Sid Meier's Civilization: Beyond Earth

Some of its new ideas work better than others, but Civilization: Beyond Earth retains its addictive 4X qualities.

Civilization: Beyond Earth's brave new world feels pretty familiar, but that's okay.

Civilization has always had something to say about this stuff (and civilisation has always had something to say about this stuff) but Beyond Earth goes further than ever, suggesting that even if we do eventually live on Pluto, the distractions will have joined us there, and will probably have multiplied. When we get into space, the real danger - and the real wonder - will be the fact that we have brought ourselves along.

Although its foundation in Civ 5 makes it familiar, Beyond Earth is full of interesting surprises that are pleasantly difficult to master.

Civilization: Beyond Earth successfully injects new life into Sid Meier's long-running strategy series

Civilization: Beyond Earth may seem a bit too familiar for a game supposedly set on a distant planet, but the roving packs of aliens and the new quest system make it an expedition worth embarking on.

There's a ton to explore here within an inviting strategy shell, enticing those who have never delved into the 4X space and demanding the attention of genre fans

Beyond Earth is still fun, and an immense time-sink – of course it is, it's Civilization. But would that it was truly beyond Earth, and truly beyond Civ V. Not a crash and burn – but the Prometheus of the Civ franchise, an interesting failure with much of value in the wreckage.

If only there were more variety in the structure of the victory conditions between divergent philosophies, Civilization: Beyond Earth would be a perfect game. Even with that dissonance, it is damn close. The Civilization pedigree holds a lot of weight after all these years, and Beyond Earth more than lives up to its name.

The great Civ V experiment continues, and for the most part, it's a success.