Sid Meier's Civilization: Beyond Earth

 PC
User Score
5.5

Mixed or average reviews- based on 1084 Ratings

User score distribution:
  1. Positive: 343 out of 1084
  2. Mixed: 374 out of 1084
  3. Negative: 367 out of 1084
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  1. Zapiii
    Jul 31, 2023
    0
    The black sheep of the franchise, and for good reason. It tries to do something new, and fails, spectacularly.
  2. DarkCornatus118
    Oct 24, 2014
    6
    Entirely reskinned version of Civ5. If you played a lot of Civ 5 and got a bit bored of it's simplicity, then probably don't expect much from this one. If you are new to Civ, it's going to be a really good experience. Not a whole lot of pros for me. Don't get me wrong, it's a great game, but it's a mod to me rather than a new experience.

    Pros: - Tech map is MUCH better, even if    Entirely reskinned version of Civ5. If you played a lot of Civ 5 and got a bit bored of it's simplicity, then probably don't expect much from this one. If you are new to Civ, it's going to be a really good experience. Not a whole lot of pros for me. Don't get me wrong, it's a great game, but it's a mod to me rather than a new experience.

    Pros:
    - Tech map is MUCH better, even if daunting at first. Probably the only really major thing to change in the game.
    - Races feel more customisable
    - A little bit more diversity in Tech and Virtue (culture) perk trees
    -No Astronomy!!!!!

    Cons:
    - Every feature from Civ 5 exists as a renamed feature in CivBE. I mean everything (except Religion - DLC?)
    - Terrain is extremely drab and bland. You can't make out clearly what things are and it's just plain ugly!
    - Music is not immersive
    - Same bugs from Civ5. The Production queue jumping (when trying to do something else first). The grey texture lag is now black, but the same.
    -The is even LESS diplomacy than before, absolutely nothing to trade as luxury resources are gone.
    - Health (Happiness) MUST be a priority, expanding or not.
    - Can chose a perk to show outline of every island in game.... SUPER OP! Takes the fun out of exploring!    … Expand
  3. 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.
  4. MaxFource
    Oct 27, 2014
    1
    Spiritual successor to SMAC? NOT...EVEN...CLOSE!!

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

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

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

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

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

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

    I do NOT recommend this game to SMAC enthusiasts.    … Expand
  5. 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
  6. sundeki
    Oct 25, 2014
    6
    I really wanted to like this game.

    When I first started playing, the first thing that came to mind was "This is just a Civilization V re-skin". That feeling began to go away the more I played and I began to enjoy it quite a bit. Then I began to get a different feeling: The game feels completely empty. There is a complete lack of content and variation. There is no Alien variation. I    I really wanted to like this game.

    When I first started playing, the first thing that came to mind was "This is just a Civilization V re-skin". That feeling began to go away the more I played and I began to enjoy it quite a bit. Then I began to get a different feeling: The game feels completely empty. There is a complete lack of content and variation. There is no Alien variation. I thought: "Well each different map you play on the aliens would have different stats and abilities randomly selected from a pool". Nope, they are identical every single time.

    The Alien AI is even poor. I thought that because of something else in the game (can't say because of spoilers) the Aliens would be far more efficient, adaptive and co-ordinated. They aren't. They are literally glorified barbarians.

    When the devs explained the affinity mechanic, I thought you would have to make hard choices. That you could only really go down one path, that each path was unique in some way. Disappointed yet again. Every game I've played; I've ended up with maxed of all affinities and that was without even trying to get them.

    There is a new mini-quest system that allows you to make small changes to your empire depending upon your choices. At first I thought this was really cool, as I've always enjoyed customization and choosing things for myself in games. Then I realized the quest pool is so small, unoriginal, void of any real choice and repetitive. I found myself doing the same things at the end of the game, that I did at the start of the game.

    The HUD was confusing until I figured it out, the whole thing is just one giant grey blur. The terrain was slightly interesting at first, but once that first feeling fades away it begins to look really ugly. The Diplomacy screen in every way has just been ripped from Civ V. The other factions literally say the exact same thing they did in Civ V. I could go on.

