Civilization on iPhone is not the same PC game that we grow up with. It is the modified console version Civilization Revolution of last year that was intended for, consoles from Playstation to Xbox to Wii and even the DS. Obviously each one is different due to the difference in hardware, but the gameplay is the same – trying to simplify Civilization and fit it in places that are not a PC! The Revolution experiment works quite well since it was able to bring the Civilization experience to all type of game machines, the latest is the iPhone.

The iPhone version seems to be ported from the DS version with updated game control and some changes in graphics (not by much though – u can see the pixels!) It works very well in most cases. You can do the standard multitouch gestures like pinch to zoom in and out, drag to move, flick your finger to scroll, some screens even let you tilt to to move and select (although a bit awkward~) Because it is based on the DS version of the console version of the game, the gameplay is simplified, the graphics is small to fit on the screen, it is probably one of the best implementation of ported games that come to the iPhone!

Now when I said simplified, it doesn’t mean a watered-down version that lost much of the fun from the original! It just mean, simplified! Cos the game is as addictive as ever! You could easily pick it up and play ’til you miss your subway stop, or play ’til 2:30am in the morning, or simply ’til your phone run out of battery! The same “one more turn” syndrome is well and alive! What’s simplified are the micro-management elements. But I don’t find myself wanting much of these omissions. Do I miss the workers who works the tiles? probably not~ Do I miss managing health or pollution? no~ Do I miss the anarchy result in changing government? no~ The constant pop up? no….the list goes on! Of course there are something that I do miss, like a complex combination of units to win a battle, a detail customized map, etc. But I am realistic here, in order to put the game into such a small screen, something is gotta lose. So I am okay with the decisions, because ultimately, a whole lot of elements are still presented and the soul of the game play – the addictiveness – is still there.

One of the best 5 bucks I spent on games of the iPhone~ I can definitely see myself playing the game for months to come.

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3. iPhone Games
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5. iPhone 4 impressions

Tagged: Apple · Civilization · Games · iPhone