Just a short review: It's a very good game and can keep you playing for a long time. My wife loves it as she rarely plays and the difficulty settings are very variable making it an excellenct game for absolute beginners and advanced players alike.

CIV IV is the best strategy game ever made by a far margin. I have played this since its release in 2005, and now I have just bought a digital copy at gamersgate to have it for eternity. There are so many things to try (slingshot for special techs, religion, spying, coorporations and much more). I still feel there are tons of things to try. CIV V is nothing compared to CIV IV.

Even though Civilization 4 is based on same grounds as other civilisation games lot has been changed and in a good way. You still start with choosing nation, founding Capitol which will expand. During game you meet other civilisations and you

can war with them, do little commerce or spread some culture.

While your civilization is expanding you'll be drawned into the game more and more.

You will discover new technologies and your civilisation will prosper.

You can win on several ways. I'm dissapointed that by building colony ship game ends.

Some things I found better then in previous games are borders (other civs troops

cannot move into your country without declaring war). Also bombers and artillery can do

group damage and reduce defence rating in city, demolish building.

Some of the bad things are that you can still lose tank from for example archer.

Musketman can shoot down helicopter (Maybe they shoot pilot through glass :-)).

Graphic is well made you'be satisfied with it. Big new in this seqal is religion which

can spread on your cities as well as opponents. Cities with big religion have large area under control.

All in all Civilisation 4 is better game than is prequals and if you love this type of game it's a must have.

Civilization IV is definitely one of the best strategy titles out there. The expansions really add a lot to the game, so I`d suggest buying the bundle, not just Civ IV.

What I really love about it is the AI, who does his best to keep up with you (maybe even cheats at times :), and knows how to strike a killer blow, just as you thought you had the game in the bag with 50 turns left... Every other game you start is a chance to try out something different and outsmart the AI or the human opponent

If you've never played a civ game I'd recommend that you give this game a try. If you like games with exiting action, fast paced decition making, a strong storyline or deep strategy then this game probobly isn't for you. This game feels more like a timekiller then an rts in the same way that puzzlequest doesn't feel like a real rpg.

This games strong side is shown when you start playing becuse before you know it it will be 4 am the next day.

Civ pulls you in with it's simplicity, the recource system feels natural and you can figure out what the technology does just be reading the names. But the game lacks depth, it's just a series of skirmish games where you chose a faction that is basicly just a cosmetic choise and then you do what you did the last 10 games.

So this game is a mixed bag but if you enjoy it this game is crack in videogame form.

Civ - this is the ultimate collection and a great value for the bucks spend. - Never had a game with this many hours of great fun - its a must have !!

Civilation IV is one of the landmark strategy games, from Sid Meier, a pioneer of the genre. Civilization IV builds upon and brings experience from Meier's previous titles and provides a solid gaming experience which still holds its own against newer titles. Graphically the game is still quite vibrant and easy on the eyes, the gameplay is unarguably solid, and the experience of playing this continuation of a classic series is sure to be remembered.

As every games, CivIV has its strong and weak points. On the weak side is barbarians that hampers the game, even in low settings. It kind of ruins the pleasure of trying to learn the game or trying out new tactics. Given the fact that some units require a specific resource, there should be more ressources availlable.

However, despite that, and even more than its predecessors, CivIV is very addictive and provides for many hours of non-repetitive games.

Easily the greatest turn based strategy game ever made and this pack contains the game and 2 great expansions. This game can be as challengin as you want and as epic as a game like this can get! It is jam packed full of content that will keep you playing over and over and over again. this is a must buy for any strategy gamer, whether hardcore or casual.