Last week was "Call of Duty: With a Double Jump." This week is "Civilization V: With Aliens." Civilization: Beyond Earth is on Steam here: store.steampowe...
The thing about Alpha Centuri was that you had to learn about the Xenofungus irrespective of whether you wanted to live in harmony or destroy it all - that and the alien backstory too - it gave the game depth and richness and showed real historical events in context.
Man I loved the lore for Alpha Centauri, that entire storyline with mindworms and the sentient hive mind planet. More of THAT was what I wanted in it's successor and I'm gutted it hasn't even tried to deliver.
Also all the quotes were cringe-worthily bad most of the time and the narrator was extremely annoying especially compared to the very soothing Civ V narrator. Went from wise and whimsical grandfather/professor to some sassy Indian/Arabic.
+FartMaster69 Why they didn't just have the leaders read out their own quotes is beyond me. I hate the narrator in BE, especially compared to Civ 4 and 5 and the voice work in Alpha Centauri!
Although you are right about the later necessity of the ultrasonic fence itself, it is a very important early building because it triggers the decision whether aliens stop attacking trade routes or the other one I don´t remember. This is somewhat bad game design for a 4X because how are you supposed to know what building triggers what.
Stellaris. If you're reading this, Stellaris is the game you were looking for when you played Beyond Earth. Stellaris is unbelievably good, and 100x better than this game hoped to be.
I am a super MGS fan boy and your in depth critiques of the MGS games we're the first videos I watched. (Dat MGS2 Critical Close-Up doh... Dat post-modernism doh... I played that game when I was only like 14 -the ides of your formative years- and looking back on it in that context makes me love that game WAY more than I already did. I still like it better than MGS1 and MGS4 to this day. MGS3 is still the best thus far in my opinion, though I'm sure MGSV is going to make any and all video games made to date irrelevant.) Thank you for not only making thought provoking editorials on some of my favorite games of all time but for dissecting relevant issues in the video game industry as well as taking the time to "let's play" Bruce Willis Apocalypse, Jurassic Park, etc. I have seen all of your videos and all of them are perfect. I fancy myself someone who is very knowledgeable about video games and how they are designed, they're use of narrative and subtext, and what makes them kinaesthetically pleasing. However, it's nice to listen to smarter people take the time to articulate all of those things that are on our minds as we play (at least those of us who critically think about the art we consume). You have single-handedly made my indulgence in video games so much more stimulating and meaningful. Thank you. Keep making videos please. "You're pretty good." Thank you. If I knew you guys in real life, I would friend you so hard. "Strap one on it's time to jam!" Thank you. Metal Gear Solid 'till I die! Thank you. Thanks for recommending Signal Errant's videos. I've seen all of those too. Thank you. Gerba-Derba Ba-Gerba-Derba Thank you.
re:The arguable usefulness of the Ultrasonic Fence building: Near the beginning of my current game, I lost a settler within my own borders to an unprovoked attack from a siege worm. Aliens are USUALLY docile until civs start messing with them, but unprovoked attacks do happen! I have lost trade convoys to aliens before as well... the ultrasonic fence upgrade that protects your convoys makes the building very valuable in my opinion. e: great video as usual, btw!
I'm glad you take your time with your reviews. They are always well informed and a good source of information. I personally avoided this one as it seemed like a reskin of Civ 5 and not much has changed my mind :-)
you prolly dont care at all but does anyone know a trick to log back into an instagram account?? I was dumb forgot the account password. I would love any tricks you can give me!
@Onyx Felix Thanks for your reply. I got to the site thru google and I'm trying it out atm. Takes a while so I will get back to you later with my results.
Seems like another example of design by commitee. AC had the Great Brian Reynolds at the helm. This turned out to be a dissapointing copy-paste. Firaxis should feel bad, if they werent drowning in those pre-order dollars.
