Sid Meier's Civilization V: Gods and Kings

Civilization V: Brave New World’s final two civs and how to play them

Last month, we walked you through seven of the nine new civs coming in Civilization V: Brave New World. The final two, Venice and the Shoshone, were at our fingertips, but not yet revealed. With the official announcement out of the bag, we can finally talk about them, and give you our impressions and suggested strategies. They've been sitting in a notepad file on my desktop for a while, but if you cut the moldy parts off, they should taste fine. Venice Unique Ability: Serenissima You can never build or capture settlers. You can never annex conquered cities. Wait, what? That doesn't sound lik

Civilization V’s new civilization abilities and unique units, and how to use them

Civilization V designer Jon Shafer’s criticisms were “a little harsh,” says current designer

Earlier this week I spoke to Ed Beach, Lead Designer on the Civilization V: Gods & Kings expansion, as well as the upcoming Brave New World expansion. I asked Beach for his thoughts on Civ V designer Jon Shafer's recent self-criticisms regarding Civilization V's one unit per tile system and leader AI quirks. "He was a little harsh on it," said Beach. "And I won't try to guess as to exactly what his frame of mind was, where he's coming from." "Unit stacking can be a problem in Civ V, and I definitely think we've been acknowledging that for a while," continued Beach. "In Gods & Kings w

Civilization V: One World expansion spotted in Steam database

Civilization V might be getting a second expansion at some point in the future. According to the Steam Apps Database - a website that trawls Steam's huge library - an entry exists for an expansion called "One World". This was spotted by a user of the 2K forums, who was presumably inspired by the addition of spies in Civ 5's last expansion, Gods & Kings. While potentially exciting news for Civ fans, it's worth remembering that the Steam database isn't an exact science, and a content listing isn't a guarantee of release. Still, more Civ 5 content is hardly outside the realm of possibility.

The Strategy Chronicles, collected edition

For the past 16 weeks, I've been chronicling the rise and fall of tribes, kingdoms, and great heroes in historical strategy games. It all started in Civilization V with The Celtic Chronicle, and has made its way to the currently running Crusader Kings Chronicle. The feature is taking a week off, so between now and next Wednesday is the perfect time to go back and get caught up, or just reminisce about all of the epic moments of ages past. You'll find links to every entry ever, with clip show-esque highlights, below. Civilization V: The Celtic Chronicle I attempt to lead the new Celtic civili

Civilization V: The Swedish Saga, part 6: The Epic Conclusion

My friends! Gather 'round the fire and prepare to hear an epic tale that spans the entirety of human history! I've finally finished chronicling my progress in Civ V's Gods & Kings expansion, as part of an ongoing feature every Wednesday. Last week, the Norse Democratic Union (my socialist republic that grew out of the unification of Sweden and Denmark) trounced Greece, ending a massive world war and setting us on the path to victory. This is the home stretch, but we're not out of the woods until we're literally out of the woods. On a spaceship. Will... we... go... all... the... way? Read

Civilization V: The Swedish Saga, part 5 (1951 A.D. to 1975 A.D.)

My friends! Gather 'round the fire and prepare to hear an epic tale that spans the entirety of human history! I'm in the middle of chronicling my progress in Civ V's Gods & Kings expansion, with a new entry every Wednesday. Last week, my Modern Era armies ousted the corrupt Danish crown, bringing all of the Norse people under the glorious, socialist rule of the Norse Democratic Union. War has broken out between the NDU and Greece, scourge of the Western world, as we race against time to stop their bid for total global domination. Read on, as the action rises to nuclear proportions! Need

Civilization V: The Swedish Saga, part 4 (1868 A.D. to 1951 A.D.)

My friends! Gather 'round the fire and prepare to hear an epic tale that spans the entirety of human history! I'm in the middle of chronicling my progress in Civ V's Gods & Kings expansion, with a new entry every Wednesday. Last week, the Industrial Era saw my Swedish Empire and its Grand Army march from sea to shining sea in the pursuit of bringing lasting peace to the world. Despite our best efforts, however, it seems that world war is just on the horizon. Read on, as the next 100 years will change the world more than any century that came before! Need to get caught up? Here's Part 1,

Weekend Game Deals – Gimme a Quake

STEAM The magic of QuakeCon has cut a modest 25% off of Steam's Bethesda/id Software catalog for the weekend, with bigger deals rotating daily. At the time of writing, RAGE is 50% off. (Note: see below for possibly better deals.) 50% off RAGE - $9.99 25% off The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim - $44.99 25% off Hunted: The Demon’s Forge - $14.99 25% off Fallout: New Vegas - $14.99 25% off Fallout 3: GOTY Edition - $14.99 25% off The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion GOTY Edition - $14.99 25% off The Elder Scrolls III: Morrowind GOTY Edition - $14.99 75% off Titan Quest - $3.74 More Steam deals GAMEFLY GameF

Civilization V: The Swedish Saga, part 3 (1702 A.D. to 1868 A.D.)

My friends! Gather 'round the fire and prepare to hear an epic tale that spans the entirety of human history! I'm in the middle of chronicling my progress in Civ V's Gods & Kings expansion, with a new entry every Wednesday. Last week, my Swedish civilization plowed through the Middle Ages and the Renaissance. Now, with my lines of muskets and cannons on the move for Austria, war on a scale not yet seen by my people is set to commence. Read on, as the sound of gunfire echoes across the continent! Missed the start? Here's Part 1. Titans of industry I'm way out in front in the tech race rig

Civilization V: The Swedish Saga, part 2 (430 A.D. to 1702 A.D.)

My friends! Gather 'round the fire and prepare to hear an epic tale that spans the entirety of human history! I'm in the middle of chronicling my progress in Civ V's Gods & Kings expansion, with a new entry every Wednesday. Last week, I started a new game as Sweden. This week, my Swedish civilization marches into the Middle Ages as the most technologically advanced nation in the world. But threats to the glorious empire wait around every corner... so read on to see legends unfold! The War of Three Banners The fifth century is off to a pretty good start. My economy is doing great, but my

Community heroes: we talk to the man behind Civilization II’s Eternal War

James ‘Lycerius’ Moore played a single game of Civilization II off and on for ten years, extending far into a dystopian future that he described as “a hellish nightmare of suffering and devastation”. The story caught fire, spreading from reddit to the specialist games press and national media before returning to reddit as /r/theeternalwar, where fans trade fiction, music, and art. Last week, I spoke to James about his experience of the game, the rationale behind playing the same campaign for a decade, and what it’s like to have your cool gaming anecdote capture the imaginations of so many pe

Civilization V: The Celtic Chronicle, part 3 (520 A.D. to 1450 A.D.)

Gather 'round the fire of time and prepare to hear an epic tale that spans the entirety of human history! Well, a millennium of it. Every Wednesday, I've been chronicling the progress of my Celtic civilization in Civ 5's new Gods & Kings expansion. In Part 2, the Celtic Republic was formed, and brought holy war to the lands of England in the name of PC Elitism. Now, with the Celts and the English united under the growing religion, the Middle Ages dawn in a rare state: peace. Missed Part 1? Read how it all began. So much for peace in the Middle Ages Things are looking up from when I enter

Now Available: Civilization V - Gods & Kings

Civilization V - Gods & Kings, the new expansion for Civilization V, is now available in North America on Steam! Check the game page for release information in your territory. Interact with new types of city-states, engage in new city-state quests and global competitions, and master exciting new systems for land and naval combat. Civilization V: Gods and Kings will also include nine new civilizations, nine new wonders, three original scenarios, and dozens of new units, buildings, and techs that will offer even more ways for players to expand their empire and dominate the world.