Press Reviews of Beyond Earth

[DioAurion]

My site's review: http://www.onrpg.com/articles/editorial/civilization-beyond-earth-launch-review/

4/5. Fun factor initially outweighs the balance issues and their past track record leaves us assured that the initial building blocks of this game are going to come together as something masterful before too long. Except for AI, diplomacy, and storytelling which all hold the game back a bit. Roleplayers beware. Only an epic modding community has a chance of saving the game there. Still looking forward to re-reviewing it when the first expansion arrives.

 

[Sherlock]

They dance around it a little, but yeah - it's a disappointment.


http://www.spacesector.com/blog/2014/11/civilization-beyond-earth-review/

Moderator Action: Merged with stickied Press Reviews thread.

 

[Lord Tirian]

Rock, Paper, Shotgun has released a "Verdict" of Civ:BE.

The overall message is: competent but a bit bland. Better than Civ5 on launch, but needs an expansion (that it may or may not get). Tech web is one of the highlights and biggest innovations.

 

[astepahead51]

For me the game is fun and obviously still addicting, but I miss the historical nature of pacing through time and the different ages (renaissance, age of exploration, etc). I also miss having real historical civilizations and leaders. I love history and that is why I loved civ in the first places.. building real-life great wonders, etc. I think if you started on earth and then after conquering earth or building your first spaceship AND THEN exploring the universe, finding and settling other planets would be an EPIC way to approach it. Again still enjoyable, but it's all just a little too make-believe with no real historical aspect anymore that makes me feel like I'm working through time.

I know this is for press reviews but I wanted to give me thoughts.

 

[megabearsfan]

A little late to this party, but I spent a lot of time this November and December playing that game and finally got around to writing my own review a couple weeks ago:

http://www.megabearsfan.net/post/20...eyond-Earth-Rising-Tide-expansion-review.aspx

In summary:
+ Oceans feel like a much more relevant part of the map and strategy, rather than just "dead space" between continents.
+ Feels a bit more futuristic, and therefore distinct, than Civ V.
+ Mobile cities is a feature pulled straight from one of my own wishlists, but it's implementation is kind of "meh".
+ New diplomacy systems try to create a sense of the different colonies working together to colonize the new world.
- That new diplomacy system falls flat once civs tame the planet and go back to needlessly-competitive, mutually-exclusive victories.
- Diplomacy further hampered by lack of options for affecting A.I. behavior, and war score doesn't feel very meaningful.
- Legacy problems like excessive trade unit micro-management, underwhelming wonders, aliens feeling like reskins of barbarians, underdeveloped air combat, etc.
- Game bogs down in second half due to lots of open space on the map, and little need to fight over land or resources.

overall score: C (76/100)