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. atomsk1911
    Nov 16, 2014
    6
    this game isn't too bad but it is lacking in content. you have almost no diversity once you start down your path. wait until the expansions come out and buy a bundle pack by then it should be good.
  2. gatheck
    Nov 15, 2014
    9
    It's not Civilization V and it's not Alpha Centauri, when you realize that you'll love this game :) But first you have to play several games, not turns! And I'm sure that this game will become better and better.
  3. 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
  4. Woopya
    Nov 14, 2014
    5
    This is a tough 1 for me. I have been playing Civ games for a long time and while I do think this game is fun to play, I just do not feel it is different enough from Civ 5 to be considered a new game and not just a mod to Civ 5. They try to give it a sci fi feel to it, but it kinda fails because we are stuck playing as the same old rearranged human factions with new names. 1 of the keysThis is a tough 1 for me. I have been playing Civ games for a long time and while I do think this game is fun to play, I just do not feel it is different enough from Civ 5 to be considered a new game and not just a mod to Civ 5. They try to give it a sci fi feel to it, but it kinda fails because we are stuck playing as the same old rearranged human factions with new names. 1 of the keys to success, as well as the most difficult aspects to sci fi genres is the aspect of lore. This game has a backstory, but it isnt really a lore. We are not really given any reason to want to play any particular faction nor are we given any reason to dislike any particular faction. That is what the historical aspect of the regular Civ games gives us that this game lacks. There are some new smallish features changed or added , but nothing that really grabs me. So I find that I do play it, for now but it doesnt consume me the way new Civ games usually do. In truth it just feels like an "inbetween "release, or an expansion to Civ 5. But in truth, in just a couple days I found my desire to play Civ was greater than it was to play this game.… Expand
  5. sebbby
    Nov 13, 2014
    6
    When I first heard of Beyond Earth, I wasn't exactly hyped. For me, the Civ series has always been a historical series, not a futuristic one. Nonetheless, I quite like many of the features in Beyond Earth. The quests system is quite nice. The art style is quite nice and the upgradable military units is a cool feature. By far the best thing added, is the new tech web. It allows for yourWhen I first heard of Beyond Earth, I wasn't exactly hyped. For me, the Civ series has always been a historical series, not a futuristic one. Nonetheless, I quite like many of the features in Beyond Earth. The quests system is quite nice. The art style is quite nice and the upgradable military units is a cool feature. By far the best thing added, is the new tech web. It allows for your colony to be what you want it to be.

    But, Beyond Earth is far from perfect. It is built upon the same engine as Civ V and it shows. Some of the wording makes little sense, as if they copy and pasted from Civ V. There is also a major lack of Civilizations. There were also a plethora of bugs when I played from crashing and disconnecting, to issues with multiple monitor setups.

    All-in-all, its a decent game. Definitely not worthy of being a sequel to Civ V. I hope that Beyond earth is a distraction while Civ 6 is being developed.

    6/10    … Expand
  6. Archontos
    Nov 13, 2014
    6
    Civilization 5 with graphics mod. These two or three additional features are much much smaller than any DLC to earlier Civ games. Classical rip-off, nevertheless just as good as normal Civ5. If you have Civ5 - don't buy. You already saw 95% of the game and new graphics can be watched in demo version on Steam.
  7. 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.
  8. 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
  9. 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
  10. masterhoodwinke
    Nov 11, 2014
    6
    Missed opportunity here in Beyond Earth. I've played and loved all previous Civ games. This one just feels rushed, like a re-skinned Civ 5 Mod. Yes the Tech tree is new, and a step in the right direction, but I found it almost boring. The space age technologies are so incomprehensible that it takes the joy out of technological progress. What the hell are half of these technologies...Missed opportunity here in Beyond Earth. I've played and loved all previous Civ games. This one just feels rushed, like a re-skinned Civ 5 Mod. Yes the Tech tree is new, and a step in the right direction, but I found it almost boring. The space age technologies are so incomprehensible that it takes the joy out of technological progress. What the hell are half of these technologies... why should I care? Is it just me or was researching gunpowder before any other players in Civ 5 incredibly satisfying? Nothing in BE can come close to that.

    Setting is interesting, but shallow and unremarkable in many ways. There is really no difference between any of the civilizations so replay is hindered. There is little to no lore in this Civ BE universe...

    Bottom line is this game is a missed opportunity and not worth the price. Not enough innovation or experimentation to justify a full new title. It will feel almost exactly the same as Civ 5. Yes I still love the Civilization franchise and I'll be there for the next game. With that said my trust in Sid Meyer as a innovative "Elon Musk" of Strategy video games is shaken.

    Try out Endless Legend if you want a really fresh innovative take on 4 x strategy games. I'm loving it.    … Expand
  11. rebi
    Nov 11, 2014
    6
    Horrible user interface and color selection, otherwise solid game. Seriously lacks replayability but some concepts in game are really promising. This game needs a lot of polishing but it has the potential to be a great game. Needs 1-2 expansions to catch Civ 5 Beyond Earth tough.
  12. phishyphishy
    Nov 10, 2014
    8
    Play If: You love civilization games. It's as fun as all the rest.

    Don't Play If: This is your first civilization game. Pick up Civ V and treat this as a sequel.
  13. 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
  14. cgmcnama
    Nov 9, 2014
    6
    SUMMARY: The core game foundation is great but needs a lot of tweaking in the balance department. Wait a year for a Steam sale when all the patches and updates are done and I think you will be delightfully pleased.

    This game deceptively appears to be a re-hash of Civ V but is actually a completely different game and has a lot of fun concepts like aggressive Aliens and Affinities. It    SUMMARY: The core game foundation is great but needs a lot of tweaking in the balance department. Wait a year for a Steam sale when all the patches and updates are done and I think you will be delightfully pleased.

    This game deceptively appears to be a re-hash of Civ V but is actually a completely different game and has a lot of fun concepts like aggressive Aliens and Affinities. It has a lot of potential and really implemented a strong Culture system where all the trees are viable.

    However, it just isn't balanced right now and multiplayer is broken. There are frequent crashes and game concepts like trade routes are insanely strong and broken. Because they are broken and have no limits like Civ V, you end up micromanaging each route every 25 turns unless you modify the Asset file or install a mod.    … Expand
  15. boompow
    Nov 9, 2014
    8
    I have no idea why this game is getting so much hate. Perhaps it has to do with expectations. Personally I have been waiting for a new Alpha Centauri for ages and this game has completely satisfied this desire. Beautiful graphics, a lot of the great parts of Civ 5 and finally the interstellar expansion scenario I love. The new affinity system is fantastic and adds a neat personal twistI have no idea why this game is getting so much hate. Perhaps it has to do with expectations. Personally I have been waiting for a new Alpha Centauri for ages and this game has completely satisfied this desire. Beautiful graphics, a lot of the great parts of Civ 5 and finally the interstellar expansion scenario I love. The new affinity system is fantastic and adds a neat personal twist along with the customization through virtues which we already know from Civ 5 as policies. The aliens are only disappointing because they stop being anything but a minor inconvenience fairly quickly. I would love to see them be more of a wild card that grows along with your power unless you go harmony. Other than some performance issues there is not much to complain about in this game. If you enjoy Civ and are looking for a more futuristic setting then you will not be disappointed.… Expand
  16. Yyrkroon
    Nov 9, 2014
    5
    I hate to pile on, but this game deserves it. I'm a long time fan of the Civilization, going back to Civ I on the Atari ST. This is by far the worst of a great franchise. It isn't a horrible game - nothing like M003, but it isn't really worthy of the Civ, or Sid Meier, moniker either. It is very lack lustre and lacks the famous, "just one more turn" digital-crack addiction of its siblings.I hate to pile on, but this game deserves it. I'm a long time fan of the Civilization, going back to Civ I on the Atari ST. This is by far the worst of a great franchise. It isn't a horrible game - nothing like M003, but it isn't really worthy of the Civ, or Sid Meier, moniker either. It is very lack lustre and lacks the famous, "just one more turn" digital-crack addiction of its siblings.

