a piece of art, this game is unbalanced and there is a mayor lack of story compared. The affinty systems feels interesting but is unfortunately mostly driven by the big wheel of technology which is a mess. There are to many buildings do the same things and no graphics to describe them giving any feeling what you are building. The wonders just feel like a couple of stats.

    The trade lanes are ridiculously good and you can build 3 per city which have to be reset each 30 turns. So if you have lots of cities you are not doing much else late game.

    In Alpha Centauri it felt like you had the power to change the map and the nature of the new planet here the tile improvements dosnt affect each other at all.

    The jump in strength between the different units are so huge you can´t do anything with your units if they get behind. The alien is somehow boring and easy to handle.

    The one thing that is better than in Civ V is the spying system which is a great improvement which I hope they bring to the main game.    … Expand
  81. RKIRKLEY
    Oct 29, 2014
    0
    I have never been more disappointed in a civilization game, not only does this game feel like the same civ game we have been playing for years it feels like we have regressed backwards. The classic animation and stories we had are gone. Instead it feels as though we are playing a game with great graphics and text gui. It lacks any innovation from previous years and removes most of theI have never been more disappointed in a civilization game, not only does this game feel like the same civ game we have been playing for years it feels like we have regressed backwards. The classic animation and stories we had are gone. Instead it feels as though we are playing a game with great graphics and text gui. It lacks any innovation from previous years and removes most of the prior civs good parts. If you are an avid civ fan skip this one wait till they inevitably put in the dlcs and make us pay double the original cost for it to be any good.

    Now for my specific problems I have with the game. The intro is amazing it posits this situation in which earth is used up and we are abandoning it, however when you get to earth 2.0 (all of the planet options are just like earth, with miasma being radioactivity and aliens barbarians) there is no story, you just begin. As you begin expect immediatly to have a rival civ land right next to your city leading to inevitable conflict as this game has an extremely easy system to anger other civs. Which brings us to combat, there are 6 units, and you dont even have access to them when you begin the game. In a world in which you just presumably completed civ 5 why do we only have a basic soldier to start and a combat rover, no lasers no new tech nothing cool. This stays the same for most of the game till late game but these units really just dont do anything different they are the same 6 units just upgraded with slightly different looks and these upgrades do not make sense. You research an affinity say harmony by discovering alien genes and suddenly you can upgrade your combat rover to combat armor, now im sorry but what technology did i gain that lets me do that? NOTHING. This infuriating lack of technology to combat upgrades continues into the branching tech which allows you to research nanotech before you have basic biology and can see oil. HOW DID WE GET HERE FROM EARTH WITHOUT OIL? Then there is the unit usage when traveling miasma is deadly early game and there is no way to remove it watch as multiple explorers die if you put them on auto explore. Seriously never auto anything in this game it will replace good improvements destroy roads as soon as you begin losing electricity etc. In combat same problem as always no stacking units, but this is a bigger problem in this game since three units of the six are meaningless in close range combat.
    Finally replaying this game is not fun, it feels the same because it is the same, not only does this feel like a worse civ 2 with improved graphics, but there are the same ais every game and they are the same stratagies too. Each planet feels the same as well since the technology works out to functionally make oceans meaningless and the resources are completely unnecessary all game long, they provide bonus things but you can win without ever improving a resource. I imagine there will be a mjor dlc to fix all of this that will cost us an arm and a leg but id rather get a refund now, would not recommend.    … Expand
  82. Quinma
    Oct 29, 2014
    3
    Disappointing.

    I expected a lot more than civ 5 on an alien world with half the functionality.

    On my 3rd game i beat the game on the hardest difficulty with a domination victory mostly because the combat AI is terrible.
  83. Qgal5kap
    Oct 29, 2014
    1
    Bah, this is just a reskinned version of CIV 5 with worse game mechanics. More micro-management, less automation. A total cash grab!! Avoid, avoid!!!!

    In the future, we have the technology to travel to alien planets, but we lack the technology of networking and computing?? We have the power of space flight, but we lack the ability to keep a geostationary satellite in orbit?!?!?! We    Bah, this is just a reskinned version of CIV 5 with worse game mechanics. More micro-management, less automation. A total cash grab!! Avoid, avoid!!!!

    In the future, we have the technology to travel to alien planets, but we lack the technology of networking and computing?? We have the power of space flight, but we lack the ability to keep a geostationary satellite in orbit?!?!?! We have the knowledge to settle on an alien planet, but we don't know how to build a settler???
    There are just so many breaches of logic here! Lazy work by the dev!!!    … Expand
  84. DocDAT
    Oct 29, 2014
    3
    Massively disappointing, overpriced and bug-ridden.

