Sid Meier's Civilization IV Review (The Memphis Scribbler)
I have been playing this on-again-off-again since late 2010. In that time, I have only made it as far as "Warlord" difficulty which is either the second-easiest or third-easiest setting depending on whether you count the super-easy-quasi-tutorial-mode as a difficulty setting.
After playing for over a decade, the AI continues to kick my arse in a majority of games. If I showed you my hall of fame scoreboard, a majority of the outcomes of this game would not be any type of victory.
So why do I keep going back to a game that continues to kick my butt at any given opportunity? I love the challenge, clearly. But I also find this game quite theraputic and relaxing. I think this game balances strategy and luck in the form of RNG-based outcomes from combat.
For anyone as old, or older than me, you may recall Civ I and the very strange combat odds where early units could thoroughly devastate late-game units. Well, at least this time around they allow you to make the fight more fair by destroying a city's defences so your late-game gunpowder unit can fight against an archer and win most of the time.
I could type many more paragraphs about this game, but I still don't know if I've got the persuasive ability to convince you to play this antiquated strategy game when there are so many others on the market. I like this one and if you've played others in the series, it's worth your time to at least check this one out.