    Had this game arrived side-by-side with Civ 5 in 2010, it might have been received better, but it hasn't really brought much more to the table than a semi-ambitious fan mod of Civ 5. The 4x genre has evolved in the last 4 years, and new comers such as Endless Legends really put this to shame.    … Expand
  17. 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
  18. 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
  19. Smellfire
    Nov 8, 2014
    6
    Disappointing and feels shallow and pretty lifeless after playing Civ V. Has lots to recommend it but also, lots not to.

    Visually its not stunning. I expected an alien world to look fun and funky, but besides a few plants and buildings, it doesn't. The cities while building up don't look spectacular either. The aliens are mostly a bland green. The Buildings are many and interesting    Disappointing and feels shallow and pretty lifeless after playing Civ V. Has lots to recommend it but also, lots not to.

    Visually its not stunning. I expected an alien world to look fun and funky, but besides a few plants and buildings, it doesn't. The cities while building up don't look spectacular either. The aliens are mostly a bland green.

    The Buildings are many and interesting as are the new ways for skill ups like the tech web. Its really not clear what your doing in the beginning but sorts its self out after a few games. I can't say how much I like the Tech Web, but its a lot!

    The other major problem I have with the game are the victory conditions. Except for Domination, they are far to easy to get in any of the first 4 difficulty settings. After that it becomes harder, but no more interesting. Spying is also completely over powered in those difficulty settings.

    Voice over is also terrible and lacks any charisma at all, as do about a 1/4 of the playable characters. Yet another bug bear is the inane sayings that have been put in. Where as Civ 5 you had passages from Shakespeare, Washington, Dickens, Ghandi etc you get some barely cohesive drivel about nothing in particular. Quotes from the like of Jules Verne, Asimov, PJ Farmer etc would have been far more enjoyable and immersive.    … Expand
  20. 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
  21. 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.
  22. 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
  23. 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
  24. 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.
  25. 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
  26. 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
  27. Pahvlor
    Nov 5, 2014
    8
    This review contains spoilers, click expand to view. I personally think Beyond Earth has the chance to be a big game in the civilization franchise. However, there are a few minor problems that prevent it from being a outstanding game.

    First, people need to stop comparing BE to the finished product of Civ 5 Brave New World. Civ 5 wasn't perfect when it came out, but with time it became a great game. There are a few areas of the game that feel like a re-skin of Civ 5, but there are also lots of new concepts.

    The civilization games have been based on history. You know who the leaders and can associate them with events in history and can understand their personality. In BE, you don't know the leaders of the sponsors because it is set future. The leaders of the sponsors also don't have much personality.

    However, the lack of history behind the game also gives you the tech web. This may be confusing at first, but after you get use to it the web design it is way better than the tech tree.

    The victory types are new with the exception for domination. The way the victories tie in with the strategic resources can make the game play in a different way every time.

    The beginning of the game provides even more variation. When setting up you have options besides choosing the map type. You can choose bonuses that will help you throughout the game.

    The user interface could use some work. The city screen is cluttered, butting is not unbearable.

    I know this game will be better in the future when DLC come out. You know there will be some because some countries are unaccounted for. There is no civ tied to Great Britain. the Middle East, minus Pakistan, is left out for now. Finland, Sweden, Norway and some other European nations don't appear to be in the game. Those are at least three more possible civs. I believe Great Britain will be implemented rather soon becaus ethereal are no civs tied to naval combat or ocean trades or anything water related. (Sorry for the speculation)

    This game is solid for what it is. People need to stop comparing it to Civ 5 Brave New World. Civ 5 was also a little underwhelming when it first came out. But with patches and expansions it became an amazing game. Beyond Earth is going to pan out the same way. With that said, it still is a good game that is worth your time. It is just as addicting as any other Civ game that makes you feel like you want to play just one more turn.    … Expand
  28. Truth_
    Nov 5, 2014
    5
    It's about what I, and so many others, were expecting: A Civ V reskin with little to offer than Civ V had, and taking nearly nothing from its inspiration, Alpha Centauri.

    There was quite the crowd of complainers that Civilization V was lacking compared to IV, however, an at least somewhat valid excuse was that Firaxis had to design and create a new engine as well as update all the    It's about what I, and so many others, were expecting: A Civ V reskin with little to offer than Civ V had, and taking nearly nothing from its inspiration, Alpha Centauri.

    There was quite the crowd of complainers that Civilization V was lacking compared to IV, however, an at least somewhat valid excuse was that Firaxis had to design and create a new engine as well as update all the graphics. What was the excuse this time? It is the same engine, and the graphics and art style have not been changed. It looks like many assets were slightly altered and plugged back in, too. So what did we get in exchange for this time savings?

    Exploration, aliens/barbarians, the tech tree, factions, and unit upgrades were changed. But the exploration is still largely bland, the aliens are uninspired and otherwise in fact worse functionally than barbarians, the tech tree is refreshing yet convoluted and seemingly random (as opposed to Endless Space's themed branches), the factions have no character, and unit upgrades are simple, boring, and unbalanced. Adding in quests like Endless Legend and a bit of story was nice, but the choices are the same every game and lead to nothing in the future.

    Additionally, the strategic resources were made irrelevant until the late game, luxury goods were removed, health was made easy to manage, and the UI is missing critical options and information (that existed in Civ V). Finally, the AI is incredibly passive and dumber than a sack of potatoes. Again Civ V's removal of the Giant Stack of Death meets its flaws: inability to move armies and attack cities as well as the AI's inability to functionally attack in most instances.

    I wrote a large essay on another website that exceeds my limit here, and plenty of other reviews go into detail about many of my points and more. All I would like to add is that although I was not expecting much, Civilization: Beyond Earth is still a disappointment. It is somehow worse than its predecessor, Civilization V, takes nothing from Alpha Centauri (a game lauded by a loving fanbase), and puts no effort into a truly interesting and fun science-fiction setting (no creativity in units, aliens, resources, terrain types, map effects, map design, factions, or mechanics).

    Ultimately the game is okay from an objective, stand-alone perspective. But when I know it's from a long-standing series and was inspired by Alpha Centauri, and now has competitors like Sins of a Solar Empire, Endless Space, and others... I can't help but rate the game poorly.

    I have little doubt interesting things will be sold later as DLC, but it disheartens me greatly to think we must pay extra to get a game we wanted in the first place. Perhaps next time, Firaxis... but I doubt it.    … Expand
  29. Cyberlion
    Nov 5, 2014
    5
    After the initial few hours of euphoria exploring a new alpha centauri game, I realized there were no significant innovations since its predecessor. All the factions, aliens and planets look and feel the same. After the first few hours, I realized there are no new gameplay mechanics. Graphics, sounds gameplay all mediocre. I built up a colony, explored the map, built a few units andAfter the initial few hours of euphoria exploring a new alpha centauri game, I realized there were no significant innovations since its predecessor. All the factions, aliens and planets look and feel the same. After the first few hours, I realized there are no new gameplay mechanics. Graphics, sounds gameplay all mediocre. I built up a colony, explored the map, built a few units and realized I have as much desire to continue playing as I do to replay Civ 5.… Expand
  30. Jthecrazed
    Nov 5, 2014
    7
    Still one of the best strategy games out there, rivaling the total war series for years and that series making a decline in grades, this one remains steady. It can still get some improvements but it's a great game overall.

    However this expansion is in my opinion not worthy of the game itself and thus 7/10
  31. Motasa
    Nov 5, 2014
    6
    Solid base game. Room for a lot of improvements. Essentially it's the same story as with Civ 5: vanilla is mediocre and the expansions made the game good.
  32. Hutopu
    Nov 5, 2014
    6
    It's not really a bad game, but still I'm very disappointed. As an old civ veteran (started with civ 2) I was so excited about the announcement, read every article and watched every video out there.
    It looked really good at the beginning, but after eight games (one game with every leader) I realized there is just something missing in this game and it's not what I expected....
    - Leaders    It's not really a bad game, but still I'm very disappointed. As an old civ veteran (started with civ 2) I was so excited about the announcement, read every article and watched every video out there.
    It looked really good at the beginning, but after eight games (one game with every leader) I realized there is just something missing in this game and it's not what I expected....