    This game basically amounts to a less than fully functional and not very interesting DLC for Civ5 at the price of a full game. One playthrough is all I'm willing to give it. One of the more aggravating "features" is trade caravans that have to constantly be restarted without an auto-renew option. If you win, there are not cut-scenes or    Massively disappointing, overpriced and bug-ridden.

    This game basically amounts to a less than fully functional and not very interesting DLC for Civ5 at the price of a full game. One playthrough is all I'm willing to give it. One of the more aggravating "features" is trade caravans that have to constantly be restarted without an auto-renew option. If you win, there are not cut-scenes or celebrations. There are no end stats. If you lose, there is no explanation. No info about which NPC won or how.

    It's also mindblowing how badly it's working at release. Even betas usually have a game that can start and is compatible with 1080p. With a fairly standard 1080p 120hz monitor it won't even start properly, but you have to ALT-Tab back and forth to get the main menu showing. Then you can select 1280x1024 as the highest resolution?! Really? Yes, you can get it to work in 1080p by running it windowed, but that's nothing more than a short term bandaid. It's now been out nearly a week and there still hasn't been a single patch out...    … Expand
  85. MegaOrca
    Oct 29, 2014
    3
    Disappointing...

    Very simple and at the same time confusing game.
    A lot of work for nothing.
    It has got that Civ feeling but in the end you feel like you have been ripped-off...
  86. RaiKoi
    Oct 29, 2014
    1
    What a disappointment. I was expecting a new game, with new gameplay elements. Instead it has become a horrible example of all that is wrong in the gaming industry. Leeching as much cash with as little work as possible. 0/10 would recommend.
  87. kumailnaqvi
    Oct 29, 2014
    1
    Not at all worth it! I never would have thought I would ever say this for a Sid Meiers game but as painful it is to say, its true. This game is just Civ 5 repackaged and skinned, but sadly it's also lost almost all of the charm that Civ 5 had. My biggest disappointment is the banal factions and leaders. Leaders have absolutely no personality. Another issue is the horrible quotes, unlikeNot at all worth it! I never would have thought I would ever say this for a Sid Meiers game but as painful it is to say, its true. This game is just Civ 5 repackaged and skinned, but sadly it's also lost almost all of the charm that Civ 5 had. My biggest disappointment is the banal factions and leaders. Leaders have absolutely no personality. Another issue is the horrible quotes, unlike the charming and fascinating Civ 5 quotes these ones are made up and spoken out in a boring and ultimately angering voice. The wonders are extremely disappointing as there is no awe when built, they give a terrible quote and a lame blueprint picture of them. This is not a game, but merely an add-on to Civ 5, it's worth no more than 5$. Wait for a sale and then pick it up.… Expand
  88. Baud
    Oct 28, 2014
    3
    Its just CIV5 with an Alien Theme. Same mechanics, same stupid AI, same useless diplomacy system... god even units and resources where the same. It felt like a CIV5 DLC.
  89. hoochieminh
    Oct 28, 2014
    4
    I am sorely disappointed in this game, it does not deserve Sid's name on it. This game is not as deep as Civ 5, even without the DLC. This is more of a turn masher than a strategic anything -- the path to victory is simple, the AI atrocious, combat basically meaningless. It's not a bad game, but boredom is achieved rather early. Skip it.
  90. Hellseele
    Oct 28, 2014
    4
    I was sadly disappointed with this game. While it plays much like Civ V, it feels like a lazier, cheaper copy. The game is full of new features, some which work well and some that don't, but ultimately operates more like a Civ V expansion than a proper next installment to the game.

    In the end, I only wanted 3 features fixed from Civ V: mods in multiplayer, improved diplomacy AI, and AI    I was sadly disappointed with this game. While it plays much like Civ V, it feels like a lazier, cheaper copy. The game is full of new features, some which work well and some that don't, but ultimately operates more like a Civ V expansion than a proper next installment to the game.

