Last year’s Civilization: Beyond Earth may have been received well enough, but in the end, the community kept ignoring it in favor of the older Civilization V, and all of its expansions- the reasons were simple. As good as Beyond Earth was, it simply could not compete with Civilization V’s established lead of five years, and a plethora of updates and expansions that had added so much depth and nuance to its gameplay.

Of course, this phenomenon is nothing new to the Civilization series- each new entry undergoes this same cycle, including, yes, Civilization V, back when it was first released, and panned by players for not living up to the complexity of Civilization IV and its expansions.

Well, if Civilization V could recover with its expansions, there is no reason that Beyond Earth cannot. And indeed, its upcoming expansion, Rising Tides, does look like it will add a host of mechanics to add depth to the core gameplay. This new video, originally exhibited at E3, shows off some of the new additions- including aquatic gameplay.

Civilization: Beyond Earth: Rising Tide will launch for PC and Mac this Fall for $30.

Although Civilization is primarily a PC series, it has had a good measure of success on other platforms too- Civilization Revolution was released on Xbox 360, PlayStation 3, and the Nintendo DS, and later on, it was also released to iPhone- on each of these platforms, it was met with a near unanimous amount of critical acclaim.

Now, a sequel to the original game has been announced- Sid Meier’s Civilization 2 will be coming to iOS platforms, with an Android version planned for sometime later. The game has been announced as a ‘premium’ game, meaning it won’t be a bastardized free to play atrocity, like, say, Roller Coaster Tycoon 4 Mobile was. Rather, it will probably be something like XCOM: Enemy Unknown for iOS was, as a higher priced, full fledged game optimized for mobile platforms.

Also interesting is that the game will not be using the modern hexes system that Civilization V introduced to much controversy, and that was refined over subsequent expansions, and which this year’s upcoming Civilization: Beyond Earth will also be using- rather, it appears that the game will be using the classic Civilization engine.

It hits iOS platforms July 2; an Android release will follow some time later. No release date for Windows Phone has yet been announced.

Developer Fireaxis Games has stated that the game will feature “nine new civilizations, eight new wonders, two new scenarios, four new gameplay systems and dozens of new units, buildings and improvements offering an expanded variety of ways to build the most powerful empire in the world.”

The civilization franchise was always successful due to its strategic war/economic elements that fans fell in love with ever since the release of the first game in the series. Sid Meier’s Civilization V: Brand New World plans to continue to do just that and hopefully it will be successful.

Check out the launch trailer above. Let us know if you’re excited for the new entry in the comments below.

Stay tuned to GamingBolt for our review of the game in the coming weeks.

Brave New World is the second upcoming Downloadable Content for Civilization V, which will be released  on June 9th ‘internationally’ for PC and Mac. The expansion will bring “a massive amount of new gameplay” to Civilization V, this also includes the introduction of international trade and “a focus on culture and diplomacy.”

Brave New World will introduce “nine new civilizations, eight new wonders, two new scenarios, four new gameplay systems and dozens of new units, buildings and improvements offering an expanded variety of ways to build the most powerful empire in the world,” Firaxis Games have stated.

The developer continues to explain: “This new expansion provides enhanced depth and replayability through the introduction of international trade and a focus on culture and diplomacy. Your influence around the world will be impacted by creating Great Works, choosing an ideology for your people and proposing global resolutions in the World Congress. As you move through the ages of history you will make critical decisions that will impact your relationship with other civilizations.”

Check out the trailer for Brave New World below:

Welcome to Campfire Gaming, a weekly feature on Gaming Bolt where I dazzle you with stories of video game heroics. This is the second half of the Civilization 5: Gods and Kings scenario Empires of the Smoky Skies. Start with the first part right here.

On paper, the enemy has a better military than me. I’m attacking the current Defender of Progress, a title that goes to the person who has the highest number of advanced units in the world. I’ll need a plan.You can see my troops south of Dortmund. The goal is to take Marseille, and use that as a jumping off point to take Dalmace, the enemy capital. The troops near my city of Dortmund will go ahead and move into enemy territory. As they draw the enemy north to defend, my soldiers in Ragusa will swing around and hit the enemy in the south.

Should work.