    - Leaders have no character, no unique units or unique buildings. It doesn't really matter who you pick, basically they all play the same

    - Most wonders are boring like hell and totally useless. I mean WTF? A wonder at the end of the game with just +4 culture for 750 production? Who would ever build this ****?

    - there is no replay after winning the game..... i just don't understand why

    - Even Apollo difficulty is way to easy. You can just rush to important techs, build the few good wonders and choose one of the victory's or just destroy your opponents. Firaxis had four years since the release of Civ 5 to work on the AIs, but they play even worse....

    Still it's not a bad game and I hope they will improve it soon like they did it with Civ 5, but until then I prefer the predecessor!    … Expand
  33. Saporaku
    Nov 4, 2014
    8
    I think this game has been getting a lot of flak just for not being Civ. Its not as involved as Civ. There are definitely drop offs in it where you aren't addicted to hit next turn where it is just easier, but over all its really solid for a 4x. The victory types are unique and interesting. The tech tree has a non-linear progression (which adds to the power of espionage, something that hasI think this game has been getting a lot of flak just for not being Civ. Its not as involved as Civ. There are definitely drop offs in it where you aren't addicted to hit next turn where it is just easier, but over all its really solid for a 4x. The victory types are unique and interesting. The tech tree has a non-linear progression (which adds to the power of espionage, something that has been lacking in civ if you are a scientifically advanced culture *cough*sejong*cough*) which adds to the way the game is set up. Its not about linear progression, but instead, about figuring out an effective path for maximizing your game objective. As a result, there is not a guaranteed path where you are going to be butting heads with AI or just finding AI to be useless. However! There does seem to be a "best" path if your objective is beating the game in the fewest turns(which is how I play). I think there still needs to be a lot of balancing done, but it was the same when Civ 5 was first released(beating the game with rome in the 1600's by culture was a little silly). The first big patch that Civ 5 did was AMAZING, so I have expectations that they will at least do a big patch on this one like they did for CIv 5.
    Overall, its different. Which is exactly what I think you should expect from Civ in space.    … Expand
  34. AkVr
    Nov 4, 2014
    9
    I must say i misjudged this game when i first played.Then i gave it a few tries.I dont know why it is so easy to get the wrong impression about it but if you play a while you will realize that it is a good game.Maybe the A.I needs some polishing and the Leaders.Diplomacy is not interesting at all,But i am sure Firaxis is already working to fix a few things with an expansion and add some more.
  35. Eysteinh
    Nov 4, 2014
    5
    I wish BE was a good civ5 mod. Sadly the MP code of the game is terrible broken in vanilla release. Out of synchs happen very frequently and in over 150 hours of games I have only finished a single MP game without any serious out of synch problems causing disconnects or even worse when rehosting causing one or several players to have lost technologies or buildings built during theyreI wish BE was a good civ5 mod. Sadly the MP code of the game is terrible broken in vanilla release. Out of synchs happen very frequently and in over 150 hours of games I have only finished a single MP game without any serious out of synch problems causing disconnects or even worse when rehosting causing one or several players to have lost technologies or buildings built during theyre turns. In its core gameplay civ BE has some interesting elements, but sadly it is a step back from civ5 mp and even that is a step back from civ4 MP. I wish Firaxis would start to take the MP community serious again. I have bought and played every civ game since civ1 on amiga and I am now for the first time in my life seriously considering not buying the next civ game as enough is enough.… Expand
  36. weregamer
    Nov 4, 2014
    8
    Overall CivBE lives up to the expectations set by the pre-launch publicity, and is blessedly free of game-breaking bugs (although I've seen reports of issues with specific monitor configurations).

    That said, it shows evidence of having been rushed out as a speculative product. Many little details of production quality are missing (for example all the technology and wonder quotes are    Overall CivBE lives up to the expectations set by the pre-launch publicity, and is blessedly free of game-breaking bugs (although I've seen reports of issues with specific monitor configurations).

    That said, it shows evidence of having been rushed out as a speculative product. Many little details of production quality are missing (for example all the technology and wonder quotes are delivered by the same voice actor, rather than by the actor for the leader they are attributed to). There are also some annoying bugs that need to be addressed, chief among which are assignment of building quests to cities that can't build that building and the really bad problems users on lower-end graphics hardware have with UI updates.

    Overall, I'd say that if you like the Civ series, and aren't one of the Civ 5 haters, this is worth your purchase, and supporting the game with your dollars will encourage both patches for the problems and better funding for future games in the series.    … Expand
  37. 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.
  38. 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).
  39. Spectre486
    Nov 4, 2014
    7
    I'm giving this a 7 because as a stand-alone game, C:BE a good 4X strategy game. But, I'm so used to the masterpiece that is Civilization 5 : Brave New World, that this rendition sadly pales into insignificance. Many of the features that made Civ 5 what it was have either been heavily simplified or removed entirely - good examples being the unit variety and faction identities/bonuses.I'm giving this a 7 because as a stand-alone game, C:BE a good 4X strategy game. But, I'm so used to the masterpiece that is Civilization 5 : Brave New World, that this rendition sadly pales into insignificance. Many of the features that made Civ 5 what it was have either been heavily simplified or removed entirely - good examples being the unit variety and faction identities/bonuses.

    Good/New features :

    I like the addition of the orbital layer - it adds another dynamic to empire building and warfare.
    The new Affinities (Ideologies) are a different spin on Civ 5, and I think do give you a feel of what your Civ represents in terms of values.
    Miasma - it feels like a major pain to start out, and if you play as Harmony, you can turn it to your advantage - a nice touch.
    The Virtues tree (social upgrades) are a nice touch giving you the option to progress either in a single tree or multiple trees - each having bonus boosts (i.e. you get bonuses for spreading across multiple trees - unlike Civ 5).
    The Quests - it adds a nice way to customise buildings to your specific playstyle, and gives nice little boosts to your empire. Ultimately, it's a mechanism to reduce the number of buildings in the game.
    The favour system in diplomacy is a nice touch. If you don't need anything from another faction, they trade you an IOU which can be called in later.
    The visual appeal is a nice change from dull and boring earth :o)

    Things that disappoint me :

    The tech web - although a decent idea, it just seems to be a random collection of upgrades that you stumble into. I never get a feel that I'm progressing towards something meaningful. Example : In Civ 5, acquiring Dynamite was a major boost for your Artillery capabilities, and you would often divert resources to getting it as early as possible if you were planning a war. You don't get that feeling in C:BE.

    The wonders are........Meh. They are small and fairly insignificant boosts that have little synergy with each other. Again, Civ 5 often required you to build/acquire certain wonders to achieve certain victories.

    The lack of "atmosphere". This is a new planet shrouded in mystery! The quest system is good for customisation, but they could have done so much more with it to give you that feeling that this is a weird and wonderful new place that you have to grapple with to get the most out of it. The Aliens are basically the "Barbarians" of Civ 5 - but they seem to flip a coin as to whether or not to attack you. Once you get to mid-game, they are irrelevant as a force - you might as well terminate them on sight, even playing as Harmony! Would have been much better if they made the natural inhabitants an AI-only faction in their own right, and link quests to them depending on your Affinity.

    The "health" system. It's basically "happiness" from Civ 5, but seems to be more forgiving. You can expand very aggressively in C:BE and not suffer too much. If you did that in Civ 5, you'd find life very difficult if your people weren't happy. The "softening" of this expansion bottleneck means that you are engaging far less with your neighbours to acquire happiness or manipulate the game in your favour via a league of nations/UN - oh wait, luxury goods don't exist anymore either. Why do I need to talk to anyone again?