    In the end, I only wanted 3 features fixed from Civ V: mods in multiplayer, improved diplomacy AI, and AI which contacts players in multiplayer games. This is a list that a lot of people agree with, and have been waiting for since 2010, and not one of them was touched.    … Expand
  91. Vel
    Oct 28, 2014
    4
    This game is pretty bad. It's not terrible, but it's pretty bad. The easiest way to describe it is to imagine that they took Civ 5, re-skinned it with different graphics, got rid of some of the more enjoyable aspects (Like picking different civilizations with different bonuses at different ages), and emphasized some of the more annoying aspects of the game (ever get annoyed by randomThis game is pretty bad. It's not terrible, but it's pretty bad. The easiest way to describe it is to imagine that they took Civ 5, re-skinned it with different graphics, got rid of some of the more enjoyable aspects (Like picking different civilizations with different bonuses at different ages), and emphasized some of the more annoying aspects of the game (ever get annoyed by random barbarians? Well say hello to an occasional SUPER barbarian). The game doesn't feel like you are really playing or advancing towards anything, it just feels like you are making a never-ending series of random decisions that have no real effect on the game. Not to mention the fact that the new "health" system (which replaced the happiness system) is not well balanced, if you conquer even one or two enemy cities you will probably have a negative effect on your civilization for the foreseeable future. Honestly, just avoid this game and go back and play more Civ 5 (at least until the price drops below $20).… Expand
  92. WalkinWoundd
    Oct 28, 2014
    1
    I had high hopes for this game having played and loved all the other Civ games.

    If this was a new release from an unknown company franchise then it would have scored a 3 but they score a one because they took everything that was great about Civ 5 and got rid of it leaving an empty shell of a game. I hated it from the first hour of playing but I wanted to be fair before writing a    I had high hopes for this game having played and loved all the other Civ games.

    If this was a new release from an unknown company franchise then it would have scored a 3 but they score a one because they took everything that was great about Civ 5 and got rid of it leaving an empty shell of a game.

    I hated it from the first hour of playing but I wanted to be fair before writing a review so I played it for a few more days. I can now say confidently that I hate almost everything about this game and having spent £30 on it will never play it again. Here are a few of the worst changes:
    - Other civilisations are now completly lacking in personality and, because they are not based on real historical figures, they all merge in to one homogenous, bland AI during the game
    - The new technology web is horrible... just so horrible. I didn't like it at first because it was complex and confusing. Now that I understand it I hate it even more because it is so illogical and unnecessarily complex.
    - The alien lifeforms are just minor background noise. You learn very quickly to just leave them alone and they will leave you alone. So one of the main features of the game becomes a minor irritation instead.

    There are many other things that I hate about this game but I can't be bothered to write them down. Don't buy this game and whichever work experience person was responsible for it should find another industry.    … Expand
  93. herpderp69
    Oct 28, 2014
    2
    This game has no real challenge. This failing is not just a balance issue, it undermines the central story of the game: colonising a strange, unhospitable, dangerous planet. The dramaturgy of this game does not work, you start out in a good position and then it just snowballs from there.

    I played my first game at the second highest level without knowing what I was doing and I still    This game has no real challenge. This failing is not just a balance issue, it undermines the central story of the game: colonising a strange, unhospitable, dangerous planet. The dramaturgy of this game does not work, you start out in a good position and then it just snowballs from there.

    I played my first game at the second highest level without knowing what I was doing and I still ROFLstomped the AI. One wonders how a decent player might lose the game? The AI is slow to reach victory and do not put up much of a fight and the aliens ar much more of a nuisance than a threat.

    Trade routes are brokenly good and tediously micromanagable. The rate of return on a trade route is 3-5 turns whereas most buildings have a rate of return of 30-50 turns. There is no challenge in colonising this inhospitable planet, you just build a trade depot and two trade routes in every city and then it can more than sustain itself. They seriously need a redesign.

    The tech web looks neat but it is too easy to get to the really strong things early, especially if you take one of the 2 sponsors that get free technologies. If they had used the fourth orbital for more than one tech, it might work better. It is one of the fe places in the game where there are real meaningful decisions.

    After four years Civ V is still unbalanced with some game-breaking bugs. Is there any reason to believe the same will not be the case with Beyond earth? That being said Civ V is till miles ahead of beyond earth at the moment by virtue of being fun.    … Expand
  94. LegLock
    Oct 28, 2014
    0
    A hatefully unfair and poorly balanced game, filled with bugs.

    I have never before played a 4x game that was so nonsensically stingy with its upgrades. On standard settings the absolute most basic technologies (board a ship, start a trade route) will take decades to research. The building upgrades are almost worthless (10 years to build, +2 production) and incredibly limited in options.    A hatefully unfair and poorly balanced game, filled with bugs.

    I have never before played a 4x game that was so nonsensically stingy with its upgrades. On standard settings the absolute most basic technologies (board a ship, start a trade route) will take decades to research. The building upgrades are almost worthless (10 years to build, +2 production) and incredibly limited in options. The AI opponents on the non-cheat settings hardly bother to expand in the first century, 3 colonies at most. The diplomacy continues to be a joke ("hi china, shall we start a cooperation agreement?" "no" no explanation given. One turn later china asks "hey should we start a cooperation agreement?")