    Overall: the game is effectively a glorified re-skin of Civ V, but 80% of the content was removed and the HUD and terrain has been made ugly.

    6.5/10 : I would pay $30 max for this with hindsight (paid $50) and that's only if I was in a good mood.    … Expand
  7. Baud
    Oct 28, 2014
    3
    Its just CIV5 with an Alien Theme. Same mechanics, same stupid AI, same useless diplomacy system... god even units and resources where the same. It felt like a CIV5 DLC.
  8. flemieux
    Nov 12, 2014
    0
    A 50$ 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. 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.
  10. Kraks
    Oct 27, 2014
    5
    I've played well over 1500 turns at this point and still haven't had what I would call a "fun" game. The UI is pretty miserable when compared to Civ 5. The tech tree, for instance, doesn't really *pop* out anything except the affinities. You get to search and hover over everything to figure out where the wonders are.

    And on the topic of wonders...why don't many of them build anything    I've played well over 1500 turns at this point and still haven't had what I would call a "fun" game. The UI is pretty miserable when compared to Civ 5. The tech tree, for instance, doesn't really *pop* out anything except the affinities. You get to search and hover over everything to figure out where the wonders are.

    And on the topic of wonders...why don't many of them build anything at all? The feel very uninspiring and not very wonderful at all. I built 3 or 4 last game and not a single one of them had a building on the landscape.

    The aliens are annoying. You go from barbarians that can be turned off or at their worst can be defeated in a 100 turns or so to aliens that are never ending, respawn nests, and harass your units ceaselessly. Or, you can build your tech tree to focus on being friendly and adapting to them. Who cares though? That isn't really very interesting, and again, the lack of anything physical from this (other than alien units) is very bland.

    As for the AI, it is downright annoying. Diplomacy is one thing. Being spammed by the competition every single turn with the exact same boring audio and requests is awful. It doesn't take very long for their voices (especially the Asian lady) to grind on your ears like nails on a chalkboard.

    Speaking of annoying, the trading is just awful. Every 20 - 30 turns you have to reassign your traders. They should adjust this to only needing interaction if they are attacked, the city is attacked/under siege, or if something changes with your relations with the other faction. If you have 10 - 20 trade convoys or vessels running, you can easily expect to spend 50% of your interactions in the game just managing them.

    Oh, another UI problem....the victory types aren't explained. You can hover over most things in the setup of the game and get some information, but the victory types just say Domination (ok, duh), Contact, Promised Land, Emancipation and Transcendence. I had to look them up to figure out what some of them were.

    The game **could** be fun, but it really is just a slightly different take on past Civ games with less of a physical presence in the world. Most of the things you do augment what you've already built, not build anything new. It is very common to have the territory and your units looking bland and similar at turn 1 and turn 200.

    As it currently stands, I would not recommend this game. Civilization 5 was so well done, has so many mods, and the expansions are actually most of what this game contains. There is no reason to upgrade, and it is arguable that this is not an upgrade at all.    … Expand
  11. Discreter
    Oct 27, 2014
    2
    I don't normally write reviews but after playing this disappointment and seeing the high scores from "professional" critics I felt I had to.

    Being a CIV and Sid Meiers's veteran and growing up with these games, I agree with the Negative scores for this game. CIV 5 when it original came out wasn't the greatest game, only with DLC and mods did it start having potential. Maybe the    I don't normally write reviews but after playing this disappointment and seeing the high scores from "professional" critics I felt I had to.

    Being a CIV and Sid Meiers's veteran and growing up with these games, I agree with the Negative scores for this game.

    CIV 5 when it original came out wasn't the greatest game, only with DLC and mods did it start having potential.

    Maybe the previous hit's were just too good and everything that comes out now just can't compare.

    The innovation of creating games in people garages and not in studios has meant a loss in creativity.