    The NPC stations; the C:BE equivalent of City States. They are a trading option for a single trade route - nothing more. You don't fight over them. They don't fight for you. They don't consume land and foil your best laid expansion plans. You can't take them over. They don't give you a bigger voice at the table of international diplomacy - nope...they just sit there and give you a few extra resource points - and if you're unlucky they appear out of the blue and stop you from planting an outpost where you want it. Meh.

    Economy - I never feel like Energy (Gold) is a bottleneck. If you had an abundance of gold in Civ 5, you could do so much with it. If you weren't a gold friendly faction, you'd often struggle to make ends meet - to field that Dynasty crushing army. So far - Energy is just something I casually look at. It's rarely in the negative per turn. It's just not a resource that needs to be carefully managed.

    Lack of unit diversity - There are not many units at all. Only different ways to customise them via increases in Affinity. It's like the buildings - less of them, but you can customise them.

    All in all I'm disappointed - After Civ 5 and X-COM, Firaxis were the only software house I'd ever pre-order anything from. I'll be thinking twice now.

    That said - this game does have potential for modding and future expansions. My advice is to park it until that happens. Civ 5 only became truly great after the second expansion.    … Expand
  40. MarioNvano
    Nov 3, 2014
    5
    Some say this game is not bad. This is not true, it's technically a mess but it plays smoothly enough to keep you going. I don't get why more reviews mention the actual short comings of the game.

    Good: It's a nice refreshing approach for those who are not that familiar with the older Sid Meier's games. The interface is pretty good and the aliens bring a nice challenge to the early game    Some say this game is not bad. This is not true, it's technically a mess but it plays smoothly enough to keep you going. I don't get why more reviews mention the actual short comings of the game.

    Good:
    It's a nice refreshing approach for those who are not that familiar with the older Sid Meier's games. The interface is pretty good and the aliens bring a nice challenge to the early game and have a better role strategy wise than the barbarians of the previous games.
    Later on you pick from three unique directions to grow in which will influence the way your army looks and feels. This is done mainly by researching, so the faction you pick will greatly influence your tech choices. This is way better than the few unique country bonuses from the older games and because of this, the replay ability is way better.

    Bad:
    The game focuses so much on streamlining a lot of features that give a game a nice feel are removed.
    For example if it's becoming a close game between you and an AI. You have a pretty strong army but they researched fast and are close to an alternative win situation. First off you get no notion of them doing this. There is a small tab that shows their progress but it goes in heeps. One turn it's 25% another turn it's 75%. Some Nps's or players jump to 75% instantly or finish the game. Secondly once it's done you get this game over screen and it's basically over. You don't get to see who won. No time line, nothing. You don't see what win ended the game. In mp anyone could have won. You can't know.

    And the game is filled with these things that show a rushed triple A title. Further examples of this are trade and politics screen. You can no longer figure out underlying politics. And you have to refresh every trade route, open borders, alliance every couple turns. Let's say you have 7 cities with each 3 trade routes. You set up trade routes with foreign players and internal cities. But these expire every couple turns. It doesn't give you the option to automatically continue trade route or to keep borders open. No it cancels the route or open borders with all problems that arise from it. This becomes messier and messier as the came continues. As units randomly get rejected from friendly countries, trade routes get reset etc.

    The ai is pretty bad in war scenarios. A couple of times they moved in without any regard on the losses they made. Ships reacting to threats just after every ship arrived ( by this time my navy shot em up nicely).

    Verdict:
    Sadly for all the promise it has it cuts short. It will blow you away with a lot of things if you go in unbiased. But how can you play a game that doesn't let you know who won in mp. You pay a decent amount of cash for something that has a lot going for it but it so rudely cut at some points it kind of ruins the game experience in the long run. I think most review sites went through 2 games and experienced some positive redeeming features to score it high. But if you want to spend more time into this it will cut short on a lot of fronts.    … Expand
  41. loppstalker
    Nov 3, 2014
    10
    Lopp likes Beyond Earth. Lopp enjoys playing the ARC and making spies. Lots of spies for Lopp. Lopp works on gaining the shinies. Lopp likes shinies..
  42. terminxman
    Nov 3, 2014
    5
    This game is nowhere near what we were promised. The Aliens really have no effect other than annoyance. You can choose to coexist with them, or just kill them. Either way you really get no benefits from coexisting with them. There is no endgame with the aliens, they are simply there to kill or leave alone. You can either get "Purity, Supremacy, or Harmony" points, which allow you toThis game is nowhere near what we were promised. The Aliens really have no effect other than annoyance. You can choose to coexist with them, or just kill them. Either way you really get no benefits from coexisting with them. There is no endgame with the aliens, they are simply there to kill or leave alone. You can either get "Purity, Supremacy, or Harmony" points, which allow you to upgrade to different units depending on how many point of it you have. Other than that there are some very minor effects from it.

    We were promised "unit customization" which was a complete lie (Although there will probably be a **** DLC for it). There is no customization, other than the fact that you can upgrade to different units (with very minor differences) depending on what your affinity is (to purity, supremacy, harmony). You can't even so much as change the color of your units. You literally start with a Soldier for example, which you can upgrade to a marine. Then there are three different "options." They aren't really options because if your affinity is towards Purity, then you can only select the next unit in the tree. The tree of units basically looks like this:

    Soldier
    ^
    Marine
    ^ ^ ^
    | | |
    | | |
    | | |

    The interface is almost exactly the same as civ 5, and all of the gameplay is exactly the same. There are no other planets to explore, the randomly generated planets basically consist of three different types (hot, mild, cold). The appearance is always exactly the same except the terrain will range from blueish to reddish depending on the temperature.

    A big point they made when presenting the game initially was that "OH, THERE ARE MULTIPLE LAYERS TO THE WORLD, YOU CAN GO TO OTHER PLANETS AND **** In reality all this meant was that you could launch satellites which have some benefits. That's about it.

    I almost forgot about the different "Sponsors," which are basically Beyond Earth's version of your Ruler in past civs. Except there are only 5 or 6. It really doesn't matter, and you won't give a **** once you make it further in the game. They consist of: Some French, African, Russian (typical sterotypical communist looking leader), Brazil, etc. Pretty much the most basic, unimaginative leaders that a teenager could come up with. Also, why are there still Africans, South Americans, etc in the year what? 2600? I thought Earth was destroyed or something, why are there still different countries and races? Wouldn't we all just be brownish people with no nationality since nations are no more?

    And the horrible tech web. Yes, to further "improve" the tech upgrade tree, they just made it a massive web of techs with 3 techs in each tree. Also, it's hundreds of years into the future and I'm having to research **** technology to make a **** boat? Or Aircraft with a range of like 3 tiles? What the **** How did we get to this planet in the first place? It takes halfway through a game to even start getting to futuristic tech. The more I write on this review, the more I remember about how disappointing this game is.

    There is really no upgrade to diplomacy. It's still very basic and unless you are playing multiplayer with friends, then there is pretty much no interaction or indication of how the AI feels about you. Other than "Friendly, neutral, hostile." There isn't an obvious way to improve your relations manually. It just happens abstractly until you can form a "cooperation agreement."

    Basically, this isn't a bad game. If you have never played Civ 5, then it is a good game. If you have played Civ 5 and expected a new game with a bunch of new features, and some Alpha Centauri elements, then you will be extremely dissapointed. I'm not sure why all of the major gaming publications are harping it as the second coming of Alpha Centauri, because it isn't even close.

    At least Paradox is still making serious strategy games, because the Civ series is pretty much dead to me.    … Expand
  43. jakebenntt
    Nov 3, 2014
    9
    Aliens, EPIC. Expeditions, EPIC. Tech web, EPIC. Only problem with it is the repetitive quest system. Otherwise, could call it a civ 5 remake, WITH TONS MORE CONTENT AND A MUCH BETTER, NOT CIV 5 SYSTEM!
  44. Kazek7
    Nov 3, 2014
    6
    There isn't much to say about this game. It's Civilization 5 with aliens and more futuristic units. That can be a good thing, or a bad thing depending on your view. I found that there weren't enough leaders, and the leaders we got were boring talking heads. The Computer AI is horrible with combat, They send in their units in to die with no strategy. And if they declare war on you, TheyThere isn't much to say about this game. It's Civilization 5 with aliens and more futuristic units. That can be a good thing, or a bad thing depending on your view. I found that there weren't enough leaders, and the leaders we got were boring talking heads. The Computer AI is horrible with combat, They send in their units in to die with no strategy. And if they declare war on you, They usually beg for peace 5 turns later. There isn't much new in this game, Which is disappointing But it doesn't make it a terrible game.… Expand
  45. ducksaws
    Nov 2, 2014
    5
    There's so little interaction between you and the computer players, it's boring.

