Sorry for the lack of updates, Laura and I went to a fireworks display down south, and I've been suffering from a cold. It's starting to fade now, so I should be back to normal from tomorrow onwards.

Last week I received Civilization IV in the post. I ordered it for £17.99 from Play.com I played it the day I received it for a few hours and was blown away. It's no real revolution, as they hinted it might be, but it's a nice evolution. Civilization is one of few games which has got consistently better over time, and while it's almost fifteen years since the original, it's as fun as ever.

The main improvements are better 3D graphics, improved A.I., and a streamlining of game play. Playing a game is now more 'fun' and you get to play with more interesting concepts like religion. The interface is much improved, somewhat like the transition SimCity made in the past, and it makes the game much easier to play and manage. It's now significantly easier to manage many tens of units, whereas previously your turn length would increase exponentially as unit management was so tough.

So, definitely recommended, especially if you can pick it up for just £17.99! I don't know why they were selling it so cheap, but it's worth every penny.