With Civilization: Beyond Earth taking humanity to the stars in search of a new home, Firaxis is looking to expand on our colonization efforts as we venture further away from Earth. With the upcoming Rising Tide expansion, the developer aims to take players to unexplored worlds full of strange new creatures, both on land and hiding deep in the water.
As evidenced by the title, Rising Tide’s big draw is the inclusion of water exploration and development of island bases. To do this, submarines and ships must be sent out onto the water to explore and make sure that patches of water are clear of creatures that may begin harmless but become hostile when our expansion efforts push them out of their homes.
The new affinity system that was introduced in Beyond Earth continues to expand in Rising Tide, leading to combat against aliens if any of their forces are destroyed. It strikes an interesting balance between expansion and avoiding war, bringing to mind plenty of existential questions for the philosophical gamer.
[zerggaming]Another new feature is the introduction of artifacts, creations of ancient races that can be found throughout the new locales. Each artifact can be used individually to grant more power to the player, or they can be saved to combine with other artifacts and create new wonders or other incredible discoveries. The choice is yours.
The preview we were treated to also showcased the ability to tame unknown animals, in this case a large pack of giant bugs, and use them to explore the planet at a much faster pace. Being able to have the wildlife fight on your side should be a handy tactic, especially once the creatures of the sea begin closing in on your colony.
Although Beyond Earth wasn’t the most lauded title in the series, Rising Tide is looking to incorporate what did work from that game into an unexplored realm of the world for players to finally explore, and so far, it’s all looking quite promising.
