Sid Meier's Civilization V Critic Reviews

Maintaining the beloved "Civilization" feel while adding some delicious "boardgame" goodness, Civilization V is a solid addition to any strategy library.

For a game so very, very large, it delivers everything in an easy to understand package no matter what route you take to playing it. The core Civilization experience is still there, but it's like an efficiency expert came in and streamlined everything that had gotten clunky with the series. It's a "friendly" strategy game.

My favorite Civilization to date. Hex tiles and no stacking makes combat fun and more tactical. The new systems work incredibly well without altering what makes the game Civilization. Civ V is an excellent game.

A hugely accomplished reinvention of a franchise that was showing signs of dotage.

Firaxis succeeded. Easy to handle even for the newcomer, but still as rich as ever with multiple gameplay systems to play with, Civilization V will easily seduce the strategy-savvy. The lack of religions will maybe be covered in a future expansion, but even as is, it's a must-have in the genre. Plan your sleepless nights far ahead, and get a recent enough PC to handle it. Yup : this, too, is called evolution.

Civ V is, essentially, the anti-StarCraft, or at least as far as it can get while still occupying the same realm of strategy games. Either way, I cannot recommend Civ V enough to fans both old and new, or even people who hadn't considered playing a turn-based strategy game before.

The real miracle of Civilization V is how effortlessly the game delivers its take on global empire-building. Beneath its well-polished hood, Civilization V is deep and complex. But where it counts, the game feels deceptively simple.

Civilization V is one of the best strategy games I have ever played.

As a hardcore strategy gamer who is no stranger to planning out my empire's production dozens of turns in advance, I've already turned to Civ V for my world-conquering needs – but at the same time, if anything is going to rear a new generation of strategy gamers like the very first Civilization did for me, it's this.

Even though the changes in Civ V seem to be nominal, the impact they have on the game are massive. Most importantly, all the new adjustments continue to maintain and refine what is - in my opinion - the best turn-based franchise ever made.

It's very hard to describe a Civilization game in great detail without starting to ramble. If you take nothing else from this review, know that Civilization V is more inviting, fun, and engrossing than any lengthy description can truly convey.

Improvements to the user interface and AI at all levels result in it being more approachable for newcomers without losing any of the strategic depth that long-time fans crave. It vastly improves combat, making the micro-level gameplay both more complex and entertaining. It trims all the fat, leaving only decision-making, strategic planning, and the sheer joy of crushing your enemies. Civ V is the pinnacle of the franchise to date.

The lack of progress with the AI continues to be an anchor on the series, but on every other count the game is an outstanding experience, well worth the money.

Civilization V is an awesome game and one of the best (if not the best) empire management games available.

Somehow where a lot of 4X games fail (I'm looking at you Master of Orion 3), Civilization keeps changing the game without losing the magic.

Civilization V is a brilliant expression of the turn-based strategy game by the undisputed masters of the form. It's a great entry point for newcomers, and veterans will delight in all the wrinkles and refinements.

Civilization V keeps everything that makes the series great, makes the game more accessible to non-fans, and overhauls many of the finer gameplay details. Every PC gamer owes it to himself to give this game a shot.

This is Civilization at its best and over time it will ripen like a fine wine and become a masterpiece. 2K Games have outdone themselves in making some massive changes without changing the core gameplay and alienating their fans.

Gorgeous graphics, deep combat and a user-friendly makeover makes the fifth Civilization a great place to start or renew your interest in global domination.

What you have here is the cleanest, best looking, smoothest playing, most tactically enjoyable version of the deepest and most addictive strategy game of all time.