For a second I swear you were playing our Coop campaign without me at 6:00 But then I realized your city "Africa" wasn't destroyed by the aliens yet :p
I feel like that has been a major theme this year and last year... the concept of "A big expansion released as a full game" or "Just more of the same" or "Just a cash in"... Saints Row 4 was one... Far Cry 4 will likely be as well, Ubisoft game number #14 and #15 (AKA Watch_doges and Unity), The Sims 4, Bayonetta 2, Batman: Arkham Origins, Battlefield 4, Cod Advanced Welfare, Castlevani LoS 2, Dark Souls 2, MGS 5: GZ, Both of yearly Soccer games, Hyrule Warriors, Borderlands the pre-sequel, The legend of Korra... But hey, Shovel Knight exists, so all malice will be purged in the day of reckoning.
CommentSection Barbarian It's one of my favourite genres, allow me to elaborate: Legend of Korra while is competent, it's likely one of Platinum's weakest Spectacle-Fighters, it was most likely made in one of the tightest schedule (it released really close to Bayonetta 2) and it shows: it gets repetitive after a while, takes a while to pick up and the amount of depth is not as good as other Platinum titles, still mostly the 2nd best spectacle fighter of the year (simply because the are no more than 3 spectacle fighters in this year) below Bayonetta 2: [disclaimer: i do not own a Wii U and i'm yet to to watch a full LP (hopefully Cheepcheezum)] judging by reviews it's one of the best spectacle fighters of all time (again, lack of competition) but the ddifferenceswith Bayonetta are "Big Enough" apparently enemies were very similar along with areas and it borrows most of it basic-framework straight from Bayonetta 1.
Taters Tomaters The points that CommentSection Barbarian brings up about Bayonneta 2 can be carried over to your inclusion of Hyrule Warriors on the list.
I enjoyed it and the soundtrack is my favorite from the series. I also found the AI to be a LOT more hostile with me, even though I rarely waged war, so I'm guessing that depends on what affinities the AI has chosen. My game was a 50/50 split between Purity and Supremacy, and we were all on the same continent so it seemed like once we hit mid-game a war was going on some where in the continent for the rest of the game. I don't think the aliens are complete exp farms. And they're MUCH more interesting than the barbarians. You can actually make the aliens friendly to you, or hostile. Also, barbarians were a minor issue for the first 20 turns or so and then became nothing more, the siege worms and krakens can prove to be fierce enemies even towards late game. I also really like how the factions act so differently from game to game and evolve over each game, Civ V's civs always maintained the same core attitude through out each and every game, this one seems more dynamic. The fact I was able to play a 500 turn game without ever getting bored is pretty impressive, and something I can only find in the civ games. Is Civ: Beyond Earth worth $50? As a fan of the series, if you're not bored with Civ V yet, no it's not. However, if you're like me and love the idea of Civ V in space, and have had enough with Civ V, it's a solid purchase by all means. At the end of the day, it's a civ game, which means two things: It's addictive, and it will improve over time. And Civ: Beyond Earth is a very solid foundation for future expansions. If I had to give it a number score, I'd give it a 7/10 for the game itself, but since the sound track comes for free with every purchase of the game and is just 2 hours of some of the best sci-fi music around, I'd give the full package an 8/10.
AnticlimaCtic (6:59), George. I'm having flashbacks to "comparishun". Been a fan ever since your analyses of the MGS games, especially 2 and 3. Just a friendly nudge here. :)
I think this is the best civ game after civ 5 and civ 4. It's a nice change of scenery from "alternate history from beginning of human civilization again" and sure it's iterative but then again, so is Mario and nobody bats an eyelash at "Mario:With Cat-Suits". To improve it, mix alternate history into the fictional world. Having Ghandi, George Washington and other famous historical figures in the future on another world, would be very interesting if done correctly.
It's funny, I've always loved civ games for what they are, how there are many different ways to win and how you can see this new weird history play out by your actions, but I find playing civ-games so stressful I never want to do it.
Ultrasonic fence not important? WHHHHHAAAAAT? Granted its 2-tile protection is worthless, but its reverse polarity is absolutely necessary for establishing early trade networks. Given how important trade is in Beyond Earth, you need those fences up quick.
Will you ever do a review of Binding of Isaac: Rebirth? I know you might not want to stir the beehive and get a good portion of the internet on your ass, but I really would like to hear an analytical or dissenting voice about the game. I love it to bits, but I want to discuss it as opposed to gush about it.
