Rating: 
Summary: Civilization III: Tweaking a Classic
Review: The most addictive computer strategy games I have ever owned were the original Civilization and Sid Meier's Railroad Tycoon. As newer versions of each of these games have come out, they have grown in power and in their graphical quality, but I am not sure that they are as addictive as when they first came out. Like any sequel, while ideas from the original can be more fully developed, the sequel is never as fresh as the original. That being said, Civ III is a great game; it has improved on some of the gameplay flaws of Civ I and Civ II; and has become a more logical and consistent game. More often than not, games in Civ I and Civ II ended in brutal military conquest; Civ III tries to balance the military technology by refining the concept of "culture", which makes your people more loyal, or more envious of the lifestyles of your opponents. A city you conquer might rebel to join its original civilization; workers you capture are less productive. For the most part, this makes the game play more sophisticated; but have no illusions -- a large, advanced military will still be necessary for your survival. Negotiations have been improved; you can barter technology, money, luxury items, resources, cities, and maps -- making a nuanced trade much more possible. Your foreign advisor also indicates to you whether or not the foreign power is likely to accept your offers or will be insulted by them. The game has also added new concepts -- minor wonders (such as the Heroic Epic) and Leaders -- which are special units that allow you to build wonders more quickly and to assemble armies --formations of troops that attack and defend in concert. All of the logical things in the game have been improved; my two complaints with it are minor. 1. The graphical user interface is less intuitive than Civ II -- your advisors are no longer on menus you can hotkey, but are icon driven and often tricky to find. The graphics are also very small -- the toggles between screens on a menu are not large enough or well defined. Graphically the units are not as distinct as they could be; units look too similar to each other, and the unit strength meters are miniature and hard to read. Stacked units are hard to perceive as being stacked; the City menus are also harder to interpet. also, the graphics designer was in love with the color tan, as the whole interface seems swathed in it. 2. The Map Editor is less easy to use; and the graphical collection of predefined maps to play on is virtually nonexistent -- you can't choose Europe and play on it. You would have to build the map. This will certainly be fixed over time as people post maps and scenarios on the web. All in all, a good update. The game logic is improved, but unfortunately the User Interface I think took a step backward. 4 stars
Rating: 
Summary: Kicks Butt
Review: If liked Civ 2 you'll love this new addition although there haven't been many changes from the orginal the ones that have make the game well worth buying.
Rating: 
Summary: BIGGEST DISSAPOINTMENT OF THE YEAR!
Review: I enjoyed both CivI and CivII. I fell that Civ III on the other hand is not well developed. In the older games I liked the units politcis econemy and the scenarios. Civ III has no real improvements save for grafics. It is a slow a boring game and I would reccomend to everyone DO NOT BUY THIS GAME!
Rating:
Summary: An utter disappointment...
Review: Cid should be ashamed of himself... Your money would be better spent buying premium gasoline for a rented automobile.
Rating: 
Summary: A major disappointment
Review: This is a weak followup to a classic game. There is some good stuff; the idea of culture is well thought out and interesting, and the AI is very good, particularly when it comes to fighting wars. Your computer opponents will mass their troops before coming after you, and will work to cut off your supplies of iron, horses, and saltpeter. The chief problem is that unlike previous iterations of Civ, in which you could pursue a variety of strategies - be peaceful (or not), expansionalist (or not), research oriented (or not), and carefully weigh the basic guns vs. butter tradeoff, in this game, you have to be hyper-aggressive to keep up with the computer players. Without a huge empire, you will not be able to keep up militarily or culturally. Both culture and power which guide other civ's attitudes toward you are dependent upon the number of cities you possess. And in all but the largest worlds, you'll generally start close enough to other civs such that you'll start butting heads immediately. In other words, to win you can no longer choose your own path; you must choose the path the game sets for you. There are also many other minor problems which affect playability and enjoyment. It's very difficult to build wonders before other civs do; it's near impossible to stay more technologically advanced than other civs, even if you're putting all your resources into technological development. The game has potential, but it goes almost completely unrealized. They should go back to the Civ II model, add in the concept of culture and the improved AI and maybe a few other things. Don't waste your money on this; it's just not that fun.
Rating: 
Summary: Too slow
Review: I like this game. But, it's just the same Civilization, just with better graphics. I got bored with it very quickly. Probably because I've already played it. Great concept, they just need to find a way to make turns go faster. I would play my turn, then go do dishes or something while the computer took it's turn. That's how long it could last.
Rating:
Summary: A worthy successor.
Review: OK - so there are things I don't like about it. Where are the wonder movies? Why have my favorite wonders (Leonardo's workshop and Darwin's Voyage) become less powerful? What is up with the "land grab" AI by the CPU at the beginning of the game? Why is is so difficult?:) All of these things I have gotten used to now and I love the game - wasting countless hours on it. If you loved CivII you will like this once you aquire the taste. The new cultural influence features are great. The diplomacy is much improved as is trade. Combat is basically unchanged and works well most of the time (with the occational "spearman defeats tank" problem). Don't worry Civ and SMAC fans - you will like it.
Rating:
Summary: Worth the money. Sequal greatly surpasses the original
Review: A well done, polished turn based strategy games. The game expands well off previous versions of this strategy classic. Granted it does not have multiplayer built in, but previous versions with the exception of Civilization II Gold edition did not have multiplayer either. In addition, the AI is extremely realistic, infinitely better than those found in previous versions. Furthermore, gameplay is simple, yet not dumbed down to the point that it is overly childish or detracts from overall enjoyment or features. This is a must buy for all computer strategy game fanatics.
Rating:
Summary: Great game Adictive
Review: I have been a siv fan ever since the first one came out and I just got Civ III for Christmas and the days after that were sleepless night because of its adictiveness. It is much more fun than the other games do to the great AI, and each civilization being different. The 2050 end time is very anoying though, I agree that the units are unbalanced. I still say go out and buy it you money is well spent.
Rating:
Summary: The proof is in the pudding
Review: To keep it simple, this game is great. You will become addicted to this epoch within minutes of settling your first city. The interface is truly user-friendly, the graphics are good, the sound is engaging, the play is non-stop, and the theme is perfect if you enjoy "conquer-the-world" sims. Futhermore, this game has the new feature of allowing the player to conquer the world using cultural influence. This is a wonderful benefit for all us non-violent people who would prefer to avoid war when playing video games. This does not mean you will not fight in some wars but it does mean you will be advancing your civilization without war in many instances (if you desire). This is a wonderful game for the winter months.
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