One place where the improvements shine are the diplomatic quotes. This doesn’t mean the immersion wasn’t improved significantly but considering the starting point one would hope considerable improvements were made. This doesn’t address all the issues, like the quotes, even the ones by the leaders, which are read by the same narrator nor does it address the anti-climactic presentation of wonders – which were two things I pointed out in my review that hurt the game’s immersion considerably. Some changes were subtle, like adding more visual effects to certain objects while others were more obvious like the new musical tracks and more pronounced art in several screens. It all depends on what you felt was lacking in the core game.Įffort has been placed to help with the game’s immersion. However, it’s hard to tell if this expansion is enough to convince anyone that was sitting on the fence. Though the expansion won’t change the mind of those who were completely turned off by the game, those who did get some enjoyment with the core game may find the expansion interesting. Though personally I did enjoy the new diplomacy system, there are elements in it (or elements that were removed) that some players will be disappointed with. Also, some changes may not be to everyone’s liking. Overall, the expansion does improve the game considerably and many of the new features are actually interesting (you can find a summary of the new features in our preview). So, there is no denying the expansion improved the experience but there are some glaring issues that remain in the game such as the victory conditions and the AI. As usual for a Civ Expansion, four new factions have been added, one of which is heavily specialised in taking advantage of the aquatic cities’ mechanic.

Also, more distinction is given between the biomes and heavy emphasis was given to exploration with the new Artifact system. Other changes include adding hybrid affinity units and bonuses to give the player more viable paths to a winning strategy. The expansion aimed to add aquatic cities and revamp the diplomacy system along with a slew of changes to help with the overall game and hopefully improve immersion which was criticised heavily in our review of the original game. Firaxis Games and 2K Games released the expansion Rising Tide for Sid Meier’s Civilization: Beyond Earth on October 8th, 2015.

Civilization beyond earth review