I dunno if this changes anything to your conclusion, but Beyond Earth was a spin-off game originally made by two members of the civ 5 team. Once they had a sort of alpha version working they were given some minor things to work with to make it into a complete ish game in and of itself. I've played it for 38 hours and after that I was done with it, though.
You didn't talk about the music, how is it? Alpha Centauri music was so well done, unique and alien. Perfect. Menu Music - Sid Meier's Alpha Centauri OST
A shame, I had high hopes for this, especially with the Affinity system. I personally thought that while Civ is a great franchise, the series is, for the most part, lacking of a soul. They're competent games, but they don't really feel like they've got anything on the inside. Nothing really separates one victory from another because all Civs are essentially the same. Its the trials that you go through, not the Civilization that you create that defines the game, and thats a missed opportunity. I was really hoping that the Affinity system could do something to remedy it, and to an extent, it sounds like it has, but not to the extent that I had hoped.
As someone who is a big fan of Civ 5 and sic fi and has just started studying astrophysics, i was pretty excited for Beyond Earth. I ended up being very disappointed and have just returned back to Civ 5. Hopefully the dlc can make this game enjoyable
Pretty much exactly what I think about CBE myself. It has that tried and proven Civ concept that'll keep you playing for hours on end... but it lacks character in such a major way that it feels like I'm eating from a bowl of porridge and not exploring the unknown worlds. IYKWIM
Pretty much what I expected, which is a shame. I play games mainly for the theme and the aesthetics and this game, even after a few hours, never hooked me sadly because a lack of dedication to its subject matter, or rather, lack of communicating its subject matter to the player (the wonder example demonstates this perfectly). Great video as always!
I bought Beyond Earth when it came out and it was pretty fun to play with others who got it but when I went back to Civ 5 to try and play with friends, the multiplayer was broken with a loading screen every 5 minutes. Re downloading it didn't fix anything so now you can play gimped Civ 5 in space or nothing.
That last line reminded me. Are you going to do a review of the Legend of Korra game? I think it's actually quite a bit better than most of the reviews gave it credit for, but I had to work out the badly explained mechanics first. It's not amazing, but it's still pretty fun. I've already been through it twice. Although, it is a very short game.
It reminds me of when civ 5 came out and everyone was comparing it to civ 4 with the full expansions. It was no comparison (and hardly a fair one I think). But this doesn't offer the fundamental changes that transition did so its an even harder sell before expansions.
Out of curiousity, what difficulty setting did you play on? I find that you usually need to increase the difficulty a few notches before you can play the "real" Civ game, because the enemy AI becomes considerably more aggressive at higher difficulty settings. At higher difficulties, decisions become more meaningful simply because the difficulty of the game makes fewer strategies actually viable.
Excellent review! I agree, the thing Beyond Earth lacks the most is personality :) Let's hope for some interesting expansions in the future and also wait for CiV 6
Hey George, it may or may not be your cup of tea but I think you should really get into Team Fortress 2 more. It can be a really fun game when you get pretty good at it like me :3.
Man, I'd love to see you play Vampire the Masquerade: Bloodlines. I can't remember if you've talked about it in any of your videos, but it just seems like your kind of game. And I bet you could think of some ridiculous challenge to put on yourself for it, like the Notranq MGS3 run.
They lost me with their crazy insistence on 1UPT. Talk about doubling down on a bad decision. I'd prefer tiles, but I'd be willing to swallow hexes if it meant a return to better gameplay.
Play Endless Legend. Much, much better game than any of the civ games (comparable to Alpha Centari). I have a buddy I play with who loves Alpha Centari, and he cannot stop raving about how great Endless Legend is.
When the game came out i really tho it was a civ 5 dlc, i was like this was the coolest shit ever, then i realized it was a different game and i was like "oh"
You know, I really liked this game's atmosphere and setting. In fact, that's my biggest complaint with the game is that it's actually...a little wasted on the rest of this game. Heck, even the 4X Genre might not have been the ideal way to explore this game's setting. I mean, imagine if there were spin-offs of this game in a different genre (IE, an open world game or an RPG or something). Of course, this is a Firaxis game, and making 4X's is what they do. So I shouldn't complain too much. Having said that, I do get on odd feeling the designers got a bit lazy or were rushed or something...
