Complex global strategy games are for PC users, only? That's no longer true (if it ever was): In spring 2008, Firaxis is bringing Sid Meier's most accclaimed series to Xbox 360 and PS3, and to Wii (and DS, if we heard it right!) in fall 2008. Sid Meier's Civilization Revolution looks and feels like you'd think a turn based strategy game would after being ported to a console: The camera's zoomed in quite heavily, although we learned that "this was for E3 only, to show off the graphics" (actually, you can use a globe mode where you can see the actual playing pieces and cities VERY zoomed out).

There are a lot of graphical gimmicks, too, so the fighting animations of the little soldiers are "never exactly the same". You'll see a very graphical atomic bomb explosion. Also, Firaxis tries to make the game less abstract and to give your opponents a personality. For example, a large animated figure of Cleopatra is not only gesturing and taunting and insulting when you send a diplomat to the Egypts, but you can also see her motivating her troops during fights. But the biggest differences are in scope and playing time: An successful mid-game civilization will have around 5 to 8 cities (compared to 30+ in the PC version). And solo play will last for 2 to 3 hours only, with the multiplayer mode lasting only 30 to 60 minutes -- at least in beta testing.

Sid Meier says he decided to do Civiliation Revolution after he'd realized that there were no strategy games on console which he could buy for his teeanger son, Ryan. In the presentation at E3, we could see that what made the game a favourite for a generation of strategy fans on PC, seems still to be in there -- trading, building, recruiting, fighting, using diplomacy. There are even little improvements to the PC versions, e.g. chosing which one of two upgrades a unit gets when it reaches Veteran staus. For example, a legion can be promoted to Infiltration legion, getting a bonus for attacks on cities, or Scout legion, getting a better sight range. Plus, up to 3 units (consisting of 3 figures each, representing the hit points of the unit) can form an Army which will use 3 different upgades at the same time.

Old fans will like the Space Race ending (one of three ways to win the game): Like in older Civilization games, you can build the colony ships differently, so a better built ship has a bigger chance of success, and a faster ship can overtake one that was launched earlier. We actually think that Civ Revolution could turn out to be a very addictive game -- even if you'll have to start over every 3 hours.