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Railroads Gameplay Trailer The first video footage of Sid Meier's Railroads! is available on PlanetCiv! View the new gameplay of the 1990 classic! More >
Patch 1.61 for Civilization IV The long-awaited 1.61 patch is out! It features several fixes, but also additions, such as scenarios, the PitBoss system, and the SDK (the modmaker's dream). More >
Medieval II Demo The Total War franchise continues... play it now!
Modding Competition Which mods are the best? Submit your mod and win signed copies of Civilization IV or the official game soundtrack!
Simon Bradbury on CivCity: Rome Simon Bradbury talks to Planet Civilization about his new game, CivCity: Rome. He explains new features, research, daily lives of the citizens, and even giant death robots.
Sid Meier's Railroads Gone Gold 7:11 PST | jvdc | Print News | Mail News Take 2 announced yesterday that Sid Meier's Railroads! has gone gold, meaning that the product is finalized and CD printing process has begun. The game will be released in the US on October 17, and in Europe on October 27. The train has left the station...
Sid Meier Interview 14:07 PST | jvdc | Print News | Mail News Shacknews has posted an interview with Sid Meier. In the interview, he talks about how he got into gaming, why his games are all titled with his name, and what his role is in the game development process as Creative Director of Firaxis Games. Asked what his greatest accomplishment is, he replies:
Someone recently asked me in an interview what I think my epitaph should read. After some thought I responded: "Creator of Civilization." Civ has taken on a life of its own and it's thrilling to see how many people, from all walks of life, find enjoyment playing the game. We made the original game because it was a compelling topic (all of human history) and offered so many possibilities. And that still holds true today. It seems as though there's a never ending stream of cool ideas to bring to the Civ series--ideas that come from our team at Firaxis and the very bright and innovative Civ community.
The Bug Hunter: Timothy McCracken 5:12 PST | jvdc | Print News | Mail News The Washington Post features an article on Timothy McCracken of Firaxis games -- the man who makes sure that the games work. He is currently playing the upcoming Sid Meier's Railroads! day and night, with a little bed in his office and a dorm fridge to keep his body going.
The article gives an interesting insight into the life of a QA (Quality Assurance) employee. His job is not really to play the games, but to play out every possible move a player could make in order to see whether it can cause a bug.
"We make the programmers' life a living hell," he said. "We're destroying their baby. Our goal is to be the worst critic they ever had." If the bug testers had their way and spent the time to make it perfect, a game might not ever get released, he admits.
Railroads! Gameplay Preview 7:52 PST | jvdc | Print News | Mail News We've got a preview video of the gameplay in the upcoming Sid Meier's Railroads! The video is made by Firaxis and features a lot of in-game footage, with a voiceover explaining what is seen on the screen.
The Sims 2 Glamour Life Stuff Expansion Pack (Electronic Arts, $20)
World Of Warcraft (Vivendi, $38)
Lego Star Wars II: The Original Trilogy (LucasArts, $30)
The Sims 2 (Electronic Arts, $37)
Cars Radiator Springs Adventures (THQ, $20)
Sim City 4 Deluxe (Electronic Arts, $20)
Civilization IV (2K Games / Take 2, $43)
MS Age Of Empires III (Microsoft, $44)
Tiger Woods PGA TOUR 2006 (Electronic Arts, $10)
Railroads! Official Website 6:36 PST | jvdc | Print News | Mail News 2K Games has just launched the official Railroads! website. The site features in-game music, historical information on railway barons, many screenshots, and much more. It's definitely worth checking out!
Civilization Chronicles Interview with Brian Reynolds 10:20 PST | Laurino | Print News | Mail News Journalist Troy Goodfellow asks a couple of question to Brian Reynolds about Civilization Chronicles. Even though it only consists of 6 questions, Reynolds' answers are quite exhaustive, wich makes the interview a must read for all the Civ fans out there who would like to know more about Cililization II, it's creation process, the reasons why it became such a classic. Chase frome Access Communications sent the interview to CivFanatics, and you can read it here.
Interview of Christopher Tin 0:06 PST | Laurino | Print News | Mail News A short video interview was published by IGN, lasting a little bit more than a minute (1:32). Recorded during the Video Game Live event held in Los Angeles, the interviews shows Christopher Tin, composer of Civilization 4 theme music. Tin explains his contentment about having his first piece of work in the game industry get so much success. The man also states his excitment about the fact that his music will be played by an orchestra in a short while. The interview can be downloaded here at the IGN website.
Civilization Mac Demo 5:40 PST | jvdc | Print News | Mail News For all those Apple enthusiasts who still aren't convinced that they have to buy Civilization, Apsyr Media has just released a demo version of the game. The demo offers a tutorial and allows you the opportunity to play up to 100 turns of the full game.
Three Men and a Victory (Part 3/10) 5:36 PST | jvdc | Print News | Mail News The battle of Firaxian proportions continues! The game's Lead Designer Soren Johnson, fellow Designer/Programmer Jon "Trip" Schafer and Software Engineer Alex "alexman" Mantzaris go head-to-head with an on-looking crowd... and a camera documenting it all.
NPD Group
Top-Selling PC Games
Week of September 3 - September 9, 2006
The Sims 2 Glamour Life Stuff Expansion Pack (Electronic Arts, $20)
World Of Warcraft (Vivendi, $33)
The Sims 2 (Electronic Arts, $37)
Star Wars: Empire At War (LucasArts, $27)
Civilization IV (2K Games / Take 2, $41)
Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion (2K Games / Take 2, $42)
Roller Coaster Tycoon 3: Gold (Atari, $20)
The Sims 2 Open For Business Expansion Pack (Electronic Arts, $28)
Half-Life 2: Episode 1 (Electronic Arts, $15)
Civilization IV: Warlords Expansion Pack (2K Games / Take 2, $26)
Three Men and a Victory Video (Part 2/10) 3:16 PST | jvdc | Print News | Mail News The video documenting the multiplayer match between Civilization IV Lead Designer Soren Johnson, fellow Designer/Programmer Jon "Trip" Schafer and Software Engineer Alex "alexman" Mantzaris continues on Apolyton.
Warlords Nominated for BAFTA Award 5:14 PST | jvdc | Print News | Mail News The recent expansion pack Civilization IV: Warlords has been nominated for a BAFTA (British Academy of Film and Television Arts) Award, the most prestigious British media award. Warlords is nominated in the "Strategy" category, along with other groundbreaking titles, such as Age of Empires II and Medieval: Total War.
Firaxis Multiplayer Deathmatch Video (1/10) 3:15 PST | jvdc | Print News | Mail News You thought there have been enough videos? Well, apparently not. Apolyton has posted yet another video series, this time documenting a multiplayer contest between three Firaxis employees. The game's Lead Designer Soren Johnson, fellow Designer/Programmer Jon "Trip" Schafer and Software Engineer Alex "alexman" Mantzaris went head-to-head with an on-looking crowd... and a camera documenting it all.