    When I buy the next release I'm not looking for (necessary) the best graphics, but great game-play and something new to enjoy.

    This game is ok, but not great and the innovations are the technology web, 3 playing styles, questing and varying ways to win.

    The Bad:
    No improvement on diplomacy has even been made worse
    I'm landing from outer-space the map should be revealed and I should choose where to land. They need to come up with a fog of war or the landscape changing over time option.    … Expand
  12. Agilio333
    Nov 21, 2014
    3
    8/10 according the the " professional critics". Clearly they are neither professional (paid off shills who refuse to rate bad games bellow 8/10) and certainly aren't critical of anything.

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

    Beyond Earth is an over hyped, under developed game. Maybe if the franchise spent more money in actually developing the game, instead of paying off "professional critics" and marketing the game, they would actually have something. this game looks like it is pre-alpha. Nothing you do is of any consequence, the colors of the terrain looks like a rough draft. Nothing in this game has any strategy to it. It's a mere re-skin of the original, but with many of the features and polishing removed, never to be re-added. Oh wait, maybe you can buy the "rest" of the game as an expansion for $100. This is scam-ware, and the company is paying off it's gamer gate reviewers because nobody would actually buy this game if they played it beyond 8 hours.    … Expand
  13. 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
  14. 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
  15. 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
  16. 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
  17. MagpieX
    Oct 25, 2014
    6
    There are a few times when you believe that a new game is going to be that successor to your favourite game of the past indeed. Then after it is released you are happy to see your anticipations and expectations being justified. This is not one of those times however and Civilization:Beyond Earth is not going to pick up where Sid Meier's Alpha Centauri (SMAC) left off nor does it try toThere are a few times when you believe that a new game is going to be that successor to your favourite game of the past indeed. Then after it is released you are happy to see your anticipations and expectations being justified. This is not one of those times however and Civilization:Beyond Earth is not going to pick up where Sid Meier's Alpha Centauri (SMAC) left off nor does it try to provide the same feel and diversion from its roots as SMAC did with Civilization 2 and make a different game based on its Civilization 5 engine.
    Whilst you can see that positive enhancements on the technical side have been made the core of the gameplay feels very similar to if not a step backward from Civilization 5. This is especially true on UI side which lacks key aspects people being used to such as strategic view, or its hidden and generally not very ergonomic. Ignoring that one aspect however for now there is a feeling that they could have done more and did not even try. Beneath the futuristic outlook lies a very vanilla game which essentially is more stable and robust than Civilization 5 was at its release but it is very conservative in approach. It tries to please many appetites but leaves one hungry still. The initial customization of the game is nice but it is ultimately not played out well throughout the game. The factions seem more or less be just dressed up buffbots accompanied by leaders whith a charisma of a city administration official. There are no unique units, truly unique faction aspects, and leaders don't even get to speak their own speeches once a tech has been researched which sets aside an aspect of SMAC where pieces of ideologies and technologies resulting from these were incorporated into the young society of the planet. This ultimately turns your leaders into more or less the same kind of person differentiated only through miniscule differences in diplomacy - let's not even mention it because it has little redemption value to how factions are handled.
