Early impressions: Civ VII is absolutely worth it on console
I'm about 5 and a half hours in, so obviously this isn't a definitive review, but most of the early feedback I've seen so far is understandably skewed toward the PC platform.
But what about the console experience? Well, if you played Civ VI, you know 2K worked through a porting house called Aspyr, the same folks who ported the tablet version. This time around from what I understand, 2K handled the job themselves, and by the look of things, it's a better experience because of it.
Pros:
(1) The game is absolutely gorgeous on a big screen TV. In 4K on a 70-inch screen, I must say, this is the way I prefer to play Civilization. The less cartoony art style helps as well.
(2) If you're often a warmonger, like me, this version offers the most streamlined/satisfying combat with the options included.
(3) The UI has been getting massacred lately in reviews, but I feel much of what PC players are dealing with is the streamlining conducted to benefit console players. There's much less busy work required to navigate from one thing to the next, and while I can understand, depth/detail was sacrificed to achieve this, I think this is a rare instance where the final decision benefited console players. I'm hoping the experience doesn't worsen in an attempt to appease the other side.
(4) The rules are much more bite-sized in how they're presented as you play, making for a less overwhelming experience than with other entries.
(5) Diplomacy is much more straightforward than before. You accrue diplomacy points and use them to perform given actions. This beats the back-and-forth haggle crap where you could only guess as to whether you were getting a good deal in previous games.
(6) As usual, there's a massive Civilopedia on-hand as a reference, but if you're like me, you'll only use it occasionally if you want to understand a given game mechanic in-depth. More than likely you'll just flip to your phone anyway.
Cons:
(1) I do miss the worker units who used to build improvements on your tiles, but there is less busy work required with needing to move them all over the map now.
(2) Government types you choose have no purpose other than what type of celebration benefits you yield, which seems half-baked to me. Under this design, we should usually choose the Oligarchy given it's celebration benefits are the most appealing (faster food and building production).
Final thoughts
All in all, I'm very pleased. All the weirdness associated with playing different civs and having leaders completely independent of their historical civs is still applicable, of course, but I wanted to get some of my early notes out in case anyone was on the fence. Personally, I'm glad I pulled the trigger and I'm having a great time.
I'm about 5 and a half hours in, so obviously this isn't a definitive review, but most of the early feedback I've seen so far is understandably skewed toward the PC platform.
But what about the console experience? Well, if you played Civ VI, you know 2K worked through a porting house called Aspyr, the same folks who ported the tablet version. This time around from what I understand, 2K handled the job themselves, and by the look of things, it's a better experience because of it.
Pros:
(1) The game is absolutely gorgeous on a big screen TV. In 4K on a 70-inch screen, I must say, this is the way I prefer to play Civilization. The less cartoony art style helps as well.
(2) If you're often a warmonger, like me, this version offers the most streamlined/satisfying combat with the options included.
(3) The UI has been getting massacred lately in reviews, but I feel much of what PC players are dealing with is the streamlining conducted to benefit console players. There's much less busy work required to navigate from one thing to the next, and while I can understand, depth/detail was sacrificed to achieve this, I think this is a rare instance where the final decision benefited console players. I'm hoping the experience doesn't worsen in an attempt to appease the other side.
(4) The rules are much more bite-sized in how they're presented as you play, making for a less overwhelming experience than with other entries.
(5) Diplomacy is much more straightforward than before. You accrue diplomacy points and use them to perform given actions. This beats the back-and-forth haggle crap where you could only guess as to whether you were getting a good deal in previous games.
(6) As usual, there's a massive Civilopedia on-hand as a reference, but if you're like me, you'll only use it occasionally if you want to understand a given game mechanic in-depth. More than likely you'll just flip to your phone anyway.
Cons:
(1) I do miss the worker units who used to build improvements on your tiles, but there is less busy work required with needing to move them all over the map now.
(2) Government types you choose have no purpose other than what type of celebration benefits you yield, which seems half-baked to me. Under this design, we should usually choose the Oligarchy given it's celebration benefits are the most appealing (faster food and building production).
Final thoughts
All in all, I'm very pleased. All the weirdness associated with playing different civs and having leaders completely independent of their historical civs is still applicable, of course, but I wanted to get some of my early notes out in case anyone was on the fence. Personally, I'm glad I pulled the trigger and I'm having a great time.