Civilization V

I have never been a huge player in the Civilization area. I've always loved strategy games, but I never actually played a Civilization game. I had some money and wanted a new game and figured its been getting decent reviews why not take a wack at it. Well I'm happy to say I've found this game to be a homerun.

Story: You want to win...

Gameplay: The gameplay in Civ 5 is a basic RTS matchup but has so much deeper roots than I've even found yet. So the basic idea is to start off with a small city and become a massive superpower empire. However, on the way you will have to deal with starvation, barbarians, and other factions who are working towards the same goal. The basic idea is to start a net of money and start conquering or buying out all oposing factions. During this time you learn new technologys all the way from simple archery to laser beams and stealth bombers. As the game progresses you move into different eras Ancient, Classical, Medieval, Rennisance, Industrial, Modern, and Futuristic (I don't remember what this is called exactly because I have yet to get there). Also, every civilization (18 total) has two special units as well as a special ability that comes into play. Example being Japan uses Bushido so that even weakened units fight with the same strength.

Graphics: One reason I love Civ 5 is that the graphics aren't there to impress anyone. Everything has a cartoonish feel to it, and it makes for great fun. However, when you have a massive army of tanks and infantry it makes for quite a sight. Explosions and what have you are no exceptional sight, however once you have a bustling city going it looks quite impressive. All in all the graphics aren't an amazing game changer however for what the game requires it gets the job done.

Sound: The sound is decent, but by no means extrodinary. The sound track consists of soothing music that won't get your blood boiling or put you to sleep. Battle noises are just like most games with battle. Guys dying give out a shriek of pain, things exploding make a loud boom noise, and cows mooing sound like cows mooing. Nothing here makes you think "Woah that sounded awsome!", but on the counter part nothing makes you feel like the game wasn't trying hard at all.

Story: No score, because there isn't a story really.
Gameplay:9/10 Keeps the fun rolling even without action
Graphics:7/10 Gets the job done
Sound:7/10 Cows sound like cows... Hurray!
Overall: 8.5/10 Worth a buy