Games Industry Wire

Legendary game designer Sid Meier is known for the Civilization and Railroad Tycoon strategy games, but did you know that one of his most beloved hits has never been remade or had a sequel? That’s going to change later this year, though, as 2K Games and Firaxis have announced Sid Meier’s Civilization IV: Colonization, a somewhat convoluted name for the remake to Meier’s 1994 classic Sid Meier’s Colonization.

New York, NY – June 9, 2008 – 2K Games, a publishing label of Take-Two Interactive Software, Inc. (NASDAQ: TTWO), announced today that Sid Meier’s Civilization IV: Colonization™, the next offering in the award-winning Civilization IV® universe, is currently in development at 2K’s world-renowned Firaxis Games development studio. Conceived from the ground up to take advantage of the Civilization IV engine, Colonization will be available fall 2008 exclusively for Games for Windows®.

“We’ve received many requests from fans over the years to bring back Colonization and now seemed to be the perfect time to do that,” said Sid Meier, director of creative development at Firaxis Games. “The Civilization IV engine provided a fantastic foundation for a new Colonization experience and allowed us to create something great for both new players and long time fans of the game.”

In Colonization, players lead one of four European nations on a quest to conquer and rule the New World. Players will be challenged to guide their people from the oppressive motherland, discover the New World, and negotiate, trade and fight with both the natives and other nations as they acquire power and fight for freedom and independence.

As a complete reimagining of the 1994 classic, Colonization is a total conversion of Civilization IV that combines Civilization’s addictive “just one more turn” gameplay with all-new graphics and features that add more depth to the franchise. New features, such as a brand-new interface, improved diplomacy options and the included modding tools ensure that Colonization will be the next great title from gaming’s premier strategy game developer.

Sid Meier’s Civilization IV: Colonization for Games for Windows will be available fall 2008 and has not yet been rated by the ESRB. For more information, please visit www.civilization.com

*Colonization does not require the original Civilization IV product in order to be played.

The original Colonization, which was co-designed by Brian Reynolds, is a turn-based strategy game that’s not unlike the Civilization games. The major difference is that while the Civilization games are concerned with the entire arc of human history, Colonization focused directly on the colonization of the New World by European powers from about 1500 to the mid 19th Century. You could play as the English, the French, the Spanish, or the Dutch as you explored and settled the Americas by establishing colonies. From there you could start to develop an economy, grow food, churn out specialized units such as soldiers and missionaries, and begin competing against the other European powers. Like with Civilization, Colonization let you write your own version of history.

Colonization is so beloved that some fans couldn’t even bother waiting for a sequel and began making their own free, open-source version of Colonization known as FreeCol.

This new Colonization sounds like an expansion pack to Civilization IV thanks to its name, but it is actually a stand-alone game. The name comes from the fact that it is actually a total conversion of Civilization IV, so it uses the same graphics engine and technology but with vastly different game rules, units, features, and more. According to the initial announcement, the game will feature four European nations, a new interface, new diplomacy options, and modding tools.

Source. Images from Gamespress.com. Copyright 2008 Firaxis

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