    And then there's siege worms. Ah the joys of siege worms. Your city is your only unit in the first century that can do any reasonable damage (all other units will do exactly 1% damage to it) so you will be firing continuously at every one of them for at least 7 years. And hey better hope they don't touch miasma or they will be massively healed. I wouldn't worry though, most of the time they just hand around in bombardment range not doing anything. They occasionally will wander over and annihilate your improvements (2 years to repair) so are more frustrating that dangerous.

    Killing one will immediately spawn another though (I had to fight 3 in the first 65 years), so faced with completely lackluster A.I. opponent civs but almost continuous alien siege you'll wonder if this game was ever playtested.

    Finally: hills. For a game supposedly set in a sci-fi future alien planet, small hills continue to be a massive strategic obstacle. Your ranged units apparently walk astonishingly slowly but have ultra long range weapons, unless a hill is involved. Whatever distance 1 hex represents it will take you 2 years to cross a hilly area, but your ranged units can fire with perfect accuracy that same distance (unless a deadly hill is in the way). This is the same stale gameplay rules as using spearmen and archers in Civ V.

    That's all this game is: all the same tired, unbalanced formula of a series that has gone downhill since Civ III with a fresh coat of sci-fi but none of the endemic flaws and absurdities addressed.    … Expand
  95. ariefbud
    Oct 28, 2014
    0
    I'm very dissapointed with this game. Firaxis stop using inexperienced lead designers. I miss time when Brian Reynolds, Soren Johnson still with Firaxis. They makes great games back then.
  96. redbeerd
    Oct 27, 2014
    4
    This mod for Civilization 5 might have been entitled: Civilization: Space Caravan Management before it was given to a group of energetic marketing people to hype up before release. It features the following astounding features:

    - Complete sci-fi reskins for all your favorite civilization units and concepts. Meet the warrior… in a spacesuit! Start the game by building a “monument”,    This mod for Civilization 5 might have been entitled: Civilization: Space Caravan Management before it was given to a group of energetic marketing people to hype up before release. It features the following astounding features:

    - Complete sci-fi reskins for all your favorite civilization units and concepts. Meet the warrior… in a spacesuit! Start the game by building a “monument”, a.k.a. “old earth relic”, and monitor your empire’s happiness… err… “health”. It’s all the concepts from 4000 BC you love, taken straight into the 23rd century!

    - Take your suspension of disbelief to new heights as colonists from earth land on a new planet and have no map of the surface, even after launching satellites. Watch in amazement as the borders of your space colony expand due to cultural influence, probably as the hostile insectoid aliens start wearing blue jeans and listening to pop music. Conduct sci-fi trade by caravan!

    - Which brings us to the best feature: spend 50% (literally: half) of your game time managing space caravans, of which there will be dozens and which have to be manually re-assigned every couple of turns! Yay! 3 caravans per city! EPIC FUN on large maps.

    - Watch real f_AI_l brought out of the AI, which will not attack you once during a full game at the hardest difficulty setting, but which will proceed to launch waves of suicide air strikes against an alien worm sitting in a harmless spot and doing nothing.

    - If you should divert from caravan management to anything else, like achieving victory conditions, you will be punished! Feel victory turn to ash in your mouth as, after 50+ turns of building wonders to communicate with the ancient alien race you get a popup saying “Congrats! You’ve communicated with the ancient alien race! Game over.”

    Seriously?    … Expand
  97. chakane048
    Oct 27, 2014
    0
    The quality of this game is a direct insult to Sid Meier. Beyond Exasperation. I might give this game a 1/10 score if they didn't slap my face by updating Civ5 today.
  98. horepung
    Oct 27, 2014
    2
    After playing Civ 5 and now playing Civ: BE I can only say that this was a huuuuge let down. What a disappointment!

    1: The A.I. is dumber than ever in this game. It's not even fun to play this when the different factions played by the A.I. have like no personality at all. They're all the same in every way. Spamming you with the same **** meaningless praises and requests over and over    After playing Civ 5 and now playing Civ: BE I can only say that this was a huuuuge let down. What a disappointment!

    1: The A.I. is dumber than ever in this game. It's not even fun to play this when the different factions played by the A.I. have like no personality at all. They're all the same in every way. Spamming you with the same **** meaningless praises and requests over and over again.
    2: The UI is lack luster to say the least. Confusing and strange placements.
    3: After playing like 2 games some of the design choice you encounter are so **** aweful that I don't even believe the game designers even played their own game. Like the constant renewals of the trade routes and the workers that simply cannot be automated when researching the teraforming tech, they will ruin you with building stuff that drain all of your energy.
    4: There's no strategic depth at all. The game is bland in every corner and it seems like you could just pick every affinity, virtue and tech at random and it would mean nothing for the outcome of the game.

