Oh well look at that! Another classic and giant franchise heads on to the iPhone!

Civilization Revolution ($4.99) ; FREE

After months of sleepless nights for “Civ Rev” fans, it’s finally here. 2K Games has ported Civilization Revolution to iPhone. It comes with all the bells and whistles of the classic franchise, albeit in 2D. Even so, I’m really liking it!

Presentation

Civilization comes to iPhone in the 2D form. Civilization is a turn based strategy game, where you take turns moving units and building cities. As you build cities you make your own civilization. You must also explore the world around you and discover other civilizations and keep peace or war with them. Although some people were having issues, that has been fixed and on the current version I have played, everything seems well.

In certain menu areas or such, there is a small amount of lag. It’s barely notable, so it’s not a issue. The graphics as mentioned are all 2D, and change as the current time progresses and as you research more things and civilize. As you play you can choose what to research, what type of government to have, and so on. There are several ways to win. You can have a technological win, domination, etc. I’d say presentation is well done, nicely drawn .

Controls

Very iPhone-y controls as I like to call them. Though the iPhone’s screen can be a bit small for this type of games, they’ve gotten it right. Moving around the camera is just as you would control Maps.

Tap (on a empty spot of the map, with no units on it) and drag around to move.Pinch in / out to zoom in / out. Moving around the units is just as simple. Tap on the unit you want to move and drag to the spot you want to move it to.

You can also tap on the unit you want for more options. You can have it skip a turn, defend the spot it’s on, or if there are 3 units (of the same kind) on the same spot, tap to join them into one unit which will become a army. Also if your unit is wounded during battle you can tap the + button that will appear to heal them. To attack on a enemy unit (or city) move  the unit to that enemy unit or city.

Gameplay

Though there are a ton of versions of Civilization, all maintain the same concept. In case you have not played it before, Civilization is a turn based strategy game, guiding a civilization on a macro-scale from prehistory to the present day. Your goal is to establish a successful civilization.

There are different ways to win in Civilization, so it’s always different. You can have a military, cultural, economic or scientific win. You must also deal with the other civilizations that will either hate you or be in favor with you. If you must, war WILL be on . 2K Games has done a wonderful job porting it to iPhone, it works perfectly. And yes this is a COMPLETE Civilization game. You can play as various leaders, 16 in total from different countries. (from Lincoln to Alexander The Great).

The game has been complete made for iPhone, with a UI and control system just for it, which makes it great. As mentioned above you have to deal with the other civilizations. You can go talk to them yourself (though the diplomacy menu) or they will come to you themselves to talk. See:

This is a complete Civilization game right in your pocket, which is sorta amazing. There are multiple difficulty levels, as well as a (great) built-in tutorial. So even if you’re new (like me) to the Civilization game, you’ll get the hang of it in no time.

Pros / Cons

Pros are that it’s a complete port. Its UI is perfect for iPhone, and it’s just a great game. As to cons……I found one con. The game does not auto-save your game. Well sorta. You can save the game manually, and every so often, a lady (I think one of your advices, I forgot ><) will tell you it’s a good time to save your game.

You can accept and press the button to save. So it’s there and it’s not there. In my opinion this is the only con I’ve found. It can be annoying if you forget to save.

Conclusion

Civilization Revolution is an awesome complete port of the classic game. It feels just right for the iPhone and runs great. Even better, its price has been reduced to $5 from $10. And if you’re still not convinced, try out the free lite version. I’m sure it’ll win you over. As Billy Mays would say, call buy now!