ArtG

Staring at the clock, you consider starting another match. “Hey, I’ll just set things up for when I play tomorrow!” you say. Three hours later, you’ve finished another Civilization Revolution match, and you’re left wondering where the time went. Sounds like a Civilization game, doesn’t it? If you’re a veteran of the series, that’s music to your ears.

That’s always the concern with PC strategy games making the jump to consoles — does it feel like the PC game? Too many times gamers have been double-crossed by game companies selling them soy milk, claiming it to be “just like the real thing!”, only to have gamers take a swig of the soy milk, spit it out, get pissed off and run to message boards to bitch about the bad taste left in their mouth. (All apologies to soy milk fans) That is to say that Civilization Revolution wasn’t stripped down to be “like” the real thing — it is.

Saying Civilization Revolution is a Civilization game comes with all the positives and negatives associated with the franchise. Civilization Revolution, like previous Civilization games, can be ridiculously addicting, causing you to lose yourself for hours and hours planning out how best to dominate the world. Because it’s a turn-based strategy game, it has the feel, much like an MMO, of “I can do this task really quick and then I’ll be done.” But after you complete that task, two more tasks come to your attention and it starts to snowball from there. The addictive qualities are thanks in large part to the in-depth strategy that the Civilization franchise is known for. There are four different ways for you to win: military, financial, cultural and technological dominance. Each of the four victory paths have different objectives for you to aim for (military dominance, for example, has you taking over all of the other civilization‘s capitals), so tailoring what you build and research is key to reaching victory.

Keeping up with what units to build, technology to research, cities to attack, etc., can sometimes make newcomers to Civilization feel like a freshly hired waiter at a busy restaurant. You’re juggling two different trays, not trying to drop the customer’s food, while still trying to get there quickly in the hopes they give you a nice tip after they’re done feasting. Eventually, a customer with a full bladder gets up to go to the bathroom, bumps into you and makes you drop everything, killing all your work. Civilization Revolution can be the same in that way — you do a lot of work to set your army up, you plan out your attack on a neighboring city, and then the other civilization’s defenses are vastly superior to your expectations, crushing your planned “tip” for all that work. For newcomers like myself, learning what units to build and what technologies to research can be overwhelming at first, but when you finally get the hang of things and capture a city that you had been longing for, it makes the journey completely worth it — even if it was a bit messy getting there.

In addition to the standard offline single-player, there are scenario missions and a “game of the week” — a randomly generated new scenario for players. The game of the week is the same for everyone, and each week you can compete with others to get the highest ranking on online leaderboards. Online multiplayer is also included for up to three other players, It runs smoothly and without any lag issues, but might not be ideal if you don’t have a couple hours to dedicate to the match.

Audio-visually, Civilization Revolution is neither here nor there. The music isn’t memorable, and the characters speak in this Sims-like gibberish that gets a little grating. Visually, you’re getting a decent looking game considering the scope, but it’s not going to “wow” you. Surprisingly, though, I did experience some significant slow-down in the game on a couple occasions, leading me to believe my console had frozen — instead, the game had screeched to a complete halt for about 10 seconds. Although the slowdown was puzzling, it only happened twice and never got in the way of the game.

The highest praise you could give a game like Civilization Revolution is to say that it plays like its PC counterparts. It might not be for everyone, but for the hardcore strategy fan, you finally have a console strategy game that isn’t broken and busted. Instead, you’re getting the same addicting, deep gameplay you’ve seen on the PC. Drink up — you’re not getting soy milk for once — you’re getting the real thing.

It’s hard to sell a game about crab-fishing to groups of gamers that are used to action-packed games like Halo 3 or Metal Gear Solid 4. At first glance it seems akin to offering vegetables to child. Why would a testosterone-fueled 18-34 male want a game about fishing? Short answer is that Mr. 18-34 probably doesn’t. But a deeper look into the game reveals surprising depth for gamers out there that want to step back from action and have a more chilled experience.

After a lengthy tutorial gets you acclimated to controlling the boats, you’re not ready to set sail for the Bering Sea quite yet. Crew members must be hired and provisions (bait, gas, fishing pots) must be purchased. With fresh supplies and an experienced crew, you plan out your fishing strategy. Checking your plotter, a device that allows you to check crab population, you map out your strategies to hit areas with the highest density. Marking your map with your planned strings, (swaths of sea where you drop your pots to “soak”) you and your crew make haste for that location. Once there, your crew gets to work, as do you. Getting the boat into position, you ring a buzzer, giving your workers the green light to drop the pot into the sea. You continue this strategy for a while, and your employees are starting to tire. Yet, you need to get these pots down as soon as possible. Meeting the quota is paramount to any sleeping concerns of these peasants. Not soon after, one of your workers makes an error, resulting in a steel pot being dropped from a crane and onto a fellow employee. The aftermath is not good–the injured employee was your deck boss and your most trusted and experienced crew member., who is now out for the season.The effect is much like a weigh scale. On one of the arms you have the need to meet the quota, and then on the other, the need to protect the safety of your crew. Finding the right balance is the challenge.

Even with a key crew member down, you’re still able to continue. Completing your fishing strategy, you head back to harbor to find a replacement for your fallen deck boss. Luckily, there are still some unemployed, willing hands, which you promptly hire. Getting back to sea, you begin to retrieve your hauls. The first couple of hauls only bring in a miniscule number of “keepers” (adult crabs) and it continues along most of your strings. Frustrated, you radio other fisherman to see how they’re haul has been going. Listen closely, because not all of them are looking to help. This particular fisherman tells you that their fishing has gone great, even though they might have been fishing along the same strings you have been. Knowing how the fishing has gone for you, you make note to disregard whatever they say in the future.

As you’re about to finish picking up the last of your ill-fated pots, something happens. Everything stands still. You figure it’s just a temporary lock-up. Tapping the guide button multiple times proves fruitless, so you reluctantly turn off your 360. It’s just bad luck, and hey, you saved just before the freeze, so everything’s kosher. Minutes later, it happens again. And again…ad nauseam. Progressing through a complete season of crab fishing seems impossible up to a certain point because of the technical difficulties that continue to muck up your experience.

Glancing at screenshots of the game, shrugging it off as a quick, sloppy cash-in on the TV show would be an easy conclusion. Nothing looks particularly good and there is plenty that looks bad. Hauling in your catch of crab, the detail on the fish passes scrutiny while in the pot. But when dumped into the catching tray for your crew to sort, it becomes this amalgamation of brown slime and gunk that looks laughably bad. Re-creations of the different boats seen on the show are faithful, but technical prowess is something Deadliest Catch does not have.

Graphical limitations aside, Deadliest Catch is surprisingly competent. In so far as games are vehicles for excitement and action, the game falls on its face. Where it finds its footing is in its unique setup that is unlike anything else on the market. Unique might not mean great or even good, but you could rent much worse.