What I don’t know is that an enemy city bigger than their capital is in the fog of war to the west. They’re about to hit me in the flank with everything they’ve got.

With the battle lines drawn I declare war on the only opposing faction that doesn’t already hate me. This is Empires of the Smoky Skies: Part 2.

By destroying enemy units and building more of my own I can secure the Defender of Progress title, awarded to the empire that has the most numerous state-of-the-art weapons.

Wait. Did somebody say state-of-the-art? That would be the sky fortress, which I’m currently researching. By sky fortress, they in fact mean a fortress in the sky. Not only can it hold biplanes like a hovering aircraft carrier, but it’s also a powerful attacker as the best airship in the scenario.

Once again I’m going to be late on my plan. I like to be prepared, and before I build airships I want to complete the Eruch Empire’s unique building, the aerodome. Airships built with an aerodome start with a level up so they’re more powerful than regular airships right out of the gate. I want this, but it’ll take time. The rest of my army will start things off as I prepare the fleet.

I upgrade my land ironclads to land leviathans, the most sophisticated tanks the scenario allows. Imagine a tank the size of a city block. Now imagine about three of them rolling towards your city block. Oh yeah.

“Stay sharp men. The enemy has the most advanced army in the world. This will be the greatest challenge we… are those horses?”

My enemy has the most advanced army in the world, so I’m amused and somewhat insulted by the horses. Arrogant swine!

My infantry shoot ’em up nicely. To repay the favor, the enemy blasts both of my infantry units to pieces with a combination of artillery and leviathan machine guns.

With all signs of natural life dead, the machines rule the field. Leviathans are now the primary unit on both sides of this war as the Battle for Marseille continues. I send in a second leviathan to keep up the pressure, but it has a river to cross and will be a while.

We finally knock their leviathan out of the way and reach Marseille, but it’ll be a few turns before we can occupy. My forces are looking thin and right now I’ve got nothing to reinforce them with as I continue to build the airship fleet. I only have one leviathan on the front line at the moment, and with everything else gone it’s about to face a barrage from two artillery units, the city defenses, and the enemy leviathan next to it.

That’s when the backup arrives. A leviathan from the Ragusa invasion arrives on the scene, right behind the enemy artillery. It’s just as I’d hoped. I still have some infantry trudging through the thick forests between Ragusa and Marseille, but I’d sent the leviathan ahead in case I needed it.

It’s beautiful, and I now have the enemy somewhat surrounded. My artillery can finish off the enemy leviathan while the rest of the forces go to work on the city of Marseille.

That’s when the flank attack comes. Four enemy leviathans roll across the battlefield from their now revealed metropolis to the west, completely catching me by surprise. I hadn’t even known there was a city there. It’s the biggest city in the Dalmace nation.

My leviathans line up with Marseille on our southern flank and the mountain range on the northern side. It’s four leviathans vs three in the enemy’s favor. I have some artillery, but they have city defenses. This is it. We’re both about to lose units that count towards the victory condition I need to win. This battle is what will decide everything. The bullets start flying.

I lose a leviathan.

They lose one too.

I lose another one.

My airship shows up. A streak of black smoke smears across the sky to the cheers of my soldiers.

That’s right. My first airship finally enters the party and drops its vast payload of bombs on another enemy leviathan. It was perfect timing. Just a turn or two more and I probably would have completely lost the battle for Marseille.

My second airship shows up. I’d built two, and both were upgraded with armor penetrating shells thanks to the aerodome I built in two cities. The airships take significant damage, but with an impressive movement of 7 spaces a turn I can retreat them back to my empire with ease. Backup leviathans that I sent out before reach the front line in time for mopping up duty. The war is almost over. My preparation to focus production and wait until I could build a super fleet is paying off right now.

Dalmace and I both lost a lot of units during this war, but only I have the production to quickly replace them.

The infantry from Ragusa arrive on the scene and occupy Marseille. I just now took my first of their cities, but I crushed the backbone of their army.

Titles are once again handed out, and I’m given the one for best army. I have three, and if I can keep them for five turns I win. I’m actually a little worried, because another faction on the other side of the world has just one unit less than me. I keep the gears of my war machine turning and continue to crank out units to ensure they can’t catch up.

