14 DAY TRIAL // Civilization: Beyond Earth is a good video game, the kind of turn-based strategy that compels players to stay just five more minutes glued to the screen in order to see how the action evolves, but despite the best efforts of the Firaxis team, the experience cannot match the older Alpha Centauri.
There are two areas of the experience where the newer release cannot escape the shadow of its cult hit predecessor: overall character and faction specific tactics and choices.
I plan to continue playing Beyond Earth for a while, aiming to reach all the victory conditions with a mix of civilizations, but I suspect that once I am through with it, I will return to Alpha Centauri or wait of the largely inevitable mod based on it.
I am Academician Prokhor Zakharov of the University
I started to miss the classic Firaxis made experience while I was researching tech, realizing that the quotes included in the new Civilization do not have the depth or the melodic quality of the older one and that they are trying almost too hard to be edgy and interesting.
The wonder texts are similarly dry and devoid of personality and the leaders in Beyond Earth seem more like figureheads, with no cool lines and backstories with very limited appeal.
In Alpha Centauri, the first few conversations with Sister Miriam firmly established her view on existence and the way she planned to lead her faction.
In Beyond Earth talking to Elodie is not very different from chatting with Hutama, and the small decisions that are offered every few turns might be cool from a gameplay point of view, but they make most factions feel similar by the middle of a campaign.
Customization and unit use
Alpha Centauri also allowed players to design their own units, choosing weapons, armor, power supply, chassis and one or two special abilities that could be used in the field.
Based on tech level and on faction profile, the gamer could devise a strategy and then create the told needed to implement it, even benefiting from a cool little prototype mechanic.
In Civilization: Beyond Earth, there’s no such space to customize and only a limited number of pre-determined upgrades are offered based on affinity choices.
Firaxis might have streamlined the gameplay in order to make sure that as many gamers as possible reach the end game, but they have made the experience feel a little poorer and less immersive.