    There's no culture interaction between civs. All you have are a few culture buildings that are a counter towards a perk tree, similar to Civ 5, but there are only 4 trees and they're all accessible from the beginning. Doesn't feel like progression. So no tourism, no culture victory. no great people either.    There's so little interaction between you and the computer players, it's boring.

    There's no culture interaction between civs. All you have are a few culture buildings that are a counter towards a perk tree, similar to Civ 5, but there are only 4 trees and they're all accessible from the beginning. Doesn't feel like progression. So no tourism, no culture victory. no great people either.

    No religion. No influencing your opponents through borders or trade or missionaries. I didn't expect every feature to cross over into the new game, but since there's not really any culture either, I expected there to be SOMETHING to pressure your opponents with besides military strength.

    No luxury resources. But there's still happiness (only it's called health). If your health is negative, all you can do is build more buildings or try get culture perks. Luxury resources were really fun in Civ 5. They were a great thing to expand towards or trade for because happiness was so important. And having extra luxury resources to trade was like 75% of the trading that happened.

    No city states. There are stations, which are basically a tile you can trade with. They don't provide any resources. You don't have influence with them. They don't go to war. They don't have units or territory. All they really do is take up space you probably wanted to settle on.

    Did I expect every good feature from Civ 5 to make it to this game? No. Did I expect there to be any interaction between Civilizations besides declaring war on them when you get bored? Yes.

    Because the lack of culture, religion, or world congress means that they had to come up with new victory conditions. The new victory conditions are terrible. They basically include researching a certain thing, building a wonder, and then waiting a certain number of turns until the wonder wins the game for you.

    This is a huge difference between the other conditions in Civ 5. In a culture victory you constantly try to boost your culture not because it's a winning condition but because having lots of culture gets you lots of perks and having cultural influence over other civs is strategically useful. In a diplomacy victory getting more votes means that you have a better chance at getting your way with international policy. A science victory comes with having the best and most technology.

    Here the winning conditions are so aimless. You can go on playing the game for hours with no idea what the winning conditions are and not doing anything towards them because they're so far removed from the core gameplay mechanics. You might as well be playing the game against a timer rather than other civs who are competing to have a stronger culture or diplomatic presence than you.    … Expand
  46. Spiralus
    Nov 2, 2014
    6
    This one started out really rough for me. After discovering that I had to leave and then re-enter full screen (huge bug?) frame rate and resolution stabilized enough to be playable. I actually wound up liking the U.I. After two play-throughs I can't give the game a lower rating than a five. No game that I willingly play for more than six hours deserves a lower score than that. That beingThis one started out really rough for me. After discovering that I had to leave and then re-enter full screen (huge bug?) frame rate and resolution stabilized enough to be playable. I actually wound up liking the U.I. After two play-throughs I can't give the game a lower rating than a five. No game that I willingly play for more than six hours deserves a lower score than that. That being said - the criticism that keeps coming up here - that the game doesn't do much new is pretty much spot on. That said, there ARE some fresh mechanics that I found interesting. The affinities while awfully named are neat in that they link the tech tree directly to your civ's cultural personality - which makes a lot of real world sense. The other noteworthy criticism is that the game DOES play a lot easier than Civ V. I annihilated both my first two games on normal +1 then normal +2 - which just shouldn't be possible in this type of game. We the players expect to loose our first game when we select anything harder than normal in a strategy game.
    In short: if you loved Civilization V and would like to play it again in space then buy this game. It IS a good turn based civ builder. It's expensive but it's a pretty big budget development for a small target market.    … Expand
  47. 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.
  48. pyradius
    Nov 2, 2014
    8
    While I would agree with the criticisms regarding missing UI features, and the laborious nature of some tasks (navigating the tech web, managing trade routes) it has some streamlined gameplay and improvements over Civ 5.

    The mission system (while needing some polish) is a nice addition to the gameplay. The minor factions are mostly a nuisance and are very underwhelming compared to    While I would agree with the criticisms regarding missing UI features, and the laborious nature of some tasks (navigating the tech web, managing trade routes) it has some streamlined gameplay and improvements over Civ 5.

    The mission system (while needing some polish) is a nice addition to the gameplay. The minor factions are mostly a nuisance and are very underwhelming compared to city-states in Civ 5, although they may fit in a little bit more with the faster-paced gameplay in BE.

    The affinities and virtues are suitable replacements for culture and religion from Civ 5, but I don't really see how they can be fleshed out the way they were in Civ 5, meaning their upside potential is kinda limited in BE. Maybe they'll surprise me with an awesome expansion but I have my reservations.

    In short, I would recommend this to Civ 5 fans who want a bit more. I would not recommend it for newcomers and would direct them to the much more fleshed out experience available in Civ 5.    … Expand
  49. 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.
  50. Mikimax
    Nov 2, 2014
    6
    I'm pretty disappointing with this game. This is basically a CIV 5 total conversion mod with optimized engine and nice graphics. The strongest area of the game is in the beginning when you are fighting for survival against aliens. Game feels unfinished and shallow. Huge opportunity wasted.
  51. legus
    Nov 2, 2014
    10
    Это ШИН, господа! Лучше цивы, а маминых неосиляторов не слушайте. Пять раз за вечер свои деньги отбивает!
  52. 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
  53. 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
  54. 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.
  55. Jayschwa
    Nov 1, 2014
    6
    The game feels like it needed another 6 months of play-testing and polish. After playing a few games, I think I'll probably go back to Civ 5: BNW until BE gets some patch love. I do still have some faith that after some patches and maybe an expansion, it can be a great game. Firaxis is usually good about that (e.g. Civ 5 sucked at launch too).

    My biggest problems with the game right now    The game feels like it needed another 6 months of play-testing and polish. After playing a few games, I think I'll probably go back to Civ 5: BNW until BE gets some patch love. I do still have some faith that after some patches and maybe an expansion, it can be a great game. Firaxis is usually good about that (e.g. Civ 5 sucked at launch too).

    My biggest problems with the game right now are:

    1) There are 5 advertised victory conditions, but it's realistically more like 2 *types* of victory conditions. Classic domination (i.e. defeat all your enemies and capture their capitals) and building a planetary wonder. Each affinity has its own planetary wonder victory, plus a generic Contact one. They're all essentially the same - research some stuff, build a thing, wait for thing to countdown, win. It doesn't feel very interesting, nor does it involve interaction with other civs like the tourism or world leader victories in BNW.

    2) The UI feels like several steps backwards from Civ 5, both in terms of functionality and aesthetics. City screens require extra clicks to show what is being built or to change production. Trade route screens no longer have the ability to sort by different resources. The monotone color scheme makes it hard to identify stuff.

    3) AI is dumb, repetitive, and more or less unnecessary to interact with unless you're going for a Domination victory. The American CEO quotes Adam Smith. The African guy talks about a village. Every god damn time. It's both extremely repetitive and extremely cliche. How hard would it have been to book the voice actors for a couple more hours and record a larger variety of lines? I also think there was wasted potential with the visual changes to the leaders as they go down an affinity. Most changes are just a change in clothes color, and maybe there's a wire on their forehead. The African leader actually looks pretty cool for the Supremacy (cyborg) affinity. It makes me think maybe they just ran out of time to be detailed on the rest of the leaders.

