Sid Meier’s Civilization is one of the biggest game series in existence. The fifth iteration of the series, titled Civilization V (our Review here), changed many mechanics from Civilization IV, and added a few of its own. Over the past three years Firaxis has been releasing new content for Civilization V, with the latest expansion titled Brave New World. The expansion adds some excellent new mechanics to the game that will draw you back into the addicting strategy game.
The biggest addition to Brave New World is the new trading mechanics that you can produce in your cities. Two new units, caravan and cargo ship, were added to the game. When a city produces this unit, it can establish a trade network between that city and another city in your empire, which will bring food back to the original city. You can also establish a trade network between cities in different empires, allowing you to trade gold an science between the two civilizations.
I really enjoyed the new trading mechanic. In the base game of Civilization V, I always found myself having to scrounge for gold to keep my empire afloat. With these new units, I was able to build huge trading networks, allowing the gold to just flow in. While die hard fans of the game may be hesitant about the trading routes breaking the game, do not fret. It is a system that does not look like it can be abused to get ahead easily, and enemy units can always capture a trading unit. When you are establishing a trade route, a path will appear the map, showing you the route the unit will take. This way you can make sure you are not sending your units towards a hostile empire.
One of the other big new mechanics added in Brave New World is the World Congress. This can be established once an empire has met every player on the map. When the World Congress is founded, the leader of the nation that founded the congress will be the first Chairman of the Congress, while after that he can be voted out. The World Congress votes on resolutions that can affect all other empires, like halting trade with a certain nation, or recognizing important sites throughout the world. The World Congress meets every 30 days in the game.
Countries will send delegates to the World Congress. The nation the Chairman of the Congress is from will normally have more delegates, and you also receive more delegates with allied city-states. I think the World Congress is a great addition to the game. As someone who likes to play Civilization V peacefully, it was nice to have another diplomatic mechanic in the game.
Brave New World adds nine new civilizations to the game, and for those that did not purchase the Gods and Kings expansion, you will also receive the Ethiopia civilization. Two of the nine civilizations have appeared in previous games, and only one of those two civilizations has a reoccurring leader.
Speaking of Gods and Kings, the game adds the religion and espionage mechanics to the game for those who did not purchase the first major expansion. As someone who does not have Gods and Kings, it was a treat to get these mechanics. I won’t go into the religion and espionage aspects as those features do not apply to Brave New World, I will say that I am glad religion is back in Civilization V. It was one of my favorite things from the fourth game, and it looks like they have expanded on the mechanic even more.
Brave New World also adds a new cultural victory to the game. When you have enough cultural influence on all of the other civilizations, you will be declared the winner. Added to the game are great writers, great musicians, and archaeologists that help reach your cultural victory. There are also new wonders added to the game, like Parthenon and Broadway, and even a wonder you can build through the World Congress.
Overall Brave New World is a fantastic addition to Civilization V. It adds some new mechanics that I felt were lacking from the base game. As a huge fan of Civilization V, I am happy with any excuse to hop back into the game. Any fan of the series will enjoy this expansion.
Score: 9/10
Civilization V: Brave New World was developed by Firaxis and published by 2K for the PC and Mac on July 8. A copy of the game was provided to us by 2K for reviewing purposes.
