Civilization Wars Review

Civilization Wars isn't a perfect Real Time Strategy (RTS) game but at such a low price point, it's still worth a look.

Following the typical theme of any civilization based RTS title, domination is the name of the game here. Build up your empire, acquire more people, then attack opposing forces all in order to claim new ground. We've all seen it before but it's a fun activity to partake in. Civilization Wars offers three different races to play as each with their own artwork.

Besides just fighting physically, crystals can also be captured which provides you with energy that can then be used to cast spells. There's also a basic levelling up system whereby experience points can be gained by defeating foes, then used to improve your abilities, firepower and resources.

It's all quite typical RTS action and for the most part, it's fine. Selecting things is not always as accurate as you'd like and the ability to zoom in would have been handy, but it's still all pretty functional. The problem is I never found it overly absorbing. It's just not as compelling as the likes of Civilization Revolutions for example. It all feels a little too characterless and not as detailed as it likes to think it is.

It's unfortunate that this is the case as there's a fair amount of potential here. You can unlock modes for example to change the game a bit such as introducing a no magic mode or doubling the difficulty level. There are even boss battles to contend with against lumbering monsters. There's also the slightly curious addition of walkthroughs available through the app for every section of the game. No bad thing at all considering you're not forced to use them if you don't want to.

For the price, Civilization Wars does offer a lot and the action is fast paced and appropriate. It's just a pity that it never gave me that compelling urge to keep on playing. Still, for 99c you could do a lot worse indeed.