    4) Game balance is broken. In Civ 5, I used to enjoy playing with just a handful of super-cities (playing tall?). Thus far, it seems that dropping cities on every available space is the way to go since trade routes are capped per city and not per civ. Trade routes get spammed between cities, and then you end up in trade route micromanagement hell in late game as you have to keep reassigning them.    … Expand
  56. Nican
    Nov 1, 2014
    6
    Definitely not one of the better installment of the series.

    The user interface is lacking. The soundtrack mediocre. But most of all, the game is a bit simplistic. The strategic choices you make have significantly less impact then in the previous civ games. Managing the military units in particular has become almost boring. You can safely skip this title to save some money. If you    Definitely not one of the better installment of the series.

    The user interface is lacking. The soundtrack mediocre.

    But most of all, the game is a bit simplistic. The strategic choices you make have significantly less impact then in the previous civ games. Managing the military units in particular has become almost boring.

    You can safely skip this title to save some money. If you want to discover the Civilisation series, go for Civ 5.    … Expand
  57. 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
  58. 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
  59. 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.
  60. 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
  61. 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
  62. DarkCenturion
    Oct 31, 2014
    5
    Overall, very disappointed in this game. I have been waiting for Firaxis Games to bring out a sequel to SMAC for years. I pray this is not it. Take Civilization V and put it in space, you have Beyond Earth,. Its in a different party dress, but it is the same game more or less. For shame Firaxis!
  63. betts_corey
    Oct 30, 2014
    8
    Gamers seem to be baby's who want everything tailor fit to their very specific desires and if they are disappointed in one area, the game sucks, and the developer became's vilified as money grabbers. This is a pretty good game. There are some features I wish were added in, but they weren't there. Instead of berating the thing like a miserable selfish brat, I'll say there are a lot of goodGamers seem to be baby's who want everything tailor fit to their very specific desires and if they are disappointed in one area, the game sucks, and the developer became's vilified as money grabbers. This is a pretty good game. There are some features I wish were added in, but they weren't there. Instead of berating the thing like a miserable selfish brat, I'll say there are a lot of good qualities that make this game enjoyable. One of the more exciting civ games I've played, but there is room for new features. Will you enjoy it? Probably. Will it get better with time? Definitely.… Expand
  64. zombiechan
    Oct 30, 2014
    8
    Really enjoyable game and I think a decent mix of Alpha Centauri and Civ 5. I actually do enjoy some of the new mechanics and the new scene for a Civ game. The affinity system is a nice feature and adds a new conflict with you and other factions.

    The aliens are interesting, so I feel the AI is a tad dumb. But I do enjoy that there's a creature called a Siege Worm and if you sent some    Really enjoyable game and I think a decent mix of Alpha Centauri and Civ 5. I actually do enjoy some of the new mechanics and the new scene for a Civ game. The affinity system is a nice feature and adds a new conflict with you and other factions.

    The aliens are interesting, so I feel the AI is a tad dumb. But I do enjoy that there's a creature called a Siege Worm and if you sent some low level soldiers at it, they're going to die.

    I think the biggest issues I have with the game is the AI and placing the satellite seem poorly thought out.    … Expand
  65. 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
  66. 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
  67. Evilmonky
    Oct 30, 2014
    10
    Huge Civ fan since Civ1, Alpha Centuri is an all time classic and favourite of mine. This is my first metacritic review, had to say something after my first full play through on epic, what an adventure. Its been years since I have been so totally engrossed in a game. Never has a civ game been as customisable or have so many paths to victory. Alpha tried at this and succeeded but beyondHuge Civ fan since Civ1, Alpha Centuri is an all time classic and favourite of mine. This is my first metacritic review, had to say something after my first full play through on epic, what an adventure. Its been years since I have been so totally engrossed in a game. Never has a civ game been as customisable or have so many paths to victory. Alpha tried at this and succeeded but beyond earth takes it to a different level. It truly is about survival on a hostile planet,. how u survive and adapt to your environment is totally down to you. Trade, espionage and diplomacy have never been as well executed in a civ game it was incredible manipulating other races to bend to my will. I guess the civ 5 trolls are being very vocal in these reviews, but the simplified civ model is how it should be and how it started, personal opinion I guess. Multiplayer is very fluid with so little micromanagement required.… Expand
  68. 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
  69. r4phstryker
    Oct 30, 2014
    10
    One more turn,one more turn...one more turn! This game need more contents and patchs,but i got better things to do instead of ♥♥♥♥♥ing about a decent game at launch.
  70. 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
  71. TheValeyard
    Oct 29, 2014
    7
    While its not Civ4 or Civ5, it is strangely addictive and the new paths to victory are intriguing. The AI needs a little work, and some of the old problems from previous games remain. The game is very simplistic, but keeps most of what we loved in previous games alive and well. Already many custom Civs are now downloadable if a current faction is not to your liking. Overall, it is a goodWhile its not Civ4 or Civ5, it is strangely addictive and the new paths to victory are intriguing. The AI needs a little work, and some of the old problems from previous games remain. The game is very simplistic, but keeps most of what we loved in previous games alive and well. Already many custom Civs are now downloadable if a current faction is not to your liking. Overall, it is a good game, with its flaws, but the positives far outweigh the negatives, worth a shot.… Expand
  72. Mr_Fitch
    Oct 29, 2014
    8
    Usually when you see a critic score higher than a user score, you have to ask around your peers to fully understand what it is that made so many people score so negatively for this game. After a lot of poking and prodding for opinions that really shouldn't carry much weight when looking to buy a game anyway, I found that most people who scored low...were just people who lacked patience andUsually when you see a critic score higher than a user score, you have to ask around your peers to fully understand what it is that made so many people score so negatively for this game. After a lot of poking and prodding for opinions that really shouldn't carry much weight when looking to buy a game anyway, I found that most people who scored low...were just people who lacked patience and were frustrated individuals who didn't like that the game was too hard for them, basically.

    There were SOME people i asked who just plain didn't like the execution of the game and felt it lacked passion. I can agree there. The game DOES feel like it is missing a lot but whenever any game does that you know an expansion is just around the corner to relieve you of even more energy, sorry, money. And yes, certain things are the same like health is happiness etc, but you are playing a civilization game...remember? Things that attracted you to play civilization 5 HAVE to in some way share resemblance in this new installment to entice you back. So, whining and moaning about something you previously loved is just arbitrary. At times this game feels like it borrows too much from civ 5 to warrant a $50 price tag, but other times it feels completely new and untold in the way the game is built. This game has been patiently waited for, for years. It was bound to let a lot of people down when the hype is built up over such a long period.

    But the bottom line is this game is great and it's new and there are new terms to learn and different resources to remember, but apparently that's just too strenuous for most people.    … Expand
  73. Skylord_wolffae
    Oct 29, 2014
    8
    A lot of people have been saying that this game is a lot like Civ 5. Well yes but in the same way Civ 5 is to Civ 4. There is a lot more verity to the chosen Civs progression thanks to affinities and decisions for building improvements. The Ui is a bit of a mess sometimes but it may just take a bit of time to get used to. Favours are a nice touch on occasions but I am yet to find much of aA lot of people have been saying that this game is a lot like Civ 5. Well yes but in the same way Civ 5 is to Civ 4. There is a lot more verity to the chosen Civs progression thanks to affinities and decisions for building improvements. The Ui is a bit of a mess sometimes but it may just take a bit of time to get used to. Favours are a nice touch on occasions but I am yet to find much of a use for them. Random events are a plus. My main fault is the same as the one at the release of Civ 5, choice. Though BE has a lot more variety it seems slightly condensed still but with this is mind a few bits of DLC will solve this.… Expand
  74. 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.
  75. 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
  76. 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
  77. 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...
  78. idea
    Oct 29, 2014
    7
    This game is a decent successor to the series, it doesn't introduce anything incredibly exciting and has lost some of the charm of it's predecessors. Sadly there is an incredible disparity between what the 'professional' critics thought of the game, and the gamer's themselves. at the time of writing this 87% of the critic reviews are 'positive' while only 36 of the user reviews areThis game is a decent successor to the series, it doesn't introduce anything incredibly exciting and has lost some of the charm of it's predecessors. Sadly there is an incredible disparity between what the 'professional' critics thought of the game, and the gamer's themselves. at the time of writing this 87% of the critic reviews are 'positive' while only 36 of the user reviews are positive. Metacritic may want to investigate the cause of this disparity because it is causing my friends and myself to lose faith in this site for critical reviews, instead turning to guys like angry joe and the escapist who are often more honest and accurate.… Expand
  79. gaynorvader
    Oct 29, 2014
    7
    Disappointing, but still good.

