Civilization 5 Gets Release Date

Civilization 5 was announced this February after a long period of silence from developer Firaxis Games. Now, the fifth installment in the turn-based strategy series is poised to conquer computers all over the world, one continent at a time – and it’ll start with the US on September 21st. It will go worldwide a mere 3 days later so European gamers need not worry.

The news broke today for what is set to be a largely different Civilization game than any other in the series. Five years in the making, Civilization 5 will feature a completely different game engine than any of its predecessors. The developers have tweaked a lot of the usual formula, and Civ Vets like me will be in for an interesting ride in dealing with the changes we’ve grown accustomed too (Civilization 1 came out in 1991, and the formula has largely stayed the same).

"Wait, they're hexagons instead of squares now? INTENSITY!"

The strategic tweaks (altering sabotage, religion, roads, etc) are likely to make the gameplay fresh and interesting in Civilization 5′s multiplayer. Ranged bombardment means players can fire from within the safety of their own well-defended borders – and as previously mentioned, civilizations will actually speak their native tongue this time around – so you might as well whip to an online translator and put in some curse words ahead of time.

Are you excited for Civilization 5? Are you hoping any new features will be changed, or old ones unaltered?

Civilization 5 hits the PC September 21, 2010.

Source: CVG