Sundry

Let's see. First off, here is a web site that amused me. I'm guilty of far too many things on this list. My favorite definition is for Blogosphere: "It's what idiots like to call a collection of 'blogs,' otherwise known as a tragedy." Oh, beware of the foul language on that page.

Secondly, for the few of you who have picked up Civ IV, there's a poll on Firaxis's web site asking for input for the first expansion pack. In case you're curious, here were my responses.

1. New components - no "Must Have It" or "Don't Need It", but most excited about more promotions and great leaders.
2. New civilizations: Babylon, Byzantine, Dutch, Ireland, Otoman, Zulus.
3. New leaders: Lincoln, Churchill, Marcus Aurelius, Lenin. (Actually, I'd prefer Augustus over Aurelius or Julius, but since they already took Julius I'd rather take a later emperor.)
4. Additional units: 18th-19th Recon, 20th WMDs, Near Future WMDs.
5. Specific unit: Privateers.
6. Rule change: Better representation of modern units' strength, perhaps by giving them automatic Cover and Shock promotions.

I haven't been posting Civ IV reviews since the first parcel, but that's because they've been pretty uniformly positive. Of the 65+ reviews reported by CivFanatics, only 2 have given it below 90%.

I would like, though, to call out some special accolades. IGN is giving out their "Best of 2005" awards. Civ IV has won Best PC Strategy Game. More surprisingly, it has also won Best Online PC Game - certainly the first time a turn-based game has ever won this distinction. A quote from the award: "Firaxis took this brilliant game and built it from the ground up as a multiplayer game, adding in all sorts of features and options to provide a terrific platform for online gameplay". And, for the coup de grace, Civ IV was declared PC Game of the Year. So, congratulations to Firaxis!

Similar awards were bestowed by Gamespy, IGN's sister site, namely PC Turn-Based Strategy Game of the Year and 2005 Game of the Year.