    The technology model including affinities feel like a solid change but there is still a feeling they could have done more with it. In general when it comes to gameplay then if you are familiar with Civilization 5 you will quickly become accustomed to the game however on the other hand people hoping for a new game with new rules will be very disappointed. This is especially not helping to dismiss claims of being a Civilization 5 mod - in fact you are more inclined to agree with people claiming so and thus reinforcing them. It is obvious that Firaxis' developers seem to put too much emphasis on streamlining and don't seem to trust gamers enough anymore to allow expanding their formula a little more and make it a little bit more complex and foremostly: a bit more different which was the key difference between Civilization 2 and SMAC. It's probably a good start for a game series spinoff if it's going to get iterated on and shaped into its own distinctive game such as Civilization 5 got however it's not a good entry to a scene which has been bating its breath for a true SMAC spiritual successor which really may be based on over-expectations but then it is more often than not that expectations have to be put high in order to drive innovations. Being forced to constantly lower the bars cannot be healthy for the industry in long term and neither for Firaxis reputation either. Come on, guys, you can do it! Trust us more, we can handle a complex game with a lot of new features, we are big boys and girls, really. A lot of us have been playing since the original Civilization game! As such I am forced to say that whilst it's a decent game per se it is not one to be recommend at this current stage for the advertised price. There is a lot of potential there we still can't see it yet.    … Expand
  18. 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
  19. 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
  20. Awesumo
    Oct 26, 2014
    4
    Beyond Earth just feels a bit hollow. Take civilization and strip out the history -or take Alpha centuari and strip out the unique civilizations. What you are left with feels like a rather soulless game.
    The planet - effectively an extra opponent/ally in AC feels like nothing but large numbers of barbarians that have their aggression turned right down. Another disappointment.
    There    Beyond Earth just feels a bit hollow. Take civilization and strip out the history -or take Alpha centuari and strip out the unique civilizations. What you are left with feels like a rather soulless game.
    The planet - effectively an extra opponent/ally in AC feels like nothing but large numbers of barbarians that have their aggression turned right down. Another disappointment.
    There just isn't enough here, it looks nice but plays like a half finished mod.
    One last thing - the Diplomacy is ridiculous and the AI openly cheats.    … Expand
  21. Trainor
    Oct 25, 2014
    4
    The AI in this game needs serious work. Linking your in game Ideology to a Strategic Resource makes the AI impossible to maintain any kind of alliance with. AIs of opposing ideologies hate you for your belief even if they are the other side of the world and AIs of the same belief covet the Strategic Resource linked to your shared beliefs with a Dark and Terrible Lust. Other aspects of theThe AI in this game needs serious work. Linking your in game Ideology to a Strategic Resource makes the AI impossible to maintain any kind of alliance with. AIs of opposing ideologies hate you for your belief even if they are the other side of the world and AIs of the same belief covet the Strategic Resource linked to your shared beliefs with a Dark and Terrible Lust. Other aspects of the game are good but this is making the game extremely frustrating to play, the AI needs to be fixed for me to recommend it.… Expand
  22. Adolphobia
    Oct 26, 2014
    0
    if you have ever played Alpha Centauri stay away from this CIV5 expansion...