Ultrasonic fence can be useful or completely worthless, a lot of it depends on how close to a nest your settling next to and whether or not your willing to baby guard your workers. Aliens should be a bit more aggressive but I think you can turn that option on.
My biggest issue with this game is that everything was the same colour so nothing was interesting. I have this issue whenever I get mostly plains in civ 6
I love 4x games, especially Sid's games. I regret however, buying this game. One expansion for $30, and it doesn't seem to change it enough for me. Buy 6 and it's overpriced DLC instead. OR get Alpha Centauri from GoG instead.
Civ beyond earth was a massive disappointment. It should have been released as a minor expansion, at 1/4 the price. It was essentially just a space-themed re-skin of civ 5
!Excess Period Blood! I have played both Beyond Earth and Revolution and I can tell you they are two completely different games. Civilization Revolution is a much more simple and basic Civ game with much more Cartoony and fun visuals and is overall made for the strategy game casuals of consoles. But Civ BE is trying to be a new Civ game with new mechanics based on its futuristic setting while still living up to its experienced audience. But they forget to give the world leaders character since they are putting the mechanics above things like character because they are going for a realistic setting, while Civ Revolution is going for a introduction for a new audience.
Prolly one of the most underwhelming games I’ve ever played. And I was really looking forward to this game at the time because I played civ V every day.
Lmfaoooo that what fallout 76 just did. Equipment needs repaired way too often so instead of patching for degradation to go slower they put repair kits in the store that you can buy for real money or get drops but it's rare, potentially forcing people to say screw it and buy some lmaooo they fixed the issue buy puting a pay to win feature in xD
Sounds like a pretty but ultimately shallow experience with deceivingly linear gameplay for the mass market which needs a higher difficulty setting. Wait, is this an EA game?!!
The physicist in me still winces at the fact that you have to research basic mathematics, physics, chemistry and biology in a game where space-flight is possible. I know that is so nitpicky but I cannot get over that nonsense.
i guess this is one game i will never actually enjoy, i just wanted alpha centauri with hexes and a graphics update(maybe some interface changes) and i will never get that.
This kinda skips over that Civ V was an inherently broken game until it's patched with a mile of dlc later. This game makes this a trend, a bad ugly trend.
I find the observation about the anti-climactic message you receive when you win a game interesting. On the one hand, isn't a confirmation that your grand strategy you applied throughout the game has turned out to be effective a good reward? Why would it need to be more pompous, this is the result? I see that it could be interpreted as lazy but, on the other hand, it may also have some deeper meaning? The Europa Universalis and Crusader Kings games from Paradox Interactive, for example, are even less rewarding in the sense you seek when reaching even the limited objectives the game gives you. The result being that it rather has made me reflect on what I have been doing in the past few hours up to days, leaving me with less of a sense of satisfaction in accomplishing my goals if anything. Like, in the past few hours of playing I have been planning and executing the genocide of dozens of civilizations, killing and conquering land because of religious differences granting me valid casus bellis...
What sort of gets me is a narrative dissonance with the game. So the world is wracked by climate change and war so we leave earth to find a new planet... to just start again burning fossil fuels and going straight to war? You would think they would have had a better plan than that.
Well there a plenty of reasons why people like the Civilization games, well for one Civilization is a game where you can lead a civilization you built up from the ground to greatness using strategic micro managing to make the best outcome. You are rewarded for thinking about every move and every little thing you do as this relies on people's ability to think ahead instead of mindlessly going balls deep into a room and shooting everything that moves. And just seeing everything you planned turn out as you planned is just so satisfying. But I can see why people might not like it as it requires lots of micro managing and you rather feel like you have too much to do or too little.
Handy Fox Probably because futuristic things are so unfamiliar to us, if you use the Civ 5 and the Civ BE comparison you can obviously see the difference between a spearman and a long swordsman but futuristic units like a Xenoswarm or a Levtank are so much more unfamiliar and in you case, unappealing because humans tend to like things we understand
