Civilization: Beyond Earth

Civilization: Beyond Earth was recently announced for a fall 2014 release.  All I have to say to that is “WOOOOOOT.”  Okay okay, let me back up a bit.  Sid Meier’s Civilization is a series of video games focused on one goal:  To build your civilization from the ground up starting at the dawn of man and going all the way to the space age.  I freaking loved these games.  Technically, I only played three and one board game, but for the most part they are generally interchangeable.  Each game has some minor tweaks here and there, but the basic premise is the same.  I have played the original back on DOS, then, Civilization Revolution on the Nintendo DS and the one I play the most is the fourth game in the series for PC.  This series is very addictive and wonderful, though it can wear you out a bit after each campaign.  The gameplay in the series is turn-based strategy.  Unlike most other strategies, it is not war focused completely.  You can go to war, but there are a variety of other ways to win the game that it breaks up the monotony found in most Real-time and Turn-Based strategies.  In fact, taking your turn is really just a way to pass the time for your civ to advance.  You usually don’t have to wait for the computer to take their turn.  Just click done and it’s your turn again.  The games have no restrictions or linear paths to reach your victory.  You have the complete freedom in your decision making how you want to approach your strategies.  There are a variety of choices to research and build and it is always a blast to try so many different things.  The multiple victories you can obtain adds another layer of depth to the strategy of these games.  It gives you so many ideas to try which offers unique ways to replay the game each time.  I fell in love with Civilization for all of this variety and strategy. 

Now, they have announced Civilization: Beyond Earth which changes up the normal formula from humankind’s origins to their evolutions.  They have stated that this game will pick up where Civilization 5′s tech victory left of:  Space exploration.  Now, I realize this is nothing new for Sid Meier.  Alpha Centauri was basically a scifi spinoff of Civ. 2.  However, they made the claim that this game will not be a sequel to Alpha Centauri, nor will it be an expansion pack to Civilization 5. It should be a completely new edition to the Civilization series with a focus on science fiction and a more non-linear tech tree than in previous games (they are referring to it as web tech tree).  I am a huge fan of science fiction and am now uber-excited for this announcement.  I look forward to the possibilities of building a civilization in outer space through advanced technology, dna splicing and other classic sci-fi tropes.  It should be fun.