You can also choose your spacecraft, which grants additional bonuses, like the ability to see all coasts or see all alien nests on the map despite the standard 'fog' that needs to be lifted via exploring units. Aside from picking the size/type of map and sponsor, you also choose a colonist type. There are even more options at your disposal when beginning a new single-player game. The African Union, however, focuses on food and health, producing more food in healthy cities, and providing a free Earth Relic building with each new outpost founded. For instance, ARC is focused on spying, so it gets a boost to covert ops and the amount of intrigue generated in each city where you have a spy present. Each sponsor also has a distinct attribute. If you're willing to delve into the optional Civilopedia, you get a lot more information on the background of each sponsor and how each relates to real-world cultures. Beyond Earth features a total of eight sponsors, with names like ARC, Franco-Iberia and Slavic Federation. You can also dictate the overall size of the map, allowing for two, four, six, or eight different sponsors on any map.Īs you might suspect, a sponsor is essentially a nation or faction controlled by you, another player, or the AI. There's a decent variety to choose from, along with more advanced types that feature tougher climates and layouts than the standard set. Some feature multiple land masses and smaller bodies of water separating the land, while others may have an extremely large land mass surrounded by ocean.

The names of the planets matters little instead, each planet represents different map layouts. On different alien planets, you establish an outpost that becomes a full-fledged city. Thankfully, that's definitely the case.īeyond Earth, as its name implies, is a sci-fi-tinged take on the Civilization formula.

When Sid Meier's Civilization: Beyond Earth was announced, I figured developer Firaxis would keep the trend going. With the more recent release of Civilization V, my love for the franchise was rekindled the revamped, addictive gameplay model was remarkably difficult to put down. Sid Meier's Civilization has been one of my favorite PC series since I first laid hands on Civilization II.

Civilization beyond earth review