I finish researching and upgrading my airships to sky fortresses. It’s just a formality now. I’m unstoppable. Here’s me surrounding the enemy capital on all sides.

Suddenly, a sound is heard even over the roaring airship steam engines. It’s the sound of the entire population of Dalmace collectively shitting themselves.

This is how it ends. I win the scenario completely surrounding the city of Dalmace. The victory screen appears, and victory is sweet.

I really wasn’t expecting such a huge win on my part. I’m a big fan of the Civilization series, but I wouldn’t say I”m all that great at them. I figured playing on the default difficulty was the way to go since so much in this scenario is completely new.

I’d been hoping for more unit types, but because there was essentially just ironclads and airships, armies started feeling very similar. Still, it’s just a scenario and I think it’s cool that the developers tried to do something really different with this, even if it wasn’t the huge steampunk overhaul some people hoped it would be.

Honestly the biggest change seemed like the victory conditions. Requiring multiple titles to win forced me to diversify my empire more and that was an interesting change of pace. If you’re looking for a review of the scenario, I’ll say this and only this: don’t buy the Gods and Kings expansion just because of Empires of the Smoky Skies. Buy Gods and Kings because you’re excited about the new religions, or spies, or new civilizations to play as. Empires of the Smoky Skies is just a nice bonus.

With that, the Eruch Empire goes on to spread their brand of imperialist communism across the entire world. But the good news is people get to ride around on airships, so that’s pretty cool.

Join us next week for a new game and new journal at Campfire Gaming.

This is a game journal for Empires of the Smoky Skies, a steampunk scenario for the Civilization 5: Gods and Kings expansion. My name’s Robert Green, and each week I’ll write a new journal for Gaming Bolt. I call it Campfire Gaming.

Welcome to the world of tomorrow!

Step right up and witness the marvels of progress. I beg you please, put down your sword. And pick up a machine gun! Get off your high horse. Get in a tank instead! Need to kill someone? How about 10,000 people? Buy a Flying Fortress!

This, my dear friends, is progress. This is Civilization 5: Empires of the Smoky Skies!

Empires of the Smoky Skies introduces a new tech tree, new factions, and new units, all of the steampunk variety. I’ll be on Prince difficulty (which is the default), and I’ve never played this scenario before. Actually, I’ve never played any Civ scenario before. This is the first that really caught my attention.

There’s only five factions to choose from, but all of them are unique to the scenario. I decide to be Cyrus Rotheram, leader of the Eruch Empire, because their airships get +2 movement and they build something called the aerodome. Both of these things sound awesome because airships are awesome. With this bonus in mind, my self-assigned goal is to build a massive fleet of airships and rule the smoky skies.

The brass means it’s steampunk.

I start out with 3 settlers, a couple of scouts, and a couple of land ironclads, which are exactly what they sound like. They’re ironclad ships, except, you know, on land. With wheels. Which is awesome. They’re essentially tanks but bigger. I tell one settler to start a city right where he stands. This will be the capital of the Eruch Empire, creatively named Eruch.

I want to try out the new steampunk units, so I’m going for a military powerhouse. Empires of the Smoky Skies has somewhat different victory conditions than regular Civilization. Instead of just acheiving one of several possible roads to victory, Empires of the Smoky Skies requires you to get and hold 3 titles at the same time for 5 turns. These titles include having the most money, having the most advanced weaponry, having the most culture, having a city with the most production, and having the most world and national wonders.

From the very beginning I send my land ironclads out looking for trouble. They find the city/states of Capetown and Hong Kong. That’ll do. In the meantime, I’ve sent one settler north and one south, giving me three cities for the Eruch Empire. I don’t plan on building anymore. Other cities will be gained through conquest.

I get my first social policies and decide it’s time for us to go communist. I’m going to build a production and scientific powerhouse, then I’ll be able to quickly create the best military units available. I also adopt a planned economy to make my factories better.

I research analog computation. It allows us to build the science and production boosting Difference Engine. Build a Difference Engine in every city and you can build the Analytical Engine national wonder. It counts as a wonder for victory conditions, and greatly increases science and production further still. Once I complete that and build a factory in every city, my economic war machine should be ready for battle. Phew. That was exhausting just to describe.

