i was wondering if civ 4 wud be a good game to get for christmas. becuase i really like the age of empires series and like rts games. i also here that people say its and addictive game and that it is a must for gamers. so it sounds fun so i was thinking about asking some civ users. also does civ IV have a persistnet multiplayer? because they said they had built it from the ground up

yes! get civ3, civ2 and civ1 as well if you can find it. you will never have to buy any more games for the rest of your life.

Civilization is turn-based and requires a lot more planning/micromanagement of resources so it maybe a little slow if you like constant actions. There is a demo floating around somewhere. It is definitely a good game, but very different from most rts games.

If I were you I'd get the demo first just to see if youre gonna like these kind of games. Plus, a lot of people have trouble running this game on their comp so I'd be carefull of that too. This game is a lot different from RTS games like age of empires and so on.

If you like rome total war, but don't care much about the battles.
and if you wonder what it would be to have :
(a) a random world
(b) complete history.

then it is something for you.

wheres the demo at

try and google it

there is a link to the demo on the main news page. i too loved age of empires but the added depth and control in the civilisation series is awesome! It will take some time to learn but believe me - it is well worth it!

The short answer: yes.

The long answer: You will try it out and probably be completely overwhelmed at first. It's a very deep and open-ended game allowing more variety and variability in play than you're used to. Basically, be prepared for a bit of a learning curve. You'll need to read the manual for this one.

On the other hand, don't be intimidated by either these comments or by your experience once you finally start playing.

It's perfectly okay to totally ignore parts of the game that you haven't learned yet, or that look complicated.

Heck, you could just hit the "next turn" key, and when the game prompts you for a choice (such as your next Technology to research), follow the suggested choice or even choose randomly.

You will do just fine, and enjoy it a lot more than if you try to master it all on the first go.

Wodan

You should also look for and try Master of Orion 2 and Sid Mairs Alpha Centaury. But Civ4 is a must have!

This hame has a very good ingame hint/tip system. Basically, once you start playing the computer will give you ideas on what to do. This is a good way to learn and once youre comfortable with it you can turn the help off.

Yes!! It's an awesome game.