One giant leap for beginners but there's help at hand

Sid Meier's virtual likeness and voice guide you through the tutorial.

I last played Civilization with Civilization II, and I rarely pick up a turn-based game. RTSs such as Rise of Nations and Age of Empires have fulfilled my strategy jones. I was eager to rush capital cities, but my feeble attempts at military conquest were met with swift retribution. Quickly, I was reminded that there is no practical gameplay analogy between a real-time and a turn-based strategy game.

Civilization newcomers and casual gamers will likely feel that the game is too complex and unapproachable, at least in the beginning. The in-game tutorial - voiced by an animated Sid Meier - does a fine job of easing a new player into the game, but there's no substitute for reading the manual. Gameplay intricacies such as civics and intra-city resource management require some time with the documentation. Thankfully, a capable (but abridged) printed manual is provided, and a complete electronic manual is shipped with the game.

Civilization can be a very involved game, so it's nice to have some help with recommended choices.

The tenets which have anchored the series since its inception are still present in the latest release. Diplomacy and trading have a marked effect on gameplay, as does resource production an exploration. The standard '4x' gameplay (explore, expand, exploit, exterminate) remains unchanged from the first Civilization.

Of course, the game has grown by orders of magnitude since that first release, and Civilization IV is the pinnacle of complexity. A quick glance at the game's technology tree proves this. The tree defines the relationship between technologies, outlining the relationships between new technologies.

The various Civics, split up into six categories, each have technology prerequisites as well as unique effects on a nation. Unsurprisingly, resource production is tied to technology as well. For instance, a lumber mill can only be constructed once Replaceable Parts has been researched. As with unit creation, researching technology consumes a certain number of turns. Devising an effective strategy which develops civics, technologies, units and resource production in a balanced manner isn't a crap shoot. Managing even a moderately complex society requires a wealth of knowledge. The Civilopedia, an in-game reference library of all things Civilization – from military units to civics details – is an excellent resource.

It's educational too!

The Civilopedia contains details on all aspects of the game.

There is an historic component to the game as well. By no means is the game a substitute for a proper history education, but the historical aspects ground the gameplay in reality. Each civilization has a unique unit and two already-researched technologies. Leaders are associated with traits which effect the civilization as a whole.

The game's wonders are picked from history, and building a world wonder gives a nation an exclusive hand up on competing civilizations. Technology progresses in a logical manner as well, without any obvious anachronisms. Using world history to frame gameplay has been the Civilization mantra for years, and it works here as well.