    I've played a lot of Sid Meier over the years and love 4x games. Recently however, the games have been extremely lackluster before their expansions. First I'd like to address the ridiculous point that it's "just" a Civ 5 expansion. Yes, it uses the same engine, so looks and plays in a fairly similar fashion. The amount of difference in just about every    Disappointing, but still good.

    I've played a lot of Sid Meier over the years and love 4x games. Recently however, the games have been extremely lackluster before their expansions. First I'd like to address the ridiculous point that it's "just" a Civ 5 expansion. Yes, it uses the same engine, so looks and plays in a fairly similar fashion. The amount of difference in just about every concept of the game make it much more than an expansion though. New terrain features, new tech tree, new unit upgrade system, quest system, new barbarian ai, no natural wonders, orbital layer, and so on.

    -The good

    -The new tech web means you can't just dominate scientifically and collect all the wonders, coasting to an easy culture victory.
    -The quest system gives you constant mini-objectives which help new players learn without a long tutorial and provide nice little boosts for more experienced players to take advantage of.
    -Trading is quite a bit more meaningful, particularly between your own and independent cities(stations)
    -Aliens are a serious menace to expansion early on as opposed to the slight irritation barbarians were.
    -Explorers are useful, in place of natural wonders are excavation sites which can yield some great bonuses
    -It's fun. The choices you make are all small at the time, but have a huge effect on your late game. Particularly after building a new building. Some of them are pointless as one is obviously better, but most are well balanced.

    -The bad

    -AI is about the same as Civ 5, no real improvement
    -Units are set, AC fans will be disappointed they can't customise their units the way they wish.
    -Unit upgrades are forced upon you, if you reach level 4 in Unity, but want to give your unit the level 12 supremacy upgrade, you can't, you have to reach level 12 in supremacy first.
    -Lack of diplomacy options. Sometimes you'll be trading with a station and the AI will swoop in and destroy it, harming your economy. There's no way you can tell them to stop, the only solution is to declare war and destroy their units
    -Way too easy. The 3 affinity victory conditions are far to simple to pull off, you just research a small enough amount of tech and build something next to your capital and not lose for a few turns and you'll win. You can disable these, but then you are left with domination as the only recourse (I don't think having all the remaining players as allies even counts as a win).
    -Too much impassible terrain. On every setting, there seems to be a large portion of the map covered in mountains or chasms which are largely impassable.
    -Aliens rule the seas. Your ships always suck at melee battles and the aliens excel in it. They also seem to ignore the AI and focus every alien on the planet on your ships or troop transports.
    -It could have much more character. The techs and factions never seem to be all that different. The changes according to their affinity choices are quite subtle and when ever you research a new tech or build a wonder it doesn't have the little description, quote and/or video that made Alpha Centauri such a rewarding game to play.

    It's a fun game in and of itself, but fails to live up to its predecessors. I've sunk a good few hours into it already and enjoyed them immensely. Though I think it works better on marathon mode as opposed to quick or standard.    … Expand
  80. 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.
  81. 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
  82. singetak
    Oct 29, 2014
    10
    Honestly i like it a lot. I like the thing about the quests, about starting weak against the alien which is fair as it is a new alien world. I like the favor point thingy which is also something new.The thing with the upgrade i see much smoother than the idea of creating your unit in alpha century because i remember back when i played Alpha century i used to hate the idea of having a lotHonestly i like it a lot. I like the thing about the quests, about starting weak against the alien which is fair as it is a new alien world. I like the favor point thingy which is also something new.The thing with the upgrade i see much smoother than the idea of creating your unit in alpha century because i remember back when i played Alpha century i used to hate the idea of having a lot of units type and names.… Expand
  83. tomasdee
    Oct 29, 2014
    5
    I really looked fwd to playing this game and shelled out the premium to do so on release day (i normally avoid that now days). Not sure what i was expecting but in the end Beyond Earth feels the same as Civ 5, its just one big endless grind..... It feels like whether you win or lose comes down to luck - whether you get a good start point, whether the other civs are aggressive to you orI really looked fwd to playing this game and shelled out the premium to do so on release day (i normally avoid that now days). Not sure what i was expecting but in the end Beyond Earth feels the same as Civ 5, its just one big endless grind..... It feels like whether you win or lose comes down to luck - whether you get a good start point, whether the other civs are aggressive to you or not, whether the aliens hate you or ignore you. For me, i think beyond earth will suffer the same fate as Civ 5 - 'are you sure you wish to uninstall this program?' 'yes'.… Expand
  84. Grufton
    Oct 29, 2014
    7
    In all fairness I have been a fan of both the Civ series AND Alpha Centauri. So my review will be colored as such.

    Graphics: A step up from Civ 5 but not completely mind blowing. The graphic serve as a good representation of this game. Typically these kind of turn based strategy games leave something to be desired in the graphic department but this game does a good job of keep the    In all fairness I have been a fan of both the Civ series AND Alpha Centauri. So my review will be colored as such.

    Graphics: A step up from Civ 5 but not completely mind blowing. The graphic serve as a good representation of this game. Typically these kind of turn based strategy games leave something to be desired in the graphic department but this game does a good job of keep the graphics a priority. 8/10

    Gameplay: This is an issue. Having the Civ name gives this game a certain reputation. And while I think it does live up to that reputation, this is more an Alpha Centauri game. It has the hexagon grid, and some other elements of Civ in it but by and large it is NOT Civ. If you like Civ then there is the chance this game is not for you. The elements of this game are all about turn based statagy though. You just cannot take advantage of simiarties between this game and Civ 5. 6/10

    Story: This is always the hardest part to judge on a turn based game. These kind of games tend to rely on gameplay and graphics. This game is kind of an extension of a Civ game but also offers some different elements. I'll give this a 6/10

    With those scores in mind and a round up, that leaves a 7/10. Keep in mind please that I tend to score things a little lower. 7/10 is a good score.This game is worth the money in my mind. If you like Civ, or Alpha Centuari then you will most likely enjoy this game.    … Expand
  85. lordythegreat1
    Oct 28, 2014
    7
    Having now played a few games of this, I will say Beyond Earth is good if a bit limited.

    pros: fewer leaders but very customizable, lots of different worker improvements, lots of resources, deep tech tree. cons: due to being so focused on building and tech i never bothered to really try to play as a warmongering player, tech tree is massive and due to not being able to see entire    Having now played a few games of this, I will say Beyond Earth is good if a bit limited.

    pros: fewer leaders but very customizable, lots of different worker improvements, lots of resources, deep tech tree.

    cons: due to being so focused on building and tech i never bothered to really try to play as a warmongering player, tech tree is massive and due to not being able to see entire tree at once I found myself going off in one direction and often forgetting that there were simpler technologies in the other direction that were important, units arent very interesting or useful early game for much more than alien eradication, no more luxury resources or their trading, no religions, no world congress.

    It feels like civ 5 did on first release, good but in need of an expansion or two. lots of sitting around pressing next turn in the mid game (as with civ 5 vanilla). Got lots of neat ideas but not all of it pulls off neatly and not all of it makes for a better game.

    Most important point to make: Ultimately feels like a full price mod. If its on special get it, but I cant yet recommend a full price purchase    … Expand
  86. 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.
  87. Kaspar
    Oct 28, 2014
    8
    A great game in the Civ series, feels like Civ V but has enough new content and mechanics to stand by itself.

    It has both more and less re-playability than Civ V, the quest system makes every game different, but the limited choices in virtues, affinities and Civilizations can make each new game a bit too familiar. But it offers some new and interesting things, and future DLCs and    A great game in the Civ series, feels like Civ V but has enough new content and mechanics to stand by itself.

