Civilization: Beyond Earth review

The Civilization series heads to the unexplored and uncharted realms of outer space with Beyond Earth. Aliens are the franchise's new take on the barbarians from the earthbound games.

You can try to live in harmony with these creatures, but often they'll be in the way of "progress." Busting up a few packs of baby green monsters may incur the wrath of siege worms or worse. Aliens must be handled in some fashion in every game, and they make for a fun, thematic addition to the core game play. They can take some getting used to, as your forces may be slaughtered during a war with another faction by a persnickety Kraken or a swarm of other alien units.

Players gain minor perks from selecting a specific faction, but much of the customization in Civilization: Beyond Earth comes from a new affinity system. This represents your take on how to approach the alien life and the future of humanity on the new planet. Will you commit to preserve the old world, look to change things to a new existence, or integrate alien life and the new planet into your very DNA? The three affinities -- Purity, Supremacy, and Harmony -- all provide wildly different game play options, each with signature units, technologies, and victory conditions.

Civilization: Beyond Earth doesn't take the series to the outer galaxies in terms of revolutionary new game play, but it provides fantastic modifications and mechanics that allow it to stand proud as a worthy bearer of the Civilization name. This is a must play for strategy fans, and if you've always been curious about the genre but never jumped in, your opportunity is here. RATING E 10+ for Everyone age 10 and older

PLOT Society on Earth has collapsed, and you're about to enter alien territory.

DETAILS PC; $49.99

BOTTOM LINE Monstrous good fun.