    Summed up, if you wonder if you want to buy this or Civ 5, go for Civ 5. This is basically Civ 5 only stripped to the bare minimum. This game should be no where near a 50$ price tag. If you really want to try it, try the demo or wait for a steam winter sale or something. I regret buying this game.    … Expand
  99. Raziel92
    Oct 27, 2014
    4
    >> I'd just like to say that this isn't a review from an angry Alpha Centauri fan - I never played that game so I'm not comparing Beyond Earth against it.
  100. MaxFource
    Oct 27, 2014
    1
    Spiritual successor to SMAC? NOT...EVEN...CLOSE!!

    -No Unit Workshop -No Terraforming -No Social Engineering -No Secret Projects that actually excite you to pursue them SMAC, a 15-year old game, is kicking C:BE's ass up and down the field when it comes to creativity, excitement and intrigue of gameplay. One more turn, just one more turn? NOT!! C:BE is nothing more than a    Spiritual successor to SMAC? NOT...EVEN...CLOSE!!

    -No Unit Workshop
    -No Terraforming
    -No Social Engineering
    -No Secret Projects that actually excite you to pursue them

    SMAC, a 15-year old game, is kicking C:BE's ass up and down the field when it comes to creativity, excitement and intrigue of gameplay. One more turn, just one more turn? NOT!! C:BE is nothing more than a super-skinned mod that Firaxis threw together at the last minute and decided to rest on their laurels
    with the success of Civ V; and then to make it sting like the dickens they had the audacity to put out their hand and say, "That'll be $50, please." Once this game moves to the $5 bin, it MAY be worth it.
    Better yet, play Civ IV:BTS with the cool Planetfall mod if you want a nice sci-fi civ experience.

    Was Sid Meier even an active member of the design team when this was being created? Because it doesn't seem like it. I mean...he did make the design team at least play SMAC for a weekend before coming together to start making this game, right? I would hope so, but that doesn't seem to be the case; not from what I'm seeing with C:BE - so devoid and bereft of creativity and nuance.

    Ever since 2K Games became the publisher for Firaxis, the Civilization title's pull on gamers has been dwindling. Once 2K got involved in the franchise, it's been nothing but a money-grab and wallet-milking enterprise. You want new stuff? DLC..."gimme your money". You want expansions? Here's some stuff we
    deliberately left out of the game at the beginning..."gimme your money" if you want it back. In case no one has really noticed, with 2K, they purposefully publish games with missing content so that they have a reason to release DLC or expansion packs just to charge you again and again; all the while making you
    believe that they've come up with new and exciting content material to add to the game. They did that when they went from Civ IV to Civ V, and they are doing it again with Civ V to C:BE. Civ V:BNW was well-polished and brimming full of content and gamplay, but what does 2K/Firaxis do? They purposefully strip out all of the advancements and richness of BNW and give us a barren, lifeless C:BE, just so they have some place to go in the future and ultimately charge us more money for things that should've been in the game from the get-go. Hello...2K/Firaxis...you're burning through loyal customers by doing this, and they're not coming back. There are TONS of indie gaming studios that are turning out great, engaging games for far less and they reward you for buying their game by offering free add-ons and free DLC. You should try that, Firaxis.

    Buh-bye 2K and Firaxis, Buh-bye!

    I do NOT recommend this game to SMAC enthusiasts.    … Expand
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Awards & Rankings

57
#57 Best PC Game of 2014
21
#21 Most Discussed PC Game of 2014
4
#4 Most Shared PC Game of 2014

Critic Reviews

All reviews »
Metascore
81

Generally favorable reviews - based on 78 Critic Reviews

Critic score distribution:
  1. Positive: 65 out of 78
  2. Mixed: 12 out of 78
  3. Negative: 1 out of 78
  1. CD-Action
    Jan 9, 2015
    90
    Cancel all your plans and fill up the fridge, because once you launch Beyond Earth you will not want to leave your home. [13/2014, p.46]
  2. Worth Playing
    Dec 23, 2014
    85
    Passive AI and lackluster online support from the community isn't enough to make Civilization: Beyond Earth a total wash. If you've enjoyed the series over the years, you'll likely spend many hours with this entry as well.
    Read full review
  3. Games Master UK
    Dec 21, 2014
    80
    Prepare for tech tree troubles, but the amount to discover and overall quality wins out. [Christmas 2014, p.64]
See all critic reviews »