Civilization IV
A 4X turn-based strategy game building an empire from scratch.
Civilization IV is a 2005 4X turn-based strategy video game developed by Firaxis Games and published by 2K. It is the fourth installment of the Civilization series, designed by Soren Johnson, and was released in North America, Europe, and Australia between October 25 and November 4, 2005. The game uses the 4X empire-building model, where the player constructs a civilization from limited initial resources, typically starting with a settler unit and/or a city unit in 4000 BC. It features a new graphics engine created from scratch based on the Gamebryo engine by Numerical Design Limited (NDL), a large departure from earlier Civilization games.
Quick Facts
- Developer
- Firaxis Games
- Publisher
- 2K / (Win) · Aspyr / (Mac)
- Producer
- Barry Caudill
- Designer
- Soren Johnson
- Artist
- Steve Ogden
- Composer
- Jeffery L. Briggs / Christopher Tin
- Series
- Civilization
- Engine
- Gamebryo
- Platforms
- Windows, Mac OS X
- Released
- WindowsNA · October 25, 2005 · PAL · November 4, 2005Mac OS XNA · June 26, 2006
- Genre
- Turn-based strategy, 4X
- Modes
- Single-player, multiplayer
Facts from the source article.
Lore & Background
Civilization IV follows the 4X model of turn-based strategy games, where players control an empire and explore, expand, exploit, and exterminate. The player leads a modest group of people from a base with scarce resources into a successful empire or civilization. Winning conditions include militarily defeating all other civilizations, controlling over two-thirds of the world's land and population, building the first spaceship to Alpha Centauri, achieving dominant Culture ratings, or becoming World Leader through United Nations votes. If the time limit is reached without any player fulfilling these goals, the civilization with the highest total game score wins. The game offers multiple modes: single player against computer opponents, hot seat mode, or online multiplayer.
Reader's Guide
Civilization IV received critical acclaim and was hailed as an exemplary product of one of the leading video game producers in the turn-based strategy genre. It has been listed as one of the best video games of all time. The game sold over 3 million copies by 2008 and won multiple awards, including several Game of the Year awards. Its title song, 'Baba Yetu', was the first piece of video game music to win a Grammy Award. Two major expansions were released: Civilization IV: Warlords and Civilization IV: Beyond the Sword, as well as the stand-alone expansion Civilization IV: Colonization. These were all combined in 2009 into one release edition titled Sid Meier's Civilization IV: The Complete Edition. The game's new graphics engine and deep gameplay systems contributed to its lasting influence in the turn-based strategy genre.
Did You Know?
- Civilization IV was designed by Soren Johnson and developed by Firaxis Games.
- The game uses a new graphics engine based on the Gamebryo engine by Numerical Design Limited (NDL).
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