Sid Meier's Pirates! (Wii)

Developer: Firaxis

Publisher: 2K Games
Release Date: Oct. 5, 2010
System: Wii (reviewed), PC
ESRB Rating: E-10+
Official Web site

In a nutshell: Ay diddle dee dee, a pirate’s life for Wii.

0:00 I put a decent amount of time into the updated PC version of this one already, so my main interest today is how this classic title transfers over to the Wii’s control scheme.

0:01 Nice short trumpet fanfare on the preview screen. Also, the game is saving already? I haven’t done anything yet...

0:03 “It began with a celebration. Indebted for many years to Marquis Montelban a families honor would soon be restored.” But the Marquis and his men come in to seize their property and sell them in to bondage. The boy runs off, refusing to be a slave. Ten years later, he continues his quest for revenge. The familiar opening looks a little grainy and rough on my HDTV.

0:05 I like the default name Incognito so much I decide to keep it. I choose the middle difficulty, Adventurer, because it features more dangerous sea battles and more treacherous villains. I decide to choose gunnery as my skill, since I always had problems aiming in the sea battles of the PC version. Let’s start in the default year of 1660.

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***-->AT GAMERONI<-***

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Sid Meier's Civilization IV

Developer: Firaxis Games

Publisher: 2K Games

Release Date: Oct. 25, 2005

System: PC

ESRB Rating: E10+

Official Web site

In a nutshell: It feels nice to finally join the Civilized world.

0:00 When people find out that I have never played a proper Civilization game (which does not include Civilization Revolution), they often say something along the lines of, "What's wrong with you? Don't you write about games for a living?" To which I reply, "Ummmmmmmm." Well that ends TODAY with a $5 Steam purchase and a two-hour long download/install. I just hope I don't get addicted.

0:01 A shot of stars. The camera zooms past the moon and over the Earth. Lights start appearing in the fertile crescent as a choir comes in. Zoom down to the coast and we see Roman-style soldiers racing to battle atop a castle wall. Down on the coast catapults shoot fire at ships with red and white striped sails. An eagle calls as the camera zooms up the steps of a coliseum. Soldiers cheer as an emperor steps out, kneels, and has a crown placed on his head by grey-bearded fellow. He raises his arms to more applause and the camera pans up to the sky as the title comes up. Pretty epic.

0:04 My laptop is below the recommended specs, but the game says it has automatically lowered my graphics settings to accommodate. Well isn't that handy.

0:06 Loading the tutorial necessitates restarting the game, I guess because they assume most players won't need it at this point (they've probably played one of the earlier games, after all)? My default Civ is Julius Caesar, leader of the Roman Empire. I'm not feeling creative enough to come up with anything else. A Normal speed and the lowest "Settler" difficulty are forced on me. That's good... I'm probably not ready to go for the top "Deity" difficulty just yet.

0:07 "Hi, my name is Sid. Welcome to Civilization IV!" Meier looks even scarier as a 3D model than in real life. "The objective is simple... create and maintain an empire that will stand the test of time." What if I want a Civilization that descends to anarchy, huh? Who are YOU to set goals for ME?

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Sid Meier's Pirates

Developer: Firaxis
Publisher: 2K Games
Systems: PC (reviewed), Mac, Xbox, PSP
Release Date: Nov. 22, 2004
ESRB Rating: E
Official Web site

In a nutshell: Yar ... there be a simple strategy simulation off the port bow. Fire!

0:00 I've heard very good things about this game for years, and have a friend who's been trying to get me to play it for nearly as long (hi, Mike). That said, I probably wouldn't be touching it if it weren't freely available on my GameTap account.

0:01 A pirate opens a chest and finds the Firaxis logo. The 2K logo just fades in as normal. Bleh. The title appears over a cloud-covered map of the sea. The cursor becomes a ship's steering wheel during some long-ish loading.

0:03 The best thing about playing old games on my crappy computer: For once I can turn the video settings ALL THE WAY UP. *flex*

0:04 "It began with a celebration. Indebted for years to the Marquis de Motalban, a family's prosperity was soon to be restored -- carrying both their hopes and their salvation." Scenes of a 3-D family laughing and drinking at a dinner party. Then the Marquis comes with bad news: The fleet has been lost and the debt's come due. The family's property is seized by redcoats. The kid of the family tries to fight back, then runs off. "While his family was enslaved, the boy swore revenge." Ten years later, we pan over the docks, and see the now-grown boy begin his quest. I'm not sure how I feel about the silent, all-text and animation story presentation.

0:06 "Seeking passage to the new world, you inquire at a public house." A guy hands my character, a clean-cut muscular boy, a "crew sign-ups" parchment. The default name is "Incognito," which tickles me so much that I decide to use it.

Read the full review at Crispy Gamer

Civilization Revolution

Developer: Firaxis
Publisher: 2K Games
Release Date: July 8, 2008
Systems: Xbox 360 (reviewed), PS3, Nintendo DS
ESRB Rating: E10+
Official Web site

In a nutshell: Conquer the World, simply.

0:00 Believe it or not, I have never played a single Civilization game. I've heard this one is a bit simpler and tuned for a console gamer's sensibilities, though, so away we go.

0:01 The little disc tray icon on the Xbox Dashboard abbreviates the name as "Civilization Revolut'n," which I find completely hilarious for some reason. Probably lack of sleep.

0:02 A primitive person in a loincloth draws the 2K/Firaxis logos in ash on a cave wall. He draws a woman; then he becomes Caesar, pumping his fists to a crowd of cheering Romans. The ancient man continues to draw as the camera cuts to a knight in a hall and horsemen riding through fire. A man with a gold ring gestures towards the sea, over a map with dragons. In the distance, a green land. A scientist discusses a new spaceship, while a general clences a fist. A politician makes a decision and the shuttle lifts off to a massive space station. Back in pre-history, the caveman walks out to a fireside gathering outside his mountain cave. The music swells. Pretty touching, for a game intro...

0:05 I could probably spend the whole hour reading the Civopedia, which describes types of governments, land, military units, resources, rewards, leaders, etc. I hope I'll learn as I go.

0:07 I jump in to play now and can choose from a variety of leaders throughout the world and history -- Caesar, Cleopatra, Ghandi, Alexander the Great, Bismarck, Mao, etc. I choose Random and leave my fate up to, uh, fate. I get Caesar. "Great people such as Plato will increase your culture," says the loading screen. Well, duh!

Read the full review at Crispy Gamer