Preview: 'Civilization V'

The arrival of a new entry in the Civilization franchise has always been cause for celebration as far as turn-based strategists are concerned. The long-running series has continually provided one of the most in-depth experiences the genre has to offer, and from what we saw of Civ V at gamescom, the latest edition will be no exception. During the Cologne expo, developer Firaxis Games showcased the game's revamped combat mode, its city-states feature and the new currency system.

Judging by the warfare mechanics on show, the development team has taken fan feedback on board. The square grid layout of the previous iterations is no more, making way for a hexagonal map. Piling units on top of one another for strength in numbers is no longer permitted, encouraging the player to pursue tactical solutions when conquering enemy territory. The one unit per-tile system will certainly make capturing opposing cities more of a challenge, and maybe even silence those critics who claimed that conquest victories in Civ IV were too easy.

During the demo, the importance of strategic prowess was emphasised as the player declared war on the Egyptians and moved in on Heliopolis. The city was protected by three infantry units and a helicopter gunship, so the airborne defence was naturally the first target. After demonstrating the effectiveness of long-range units by taking down the chopper with a fighter jet stationed nearby, the ground forces were sent in.

Watching some of the modern day units in action, we noticed significant differences between Civ V and previous entries in the series. Defeat in battle doesn't necessarily mean the destruction of the losing unit, which can be salvaged if given a chance to lick its wounds in safe territory. More significantly, individual units are upgraded throughout the game, so those that start out as spearmen will eventually go on to become mechanised infantry, acquiring a range of abilities on their journey through the ages.

Before the combat tutorial wrapped up, we were given a sneak peak at the most powerful ground combat unit in the game - the giant death robot. This science-fiction inspired behemoth looked virtually unstoppable as it ploughed through the enemy's final line of defence. This one is going to be a lot of fun to unleash, but we shudder to think what it will be like to be on the receiving end.

Outside of combat, Civ V's most significant developments appear to be the inclusion of city-states and a new currency system. City-states are essentially minor civilizations. They may have no victory aspirations to speak of, but can play a pivotal role since their allegiance might be the difference between conquest and annihilation. Their favour can be curried by offering gifts such as military units, or outright bribery with gold. Gold plays a far more significant role this time around. Not only can it be used to buy the loyalty of potential allies, but for the first time in the series the player can also purchase space on the map and expand their empire's borders. While this feature could potentially be considered cheating, it might help those cursed with non-existent attention spans to enjoy the game.

Unlike previous entries in the core series, this one isn't strictly geared towards strategy veterans. In fact, lead developer Jon Schafer assured us that steps have been taken to ensure that Civ virgins will have a smooth integration period. Members of the dev team behind 2008's streamline console offering Civilization Revolution were brought in to work on the game's interface to ensure that the game remains user-friendly while retaining its depth and complexity. Furthermore, advisors will play a greater role this time around, allowing newbies to call upon their services as and when the fundamentals of running an empire become overwhelming.

Another area of significant growth is community features. Civ-modding has been part and parcel of the series for some time now, so Firaxis has introduced a host of new tools to make life easier for budding map makers. It's feasible to assume that this is a bid to coax casual players into the world of user-generated content. However, if creativity isn't your strong point, you can always contribute to the community by sampling and rating the user-generated maps. A mod browser and installer have been added to the main menu, so accessing the community content is simpler than ever before.

Civ V certainly looks polished, and the revamped combat and new gameplay features place it in good stead to conquer the software charts. Winning over the diehards won't be a problem for this definitive strategy offering, but whether it will prove accessible enough as a jumping-on point for newcomers remains to be seen.

Civilization V is released for PC in North America on September 21 before arriving in Europe on September 24.