Civilization Revolution Era Bonuses Revealed

Civilization Revolution is the first foray onto videogame consoles for Sid Meier's famed PC turn-based strategy series. Built from scratch to suit the particular limitations and advantages of consoles, Civ Rev both adds and subtracts from its computer-based predecessors in an effort to craft the perfect living room Civ experience.

One new addition to the franchise is the era bonus system, which adds culture-specific advantages as players progress through the game. There are 16 different cultures in Civ Rev, and all receive different bonuses automatically as you plow through your own personal history. We asked the staff at 2K Games/Firaxis to walk us through the era bonuses for each individual culture in Civilization Revolution, and here's what they had to say:

Aztec units heal after any victory and that's an incredible power to have We figured that this could renew their strength; then we found a cool family-friendly mechanic to use in the game. In the medieval era they get science from their temples and that's great because you can push culture and science at the same time. Economically they are also very powerful because they start with a stockpile of gold and then get +50% gold production in the late game. The Aztecs are ruled by Montezuma as always and are well suited to almost any of the victory conditions.

There are many great African tribes but we had to choose one and we tend to grab cool things from others as well. The Zulu make sense because Shaka makes for a very charismatic and formidable leader. Quick, powerful, and hard to hold back the Zulu have fast warriors early and a 4 to 1 overrun advantage (everyone else is 7 to 1). If you can gain a tactical advantage with advanced units and excellent position (like attacking from hills) you can win a lot of battles without having to fight but you definitely need to push any advantage as soon as you get it. Rapid city growth and +50% gold production also makes them well suited to an economic victory.

Ah, Genghis Khan. What a great over-the-top personality, and the kids love a good fur shader. The Mongols were known for being incredibly mobile and ruthless so they get +50% trade from captured cities and barbarian villages just flip to their side when captured. That means you will have some cities in bad locations but you will have a lot of them so it all works out. Later they get +1 Cavalry speed so all of their horsemen and Keshiks (knights) get to move 3 by default. Add in the Blitz upgrade and you've got a pretty handy early to mid-game invasion force. If you're looking for a domination win you may want to start with the Mongols….

The English begin the game with knowledge of…wait for it…Monarchy. That means they can start with monarchy as their government and that gives a big boost to their palace culture. They can also defend well because their archers get +1 to defense. That makes them nearly as good as Pikemen but cheaper. Like Spain, England is also known for its naval prowess and they get bonuses for this that truly makes them formidable. They get +1 to Naval Combat early but then get their Naval Support doubled in the modern era. When playing as England you will want to control the seas and you should be able to pull that off. Naval support is new to Civ Rev and never is it more fun or rewarding than when playing as the English. Like the knowledge of Monarchy it's also pretty obvious who to choose as a leader for England. Queen Elizabeth is one of the most notable rulers of all time. C'mon, she's got an entire era named for her.

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