    It has both more and less re-playability than Civ V, the quest system makes every game different, but the limited choices in virtues, affinities and Civilizations can make each new game a bit too familiar.

    But it offers some new and interesting things, and future DLCs and patches hopefully will add more variety to an already very good game.    … Expand
  88. 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.
  89. mazz0
    Oct 28, 2014
    8
    The aesthetic style takes a little getting used to, but having played /almost/ one full playthrough I already prefer this game to Civ V. It's invokes that feeling of "must get that area of land there" that Civ V lacked for me.
  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. Corinthian
    Oct 28, 2014
    5
    AI is still dumb as a brick. So no improvement from Civ V in this part. As of now (november 2014) Beyond Earth looks like a big DLC, not a standalone game.
  93. 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
  94. 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
  95. 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
  96. 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.
  97. Thalassicus
    Oct 28, 2014
    9
    I've played every Civilization game, and Sid Meier's Alpha Centauri was one of my favorite games of all time. Beyond Earth is very different and incredibly fun. I've completed two playthroughs so far, and I feel it captures the inspiring science-fiction feeling of SMAC, while adding modern gameplay and aesthetic features.

    The game also appeals to people who don't play many strategy    I've played every Civilization game, and Sid Meier's Alpha Centauri was one of my favorite games of all time. Beyond Earth is very different and incredibly fun. I've completed two playthroughs so far, and I feel it captures the inspiring science-fiction feeling of SMAC, while adding modern gameplay and aesthetic features.

    The game also appeals to people who don't play many strategy games. My best friend never played any Civilization before Civ 5, played it briefly, then was absolutely blown away the fun of Beyond Earth. She's hooked! Even my brother is addicted, and both of them are mainly action/shooter gamers.

    Beyond Earth brings brings an open-world roleplaying feel to the series. There's many more choices than previous Civ titles, which I suspect will provide an incredible level of replayability long into the future. You can play each game in totally different ways.

    I haven't encountered any crashes or problems in my co-op game with a friend, unlike a lot of other titles full of bugs on release. It just WORKS! (I'm looking at you, SimCity. Grrr.)

    9/10 Gameplay - The affinities, tech web, and quests make BE more open and fun than Civ 5.
    10/10 Visuals - The Firaxis art team does a fantastic job with every game they make.
    10/10 Sound - The music has a wonderfully epic scifi feel, more inspiring than SMAC or Civ.
    5/10 Story - I wish there was more character development and dialogue for the main leaders.
    7/10 AI - All civilization games have mediocre AI, a problem in most of the game industry.
    9/10 Overall - I'm enjoying this game as much as I did Civ 5.

    Keep in mind most people happy with the game will be too busy playing it to come here and write reviews. :)

    - Comparisons

    Beyond Earth is better than Alpha Centauri in these ways:
    - Factions are not forced into one playstyle, set of civil policies, or unit design. I felt there were "best options" I always had to pick in SMAC. There's so much freedom in Beyond Earth.
    - Amazing music and opening cinematic really set the epic scifi mood.
    - The trade system is vastly more fun than similar attempts at trade in Civ 1-4 or SMAC.
    - More interesting city expansion and development than SMAC's city spam.
    - One unit per tile is more tactically complex than moving units in a big stack.
    - Open-ended tech web gives lots of research freedom.
    - Interesting unit upgrade choices. SMAC's unit workshop was cool in theory, but in reality there were just a few good ways to design units.
    - I love the minimalist interface. It has a sleek scifi look with less clutter than previous Civ games.

    It's better than Civ 5 in these ways:
    - Open-ended tech web.
    - Immersive roleplaying experience.
    - Early game focuses on exploration before expansion.
    - Moral choices for affinities, colony seeding, and quests.
    - Choosing abilities to instantly upgrade your whole army.
    - Bigger focus on the trade system.
    - Energy and air units available right away, providing more economic & military options.    … Expand
  98. armchairjerk
    Oct 27, 2014
    7
    Really is a solid 7.5 and im sure it will get better as more DLC is added. But as it stands at launch it is nothing more than a mod for CIV 5.

    The tech trees are diverse allowing the player to focus on things they need and its not a boring rush down the line before. And the point system with harmony etc. is a great touch further adding a level of customization. And the culture system    Really is a solid 7.5 and im sure it will get better as more DLC is added. But as it stands at launch it is nothing more than a mod for CIV 5.

    The tech trees are diverse allowing the player to focus on things they need and its not a boring rush down the line before. And the point system with harmony etc. is a great touch further adding a level of customization.
    And the culture system still exists like it did in the last few games, which is just perfect as it is.

    The real issues with this game are the lack of things to do after a few 100 turns, often spending alot of time pumping out random units with no purpose and the general lack of a feeling that there is some kind of progression. Leave the player wondering what the whole point of this? Not to mention the movement of a unit across a map is more punishing then ever.

    All in all, its a great game and worth the 37 dollars i spent on it.    … Expand
  99. Jaquishqa
    Oct 27, 2014
    7
    A lot of fun, but not entirely fantastic.

    The main gripe I have is that luxury resources are gone. While they were never a big part of my playstyle in Civilization V, they added that extra bit of diplomacy and trading among other leaders. My second gripe is with the exclusion of a world congress, why they didn't bring that in from Civilization 5 is beyond me. Now that I think about    A lot of fun, but not entirely fantastic.

    The main gripe I have is that luxury resources are gone. While they were never a big part of my playstyle in Civilization V, they added that extra bit of diplomacy and trading among other leaders. My second gripe is with the exclusion of a world congress, why they didn't bring that in from Civilization 5 is beyond me.

    Now that I think about it, they really "dumbed down" diplomacy. Which isn't terrible, but it certainly doesn't help the game.

    That being said, I really like this game. It was really nice to drop into a new Civ game and not know what the heck I was going to see, like you would with other Civ games. Most of the new features are really interesting and work well.

    The soundtrack is one of my favorite things about the game, it adds a lot of atmosphere to the game.    … Expand
  100. genix79
    Oct 27, 2014
    7
    This review contains spoilers, click expand to view. The game is okay. There is certainly enjoyment to be had. It is more than just a reskin of Civ5, but not quite a full title unto itself. The engine evidently had to have some reworking for it to support some of the changes. Some things which stand out for mentioning:
    - Tech web is better than a tree. Its a futuristic game so with little tie-in to present technologies, you will need to learn what the techs grant and what improvements do.
    - Affinities *are* a nice concept, but they do have the unfortunate effect of railroading the player through some of the decisions in the game (since the end game is directly tied to 'finishing' the affinity of choice)
    - There is a fair amount of customization in the pregame menu's with being able to select a sponsor, packing equipment in for planetfall, and other bonuses to begin with. I think this is a major plus. I love it.
    - There are numerous decision points in-game wherein some small customization of one's empire is possible (selecting an additional bonus which applies empire-wide). They *do* make a difference and it is a really nice addition for tweaking ones empire.
    - Unfortunately the AI is still lacklustre in many regards. Not just the other factions (which feel dead in character), but the games general AI such as automated workers travelling dangerous routes, quests being offered which are not reasonable to complete.
    - There are fewer kinds of military unit in the game and I think perhaps too few now.
    - Many improvements seem to be variations on others. One gives +2 Science, another might give +1 Science +1 Health while another +2 Health. They kind of just blend into each other. I was hoping this edition of the Civ series might break that and have improvements giving more utility rather than variations on modifications to base stats.
    - Aliens are superior to Barbarians. I think they do have some character. I have played both as an aggresor toward them and leaving them alone. They add a bit more character to the game but not as much as early talks by the game designers made out.

    All up it is a decent game. I'm teetering on a 6.5/10 if I were to tell you a score which allows halves. I'll push it to a 7. I do wish the game had a bit more distinction in terms of mechanics from Civ5. This *is* future tech afterall! I want to reshape terrain, build cities underwater, change the weather...    … 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]
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