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Rise and Fall.
Well it’s not digging coal out of the bowels of hell hard, but it certainly ranks up there with flicking yourself off to Holly Willoughby after you have packed the kids off to school.
These games take a huge amount of investment in time even to scratch the surface, and flaws can go completely unnoticed for weeks until one day you suddenly notice the AI is fucked and doesn’t know how to invade islands (cough EMPIRE cough).
And so it was with Civilisation VI.
Released to the sort of reviews that only high profile games publishers with large advertising budgets seem to regularly receive, there are few members of the games buying public who don’t now see it as a bit of a dissapointment.
Of course Civ V had the same sort of reception and was significantly improved with the addition of two expansion packs, so the hopes that Civ VI can be saved in the same way are not without precedent.
So what does £25 get you today in a high profile big budget AAA strategy game?
Well the obligatory additional characters bring the total available to 36, you might think would make balancing the game an impossible task. Which is probably why Firaxis haven’t bothered trying to do that and some character selections will lead to a significantly easier game.
Of course this is not necessarily a bad thing, different difficulty settings exist for a reason, but might cause problems for those wishing to take their games online. But what sort of sad loner plays civ online?
There are also additional policy cards, districts, map tiles and military units which add a bit more variety to the game.
The first of the big additions is the “governor” mechanic.
There is a choice of up to seven characters, each specialising in a different aspect of the game, from economics to military to religious etc, who can be assigned to a city to buff certain aspects of it’s output.
Let me run your city!
A new “loyalty” mechanic involves you having to keep your citizens happy lest they culture flip their city to the better looking sexier empire on the other side of the river harkens back to Civ III’s culture wars and means you can no longer ignore a lack of amenities without being punished for it.
Much coverage has been given to an “Ages” system, do particularly well in an era and you will be rewarded in the next era with increased loyalty, perform badly and your loyalty will be reduced. Points are awarded for certain “significant” achievements such as discovering natural landmarks or building wonders, and this certainly helps flesh out a sense of historical narrative to flesh out your civilisation as an entity.
However this also leads to a sense of following someone else's gameplan rather than forging your own path, especially when you factor in the tech boosts as well.
The best games give you a world and the tools to exploit it, leaving you free to have fun it whatever manner you wish. However Civ VI is increasingly funneling you down a specific path, which whilst you are free to diverge from you would be hamstringing yourself by doing so, a bit like trying to play Doom, but only ever using the pistol.
Diplomacy is largely unchanged although alliances with other empires have been expanded upon with multiple types of alliance available such as scientific to aid research or religious to prevent spiritual wars. And yes, when other Civs declare war on you, and you take their cities in the war that they started, you still get labelled a warmonger.
Finally there are “crisis” events.
Certain actions, such as taking one too many of their opponents cities, or converting a holy city to their religion, may result in a “crisis” being declared and multiple empires banding together to correct the transgression, with bonuses being awarded to the victorious side.
It’s a good idea, but very poorly implemented. There are no penalties for the side that loses, and you can sign up to the event, take no actual part in it, but still get awarded if your side emerges victorious.
I’ve also had several examples of emerging from the crisis event victorious, but being told I had lost.
For the price, Rise and Fall adds very little to what is arguably the worst game in the series. Whilst the AI is a bit more aggressive, it’s still utterly incompetent and is completely incapable of using its units correctly or providing any actual threat.
Playing Civilisation VI is pretty much a forgettable experience.
It lacks any emotional impact, there is no pounding in the chest present in games such as Total Warhammer when your tactical genius (ahem) has enabled your small Skaven force to defeat a larger number of Lizardmen invaders. No sinking feeling in the pit of your stomach as the intradimensional invaders turn up in Stellaris, nor the feeling of elation as you finally send them packing to the hell from whence they came.
Which really does beg the question, why do I play so much Civ VI?
Basically it’s the comfort.
It’s the gaming equivalent of sitting on the sofa eating chips whilst watching “Pointless.” The sort of game that you put on whilst you are doing something else. It doesn’t take any time to learn or master, because there is no learning or mastery to be had.
It’s comfortable, and familiar and safe.
Which rarely leads to the sort of games which made the franchise successful.
We have all seen the Civilisation series rise, lets hope we are not now watching its fall.
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This is just incompetent.
push stuff out before it is ready...fix it later.
i am sure they will make the needed adjustments after the community modders show them the way.
this is also the reason i have not purchased R&F yet.