Recent reviews by Kelibath

I came to this game via the Humble Bundle and I figured it couldn't hurt to try it out as a free accompaniment to that game with the plethora of potential pigeon partnerships. I was expecting a cute little time-sink that I probably wouldn't play more than twice. The art style seemed simplistic and reminiscent of Magical Girl anime, and so I figured the gameplay would mirror that light-hearted lack of depth and character. How wrong I was..

I can't really put it better than RockPaperShotgun did in describing this game as "a Sansa Stark simulator" (you can read the remainder of their brilliant and detailed review here - http://www.rockpapershotgun.com/2014/01/10/long-live-the-queen-review/ ). Rather than a game of frills and frippery, I was suddenly plunged into a very maturely crafted world of political espionage, assassination, murder, magic, torture, civil war and straight-up cruelty that I never would have expected.

The game starts you off gently by introducing your newly christened Crown Princess to a host of potential suitors and courtly situations in a genial and cartoonish manner that only serves to further highlight the harsh realities that quickly become apparent, as your new Queen-to-be moves from a childish attempt to control her situation into very real dangers and political turmoil where survival is almost out of reach.. all while still struggling to act like the respectable monarch she has in no way been tutored to resemble. What's more, the various methods of near-certain death are flawlessly executed (pun certainly intended) to the point where the game even has a special gallery and achievement list devoted to your multiple royal demises.

Should you actually manage to survive beyond the first couple of months in power, the dangers arrayed against you grow oppressively dark and encroach with ever-greater speed, even as you begin to unlock secrets and hidden power in a desperate attempt to meet them. Ware, lest you become a monster yourself in the process. But of course there's an achievement for that as well.

Highly recommended, and at full price.

Civilisation V is a decent game with a beautiful and intuitive UI - a step down in complexity from previous iterations in the series, but enjoyable if taken on its own merits. It works very well as a starting point for players new to the series as the simpler interface and menus create a good deal of instant accessibility.

The game's basic mechanics are more or less unchanged, with tactical advantages and disadvantages inherent in playing to different styles (warlike, cultural, and so forth). Explore, build cities in strategically sound positions, research new technologies and encounter barbarians and other civilisations as you march from the earliest settlements into the modern age.

Unfortunately, inter-civilisation contact in the base game leaves a lot to be desired, especially in contrast to earlier editions and to the magnificent Alpha Centauri. Whereas in previous games you could barter and exchange goods, trade technologies and maps and the like, Civ V only allows for the exchange of treaties, gold and resources. There's also very little variation in diplomacy and it quickly becomes tiresome. I recommend purchase of the complete edition with at least the two Earth-based expansions, which also include an overhauled and significantly improved diplomacy system.