    this is the first time i write a review, because i feel ripped off and disappointed, once again the publishers manipulated our love for a classic game, when i saw the "made with staff from the original Alpha Centauri" i instantly pulled out my credit card and bought this full price, i guess by "staff" they    if you have ever played Alpha Centauri stay away from this CIV5 expansion...

    this is the first time i write a review, because i feel ripped off and disappointed, once again the publishers manipulated our love for a classic game, when i saw the "made with staff from the original Alpha Centauri" i instantly pulled out my credit card and bought this full price, i guess by "staff" they meant the people that moped the floors in Firaxis back in the day...

    i can't believe that 15 years later, nothing has improved, the design was better, the writing, better and darker, the whole atmosphere, music, sound effects, graphics, AI, i could go on and on... did anyone that played the old Alpha Centauri had anything to do with this? i'm sick of this guys ruthlessly making money out of the loyal fan base, instead of giving us the games we want, watered down adult themes, no videos after completing wonders, combat has been simplified to a point its not even tactical...

    welcome to the age of glorified Rock, paper and scissors.

    i guess i'll have to wait another 15 years for the DLC of the DLC 60$ reboot of Alpha Centauri.

    oh and NONE of the problems from civilization V have been fixed.

    Great job Firaxis, you just alienated and infuriated all the loyal gamers that grew up playing your games, i'll never buy another game from this ruffians, **** you SId...    … Expand
  23. kacperf10
    Oct 26, 2014
    4
    While I hate this game, I certainly can see people enjoying it. If you've liked playing Civ V on lower ( by lower I mean lower than 6) difficulties, if you aren't look for challenge, but for simple empire building&wars winning game-CBE is for you. For me AI is completely ruining gaming experience. I'm sick of catching up on tech with completely over-buffed AI and on the end demolishingWhile I hate this game, I certainly can see people enjoying it. If you've liked playing Civ V on lower ( by lower I mean lower than 6) difficulties, if you aren't look for challenge, but for simple empire building&wars winning game-CBE is for you. For me AI is completely ruining gaming experience. I'm sick of catching up on tech with completely over-buffed AI and on the end demolishing there endless armies using couple of ranged units and city to defend.… Expand
  24. 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
  25. 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.
  26. 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
  27. EffigyX
    Oct 26, 2014
    6
    Not a BAD game, but not distinct enough from Civ V, and matches up poorly against the added depth and complexity added by the latter game's expansions.

    And unfortunately, Beyond Earth is also no Alpha Centauri, with bland factions and a background narrative that failed to engage me. It has nothing like the sense of SMAC's bitter ideological conflict between extremist factions led by    Not a BAD game, but not distinct enough from Civ V, and matches up poorly against the added depth and complexity added by the latter game's expansions.

    And unfortunately, Beyond Earth is also no Alpha Centauri, with bland factions and a background narrative that failed to engage me. It has nothing like the sense of SMAC's bitter ideological conflict between extremist factions led by mad geniuses.

    Unless you MUST play it, I'd recommend waiting a few years for more content to be added.    … Expand
  28. 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
  29. 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...
  30. Ayreos
    Oct 25, 2014
    5
    The opening cinematic was amazing. The game itself wasn't. Why? Because it is a camouflaged older game, Civilization V. A game the developers seems convinced was successful. And maybe it was, but not with the historical Civ fandom. With this iteration the Civ series has finally shed all pretense to reveal the publisher's true motivation: to copy and profit on Starcraft's popularity. Civ'sThe opening cinematic was amazing. The game itself wasn't. Why? Because it is a camouflaged older game, Civilization V. A game the developers seems convinced was successful. And maybe it was, but not with the historical Civ fandom. With this iteration the Civ series has finally shed all pretense to reveal the publisher's true motivation: to copy and profit on Starcraft's popularity. Civ's old and appassionate fandom was clearly too tight for their income aspirations, yet not tight enough to spare them from slapping the beloved "Civilization" trademark on a Starcraft 2 clone.
    That said, the problems i find with this game are the same i found with Civ5. And they all stem from limitation. There is a new quest system. But these quests cannot be actively pursued and are limited in number and type. There is Civ5's innovative hexagon movement style. However the map is full of miasma (obstacles) and ranged units from the very beginning, making positioning either irrelevant or downright frustrating.
    Map size can be chosen up to "massive", however most unit movement is tailored for the ridiculously small, Starcraft-like maps, which ends up distorting gameplay, as technology and productions goes at one speed, while the units at another. This happens even in slower progression settings.
    Research, virtues and affinity systems of progress are all interesting and apparently versatile, but they end up constraining each other, destroying all emergent gameplay in the process and forcing the player in a narrow corridor of choices. That's because achieving a victory type is not up to strategy, but picking the pre-determined corridor.
    These limitations show how the developer attempted to create a fast, competitive, and perfectly balanced multiplayer experience, by disregarding the singleplayer greatness that made the franchise so popular and beloved in the first place. The result is that instead of a wide breadth intersecting and unforeseen choices and strategies, players are constrained into becoming akin the poor AI they have to combat. Limited in movement, unit stacking, AI depth, progress types and immediate choices, this game punishes what it should by nature reward: experimentation, creativity and ambition. I guess it's back to Civ2 and AC for me. Once again this industry has taught me that my habit of trying games before purchasing them or, god forbid, pre-purchasing them, is the only way to avoid supporting such rotten practices as game-cloning and rehashing. I applaud the developers for having no qualms in receiving paychecks for such behaviors. I wouldn't be able to come to terms with knowing i trick my fans for a wage.    … 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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