14 DAY TRIAL // Developer Firaxis has released the introduction cinematic for the upcoming turn-based strategy game Civilization: Beyond Earth.
The video, titled The Chosen, sets the scene for the upcoming adventure, following mankind's first steps outside its home planet.
The game takes place in the near future, following a series of cataclysmic events that prompt civilization to look to the skies in search of a new home, a new beginning for mankind.
The science fiction-themed entry in the traditionally historical award-winning strategy franchise is a welcome respite, enabling the developers to explore some new and innovative ideas and mechanics, and allowing long-standing fans of Civilization V and the other titles to approach a new journey, offering a fresh experience.
Same principles, new coat of paint... or is it?
The game will essentially offer the same kind of experience that previous entries have been offering for over 20 years, but with enough of a difference to appeal to even those who have logged hundreds upon hundreds of hours conquering the world.
Civilization: Beyond Earth starts off where the previous games end, with several factions in a space race, building ships meant to populate neighboring exoplanets in the Goldilocks zone.
The developers analyzed current social, political and economic trends and created a few plausible scenarios and factions for players to enjoy. The game starts off after planetfall, following the footsteps of a budding colony, and players have to decide the direction that man's evolution will head in next.
Some new fundamentals
Civilization: Beyond Earth will introduce a paradigm shift in the way scientific progress is achieved, replacing the historical discovery tree with a science web, enabling gamers to choose a different direction to pursue.
The factions themselves will be able to follow three main ideologies, called Affinities: Purity followers will attempt to preserve the essence of humanity intact and to model the environment around that, believers in Supremacy will use technology and cybernetic augmentations in order to dominate the new world, whereas the adepts of Harmony will attempt to merge seamlessly with the alien ecosystem.
Civilization: Beyond Earth is scheduled for take-off on October 24, 2014, headed to Windows PC. Mac OS X and Linux versions have also been announced, but for the time being there is no release window for either.
Players who pre-order the game can get their hands on the Exoplanets Map Pack, six astral bodies modeled after our closest real-life neighbors in the universe.
