I’ll be very up front: I’ve never been a big Civilization player at any point in the franchise’s existence. It’s just not my thing. Does this make me grossly unqualified to review Revolution? You could argue that, but my arrogant nature towards the series also says something very positive about its latest incarnation in the fact that I loved it! Civilization: Revolution is a game that’s so well tailored to consoles that any non-strategy gamer should be able to garner some form enjoyment from it. Some PC stalwarts might blame my conversion to the series on the basis that some aspects of it have been toned down, but even though developer Firaxis has crafted Revolution as a more shallow game, it remains one that’s definitely worth diving into.

When starting up the classic single player mode, you’re presented with 16 different civilizations, each with their own figurehead (Abraham Lincoln for the Americans, Napoleon for the French), and special units (Panzer tanks for the Germans, Hoplites for the Greeks). You’ll be tasked with guiding your society from the Stone Age to the near future, attempting gain victory through one of the following winning conditions: Domination, Culture, Technology, and Economy. Culture is by far the easiest to achieve since cities will be continually handed significant historical scholars, like Gilgamesh and Aristotle, to aid their growth. Domination, which requires you to eliminate everyone else, is quite the chore and a huge drain on resources, so think carefully before you act.

Anyone slightly familiar with console strategy games would probably cringe at the thought of Civilization’s controls being applied to that of a game pad, but believe it or not, the transition is very smooth. The gameplay runs on a turn-based system, so a turn will consist of going through your current units, each of which can make so many moves per turn. Ordering a Soldier or Galley about can be done by first cycling to it with the D-Pad, moving the left stick across the terrain, and then pressing the command button to move to that location.

Hitting LB (or L1 on the PS3) will pull up a menu for any one city. On the left is a list of available actions ranging from creating units, buildings, and historically significant landmarks called Wonders. At the top of the screen lies the resource information, showing the population growth of your selected city, building progress, and gold harvesting. Resource management is one area of the Civilization series that has been simplified so players don’t have to get too technical. Workers can be told to to focus on scientific research or getting the next building project done, but other than that, the system is self-managing. Civilization fans might feel that things have been “dumbed down,” but I felt it allowed me to focus on more strategic matters like conflicts with other nations, rather than keeping track of minute details such as food production.

Another essential part of running your own nation is keeping everyone’s minds busy by choosing fields of research. This starts out with basic things like iron working, but will eventually move up to mass production, internet, and the power of the atom. But just like the smart kid in school that everyone wanted to cheat off of, you’ll eventually have other societies dropping by asking for some of your knowledge. Some will ask nicely, offering a fair trade for other forms of technology, but others will be a bit more aggressive. During combat a number will appear for each faction, the higher of which will usually win. Remember to upgrade to ranged military units, like archers, as soon as possible as they carry a distinct advantage, and any units that do survive a battle will receive upgrades.