I have a lot of work to do.

The problem with this approach is that in order to get my enemies to bleed blood my empire will have to bleed money. My economy is failing and I’ll be out of gold in just a few turns, which would be quite embarrassing seeing how the game really just started. To make matters worse, compared to the rest of the civilized world my citizens are miserable.

A good day for an Eruch Empire citizen is a day where he doesn’t kill himself.

Yikes. Also, notice at the top that I only have 65 gold but I lose 14 every turn. I’m no economist, but if this pattern keeps up I’m pretty sure I’ll be bankrupt very soon. If I can get my production and science up early, I can worry about the rest later. Will I develop an unstoppable warmachine, or bankrupt myself in the process? It’s the classic communist dilemma.

As much as I want to take down Capetown, I’m just not ready. I find some nearby barbarians southwest of there that give me an excellent opportunity to test my steamy muscle.

The heroic Eruch army bravely charged the enemy archers with tanks and machine guns.

As I’m civilizing the enemy archers with bullets, I get a message from Capetown that changes everything. Apparently the barbarians I’m currently murdering have been a thorn in Capetown’s side for too long, and they’ll ally with anyone who takes them out. I decide that I will be that anyone.

Allying with Capetown will give me their resources without actually having to take them over. At the same time, one of my spies has rigged the elections in the nearby city/state of Hong Kong. The new puppet leader immediately forms an alliance with me, and my formerly militaristic approach is turning sickeningly diplomatic.

I defeat the barbarian enemies of Capetown with relative ease, and between Capetown and Hong Kong an abundance of luxury goods pours into my empire. These luxury goods distract my citizens from their dreary lives of factory work and arms assembly. The happiness of my empire is starting to climb, and so is my economy. Allying with Capetown and Hong Kong has fixed a lot of my major issues, allowing me to focus on the production and science that will make my military the envy of the civilized world.

The only problem now is I still don’t have anyone to shoot. And I was really hoping to shoot someone.

The victory conditions open up throughout the game as people discover new technologies. The first victory condition, building the most sophisticated military machines, goes to one of my opponents. Titles can be lost and gained even after initially given though, so if I ever do build more than him the title will go to me. The current man with the biggest army is my neighbor to the direct south. I’m sure this won’t cause future problems.

Finally, the moment I’ve been waiting for arrives. My empire finishes researching airships and we enter the cleverly named Airship Era.

Yet I can’t build a single ship. It turns out my glorious airship fleet will need a lot of a resource I don’t have. Until I acquire it, I’ll only have a glorious pile of scrap metal. The resource is called aetherium, and I take a look at the world map to see if there’s any in my empire.

There isn’t.

So I do what any 19th Century empire does in situations where they don’t have something they want. I bully it away from someone smaller than me.

There’s a huge cache of 12 aetherium nearby. It belongs to the city/state of Ragusa, just southwest of the Eruch Empire. It’s a bit of a catch 22. I need aetherium to build my deadly fleet, but I need my deadly fleet to get aetherium. I’ll have to settle on ground forces and prepare for an amphibious assault.

You can see my southern city of Dortmund at the top of the map, and Ragusa in the center of the map southeast of my empire. The plan is a grand naval invasion that will move across the huge gulf between us and them. As I begin to make preperations, it becomes clear that I’m running out of time.

Another title is handed out, and it’s not to me. One of my rivals has the most sophisticated army, and another has more wonders than anyone else. I have nothing, and no time to waste on this invasion. I’m still confident my slow economy building will pay off in the long run, but only if this invasion goes well.

The great engineer Leonardo da Vinci is born in my empire, a sign that my production is worthwhile after all. I have him immediately build a world wonder to get myself back in the race. He completes the Pentagon, allowing me to upgrade my units at a much cheaper price.

A golden age dawns at the beginning of the invasion. I mean this quite literally.

Things are turning around. My people are happy, or at least no longer suffering from chronic depression. We’re making a lot of money, and I think production and science are going well. The invasion to make my sky fleet of doom a reality is underway. This will either be our finest hour or a humiliating defeat. Place your bets now.

