For the first time, fans of the “Civilization” series can now play the game on a console, not just on their PCs. 2K Games are presenting “Civilization Revolution” created by Firaxis Games for the Playstation 3 and XBOX360. Variety’s Ben Fritz says

Previously, the fastidious turn-based “Civilization” games have required no small amount of patience, with full games easily lasting in excess of twenty hours. In “Revolution,” players can trace the rise of their own civilization in a single evening and still have time to watch, say, “Birth of a Nation.”

The developers have made that possible by ruthlessly streamlining the basic “Civilization” design. There are fewer armies, fewer technologies, fewer numbers, and fewer buttons to press. While long-time fans might write this off as “dumbing down”, it’s still a complicated game. But now it hews much closer to designer Sid Meier’s maxim that a good game is a series of interesting decisions. Here are fewer and broader decisions, each less precise but more important. Is it better than the previous “Civ” games? That’s the wrong question. It’s different. And it works on its own terms.

“Civilization Revolution” is Rated E and retails for $60 US.