This thread is to collect the various press reviews of Beyond Earth that are bound to be flooding the internet over the coming week. Whether it's an old-style article from a big gaming site, a youtube video, or a blog, please post a link here to any review of Beyond Earth you come across. This thread is just to collect these in one handy place - please create separate threads to discuss them!
It would also be really nice if you could post a short summary along with the link, just outlining the made points made and the score (if any) given - I'll then collate those summaries into this post.
Please note that this thread is not for your own personal review of the game.
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Ars Technica
Destructoid
Eurogamer
Game World Navigator Magazine (Sep 23, 2014)
Gameinformer
Gameranx
Gamereactor (UK)
Gamespot (article)
Gamespot (video)
GameTrailers
Gaming Nexus
Good Game (video also available for Australians)
HardcoreGamer
IGN (article)
IGN (video)
Joystiq
LazyGamer.net
Metro (UK)
PCGamer
PCGamesN
PCWorld
Polygon
Quarter to Three
ShackNews
TechnoBuffalo
Escapist
The Verge
The Washington Post
TotalBiscuit (video)
US Gamer
VentureBeat (GamesBeat)
VideoGamer.com
It would also be really nice if you could post a short summary along with the link, just outlining the made points made and the score (if any) given - I'll then collate those summaries into this post.
Please note that this thread is not for your own personal review of the game.
________________
Ars Technica
Destructoid
Eurogamer
Game World Navigator Magazine (Sep 23, 2014)
- The only Big Mistake that could plunge the Earth into chaos in three hundred years would be to never develop or publish Civilization: Beyond Earth. Thank God it had passed. Firaxis fully succeeded where only Gollop bros were successful before: it brought the role-playing element as influential as the strategic one into the turn-based strategy. [Oct, 2014, p.68]
Score: 81/100
Source: Metacritic
Gameinformer
Gameranx
- 10/10
"But, if you had to pick only one to play for the rest of your life, Civilization: Beyond Earth would be a solid choice. The various factions and Affinities will ensure multiple, robust playthroughs, each presenting unique scenarios that will encourage the player to strategize in challenging new ways with each file."
Gamereactor (UK)
- + Great depth, Constant stream of meaningful decisions, Lots of opportunity to shape the game to your preferred playstyle, A fresh take on a classic concept.
- The endings come across as a bit underwhelming, Minor bugs and glitches.
9/10 Gamereactor UK
Gamespot (article)
- + Alien landscapes strike a balance between the familiar and the foreign, and look great
+ Affinity system and quests bring a narrative to your civilization's development
+ Streamlining tweaks make it easier to create and guide a thriving civilization
- Pared-back culture system results in excessive focus on military conquest
- Balance issues make it far too easy to capture cities
Gamespot (video)
GameTrailers
Gaming Nexus
Good Game (video also available for Australians)
- BAJO
Yes. I wish they'd been as brave with the rest of the Civ formula. But even so, even with my little gripes, I still enjoyed playing this. I just love civilisation. And I think there's just enough new stuff to keep Civ feeling fresh for some time. I'm giving it 8.5.
HEX
I think we'll need to play a LOT of Beyond Earth to learn its true subtleties. It is a bit more predictable than I was expecting, but I think we can look forward to some interesting strategic tussles with that Affinity System. I'm giving it 8 out of 10.
[...]
16.5 out of 20 Rubber Chickens
HardcoreGamer
IGN (article)
- Beyond Earth is nowhere near the strongest game in the more than 20-year-old Civilization series, but this big collection of interesting experimental ideas definitely still kept me playing long after I should’ve gone to bed. The Affinities and streamlined military upgrade system, and a colorful change of scenery make it worth the time to figure out the difference between Protogenetics and Surrogacy, and suffering through temperamental alien wildlife.
7.9/10
IGN (video)
Joystiq
- Civilization: Beyond Earth is a good game in the context of the Civilization franchise. It moves to the interesting mechanics faster than any entry in the series to date and everything within the game world looks great. A lot of time went into making the new planet pop visually, if only so much care had gone into the presentation around it.
4/5
LazyGamer.net
Metro (UK)
PCGamer
PCGamesN
PCWorld
Polygon
- Civilization: Beyond Earth is an immensely pleasing simulation of a future human society, struggling to survive on a new planet. It presents the player with a constant stream of challenging and intriguing choices. Packed with big ideas about science and science fiction, it meticulously interlocks dozens of strategic gaming systems that work together at a level that approaches genius.
9/10
Quarter to Three
- "All the decisions I’ve made have snowballed into a massive unwieldy clockwork of inconsequence, lumbering towards an inevitable conclusion like a giant Katamari ball consisting of all those little decisions, none of them steering it in any meaningful way, but each of them lending the monstrosity a tiny bit of mass. Then the ball reaches the requisite mass and a screen tells me I’ve won and I’m back at the main menu. No recap, no score breakdown, no map to admire, no ranking. Poof."
2 out of 5 stars.
ShackNews
TechnoBuffalo
Escapist
The Verge
The Washington Post
TotalBiscuit (video)
US Gamer
VentureBeat (GamesBeat)
VideoGamer.com