The army lands on the enemy shores and quickly surrounds the city of Nagusa. We bombard it with long-range artillery as the land ironclad blasts away up close. Soon my bolt-action rifle wielding infantry occupy the city of  Nagusa. The victory was swift and desisive. The war against this city/state is already over and I am the victor.

To the victor go the spoils.

I now have 22 aetherium (there were 12 in Nagusa, and I have a special ability that doubles my strategic resources). That’s essentially an endless supply. In celebration of this victory against the evil freedom hating Nagusa, I complete the Statue of Liberty in my capital. This gives me three wonders right when a new title opens up: city with the highest production rate. Yes, it’s my capital.

I’ve gone from 0 to 2 titles just like that. One more and I win.

I’ve made a huge power play in just a few short turns, and the other players aren’t happy about it. Three of my four opponents denounce me immediately. My empire has become a gigantic target, and I couldn’t be happier. I’ve been itching for war this whole time. I’m still last as far as happiness and culture, but those things were never my goals.

With a monster production and very good science I begin the construction of the airship fleet and immediately settle on a target. I’m going to declare war on Dalmace, the only nation with a better army than mine. If I can destroy their units while keeping my losses to a minimum, then I’ll secure the title for best military and victory will be mine. Dalmace is also the only nation that hasn’t denounced me. Declaring war on them will mean every foreign power hates my guts.

It’ll be the Eruch Empire vs the world.

Read Part 2 Here.

 Have a look at the video above.

You can watch the designer interview here.

2K’s announced the latest DLC for Civilization V, which will release this Thursday, March 3.

The Civilization and Scenario Pack: Polynesia and Multiplayer Map Pack will introduce new lands and experiences, as well as a brand new Civilization for players to experience according to 2K.

Official description below:

Civilization and Scenario Pack: Polynesia (RRP: £2.99)

The Civilization and Scenario Pack: Polynesia brings you both the Polynesian Civilization and a new Scenario, Paradise Found. Rule the world as Kamehameha, unifier of Hawai’i, with your powerful navy and imposing Moai statues!

Scenario Description:

In Paradise Found, players take on the role of one of the four great Polynesian kingdoms as they strive to become the dominant culture in Polynesia. All-new technology and social policy trees unlock powerful advantages to players, including the fearsome Maori Warrior and the enigmatic Moai. Special changes to the game rules allow players to build expansive kingdoms quickly without impeding their cultural growth, but the seas of the Pacific are huge and land is at a premium among the atolls and islands. Take the best islands for yourself, and prove your mana as a ruler as you build Polynesia to stand the test of time!

Polynesia Ruler – Kamehameha

Kamehameha was the first ruler to unite all of the Big Islands of Hawai’i under his rule in 1791, and reformed many of the island’s laws to protect its people. Because of his strong rule and wise policies, Hawai’i remained an independent kingdom long after Kamehameha’s death in 1819.

Multiplayer Map Pack (Free)

Three new multiplayer maps for Sid Meier’s Civilization V will be available as a free Multiplayer Map Pack download upon connecting to Steam. The first map, Skirmish, is a small map created especially for intense one-on-one duels of Civ. In the second map, Ring, you’ll face enemies on your flanks and have a chance to sail across the middle of the world to fight your opponents. The last map, Ancient Lake, is a hand-tailored map set around an inland sea, the heart of which hides a secret! These maps are carefully balanced for competitive online play and will give players new worlds to conquer.

Love it or hate it, there is no doubt that Civ 5 is a significant strategy title that is deserving of this new content.

01. Civilization V (Take 2)
02. Final Fantasy XIV (Square Enix)
03. F1 2010 (Codemasters)
04. The Sims 3 (EA)
05. StarCraft 2: Wings of Liberty (Activision)
06. The Sims 3 Ambitions (EA)
07. Battlefield: Bad Company 2 (EA)
08. World of Warcraft: Wrath of the Lich King (Activision Blizzard)
09. The Sims 2 (EA)
10. Command & Conquer: Tiberian Twilight (EA)

The trailer shows the different historic time lines which you will play in, such as Egypt or India.

The trailer also shows off some neat gameplay footage from the game.

Check it out below:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tVS0hyZf9YU&feature=player_embedded

Civilization V is out now in the UK, and you can also grab the demo from Steam.

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