CIS 487: Assignment 2Computer Game EvaluationCivilization IVJoseph Brogowski10/2/2006BASIC INFORMATIONGame Title: Civilization IVCompany: Firaxis GamesGame Type: Turn Based StrategyPrice: $49.99Minimum System Requirements● Windows® 2000/XP ● 1.2 GHz Intel Pentium 4 or AMD Athlon processor or equivalent ● 256 MB RAM (Windows 2000) / 512 MB RAM (Windows XP) ● 1.7 GB Free HD Space● 4X Speed CD-ROM Drive● DirectX 9.0c-compatible 64 MB video card with Hardware T&L support ( GeForce 2/Radeon 7500 or better) ● DirectX 9.0c-compatible sound card ● DirectX® version 9.0c (included) or higher Recommended System Requirements● Windows® 2000/XP ● 1.8 GHz Intel Pentium 4 or AMD Athlon processor or equivalent ● 512 MB RAM ● 1.7 GB Free HD Space● 4X Speed CD-ROM Drive● 128 MB Video Card w/ DirectX 8 support (pixel & vertex shaders) ● DirectX 9.0c-compatible sound card ● DirectX® version 9.0c (included) or higherGAME SUMMARYQuick OverviewIn this game as in the previous civilization games you are the leaderof primitive civilization and you control their development as they advance through time. You chose whether to focus on diplomacy, war, science, or culture as your road to victory as you guide your people through the ages.StorylineThis game doesn't have much of a storyline initially. You start off in 4000 BC and your people have decided to stop living as nomads and make their first city. They have decided to make you their absolute ruler and you must guide them throughout the ages. While the game doesn't provide much more of a storyline, this is intentional. This allows for you to make the story. As you play youand your opponents create the storyline. Your not controlled by some predetermined outcome of the writers. You write the history of the world and remake it in your own image. The game is the storyline.Player's RoleYour role is that of the absolute ruler of your people. You control everything from the about your civilization. You control the religion, government, economy, diplomacy, production, expansion, technical advancement and defense of your people. You can seek victory through several means. ● Time - Simply having the most points on the year 2050● Conquest – Conquering all the other civilizations● Domination - Controlling a high percentage of both the worlds land and population● Cultural – Increasing 3 cities to legendary culture ratings● Diplomatic – Winning by a united nations vote● Space – Building a spaceshipInstallationInstallation is easy, simply insert the DVD and follow the prompts.Game PlayFirst city management. City management is very important in Civilization IV because it's focus is meant to shift from many citiesstrategy of Civilization III to a few well managed cities. You becomepenalized for having many cities by increasing gold maintenance costsfor large civilizations. You get a placeable worker for every population point your city has. You may either have them work one of the surrounding tiles for food, production, and commerce or you can turn them into a one of a selection specialists you can earn for yourcivilization. You also control which buildings and units your city produces. Proper selection of buildings is vital to the health of your civilization. Build to many buildings and you likely don't have the resources to defend yourself, build to few and your economy and infrastructure won't be able to support your civilization.Next building a infrastructure. You make workers to build your civilization's infrastructure. The workers build roads to allow rapidmovement throughout your civilization and connect your cities to share resources and trade. This is vital to both the economy and defense of your civilization. Workers also build improvements for your tiles such as farms, mines, towns, windmills, and watermills that can provide bonus food, production, and resources. Such improvements can be the difference between a thriving and failing city. They also allow you to build improvements that give you accessto special and strategic resources. Strategic resources allow you make advanced military units, special resources give all connected cities various bonuses.Now we look at defense. You need a military presence to defend your civilization or you will be swiftly conquered by your neighbors. Controlling the strategic resources is very important. They allow youto make advanced military units which is a massive advantage in a war. If you can get to them seizing a enemies strategic resources cancripple him, especially in the earlier ages. Also important to your defense is city placement as your opponents can't cross your borders without declaring war on you, you can effectively claim large stretches of land by placing a city at a coke point. By placing cities at coke points you can concentrate your defenses as well. Youralso want a fast unit near your borders as a favorite tactic of the computer in war is to send several fast units to destroy your improvements and roads.The diplomacy system is very good. Through diplomacy it is possible to trade anything from technologies to resources. If you got good relations with your neighbors you can skimp on defenses (but not to much) and concentrate on something else. You can cause them to start wars or to change their religion. The computer remembers how you havedealt with them in the past and whether you are allied with their enemies and this determines their attitude towards you.Technology is vital to your civilization. It controls how powerful you civilization is and which military units and buildings you can make. One popular strategy is to research along one path of the tree to get a massive advantage in one area of technology and to trade theother civilizations for what you have missed.Religion can be a very powerful force in the game. This is especiallytrue if you found the religion. If you found the religion and then make it your state religion you can get several benefits. You can spread it to your enemies cities and then you will have spies in their cities that allow you to see their defenses and production. Another benefit of found the religion is that if you get a special unit called a great prophet you can create your great church in the founding city. When you do this you get a gold for every city that has that religion. Also civilization's that share religions have muchbetter relations and those that don't have worse ones.Civics are the structure of your