Rating: 
Summary: Terrific
Review: This game is totally addictive. It can be a little boring as the software tends to want to show you every little thing that is going on. However if you play on the tiny, small or standard map you're good to go. Beware that the AI will most assuredly cheat and totally tick you off. I've never seen an AI cheat so blatantly as it does in this game. I've played this game for about 5 hours everyday, for about six months and still haven't had enough. I highly recommend it!
Rating: 
Summary: Great fun, but with two HUGE flaws
Review: This game is, of course, an evolutionary step above Civilization II. It provides basically the same gameplay, but with the addition of nifty features like resource-dependent production, negotiable deals, and spheres of culutral influence. Also, the largest maps really are HUGE now, making it unlikely that you will ever reveal the whole thing without lots of map trades or the deployment of satellites. Lastly, the terrain generation algorithm has been refined to the point where the "random" geography finally resembles what you see in the real world, with distinguishable jungles, deserts, and mountain ranges. However, there are two massive, glaring flaws here. First, the user interface and subsequent documentation is attrocious. Only the most basic commands are available on screen; everything else must be done through command keys, and those are given only in a tiny appendix in the back of the manual. Furthermore, there is no consistency in what is and is not clickable on any of the city or advisor screens. A real step back from Civ 2. Second, the AI is a real jerk. In diplomacy, it often makes irrational demands, and in combat its units regularly win impossible battles. Also, I simply do not understand how the various AI nations can make these huge technological leaps and maintain these massive standing armies, all without doing any landscaping or building any improvements. In a word, the AI cheats, so plan accordingly. (I used to have an additional paragraph here, describing how much of a dog the Mac port is. Slow and buggy. However, with the 1.21g patch, most of the outstanding performance issues have been resolved, so I've edited this review to remove the complaint and add a star.)
Rating: 
Summary: Good ideas. Poor execution
Review: This sequel enhances both the good and the bad of Civ II. The graphics and sound are both far superior toCiv II, as would be expected. And the new concepts, suchas allowing cultural domination, diplomatic victory (taken from Alpha Centauri, no doubt) are good touches. Making trade a high level decision is, pehaps, ahistorical, in that rulers rarely became involved in the details of trade until AFTER a particular item was proven critical, but I won't quibble over this particular interpretation of economic history. New minor wonders, a few new inmprovements, all good. BUT...... There are several flaws that make the game frustrating to the point of being unplayable. The most significant is the rampant, uncontrollable corruption and waste in the cities. As with the earlier version, the further you are from the capital, the worse the corruption and waste. But this version takes this to an unworkable extreme. "Distant" cities on the same continent waste almost all product and steal almost all trade -- and forget cities off continent. The court and police improvements do next to nothing to stop it, even under Democracy. No historical society could have survived the levels of corruption and waste that regularly exist in the game. Trade is another problem. It quickly becomes apparent that the AI will accept nothing less that 1/3 of your income in return for next to nothing. Don't even bother trying after you get into the A.D period. Speaking of the AI! The A stands for artificial , NOT AMORAL. The cheating was often bad in Civ II, but it's stunningly disappointing in Civ III. AI Warriors consistently knocking off tanks!?! Yes low-tech may triumph occassionally in the real world, but not nearly as often as in Civ III. The Mac version shipped without a terrain editor, but one has been promised by the MacSoft website. I hope it is as versitile as the Civ II editor, and that, unlike the Alpha Centauri editor, we'll be able to score the maps that are user made. The Alpha Centauri editor didn't allow this: I guess the developers thought too many users might be "cheating." Which brings me to my last point. I get a very strong feeling that the makers of this game think there is a "right" way to enjoy the game. PLEASE! It's a game, a toy. Some days gamers want a challenge, on others we just want to kick (...). Given the quotes from Kant and Keirkegaard in Alpha Centauri, I wil assume that there are at least some philosphy readers on Meier's team, so I implore you to remember your semiotics. Linguistic utterances that are closed and allow few interpretations are like technical manuals, those that offer multiple interpretations are like poetry. Civ II was, for the most part, poetry. Civ III feels like a big, slow technical manual. And how often do you re-read technical manuals?
Rating:
Summary: "Just Brilliant"
Review: When I got Civilization II Gold Edition, I thought civilization can't possibly get better. I was wrong, the mix of good graphics and more realistic events make this fantasic. When I played civ II, it was easy to get technology off people. Now all I know is that if you want to conqueror the world, you can't just go off bribing technologies, you have to fight with an army, not just an army but a huge one. Even cheiftain you need at least 10 armies to take over a city, and when you get to deity level- its a mission impossible. Again I think Civ's just can't get better, but with technology improving by the second- who knows what Sid meir might produce!
Rating:
Summary: Superqualifragilidelicious !
Review: Wunderbar !
The ultimate game of stategy & tactics.
Better and more realistic than Age of Empire. The manager and the warrior will be equally satisfied playing this game ; learn how the world go round ! Become a conqueror or a diplomat.
Best investment, you will enjoy it for years to come (well, until Civ IV gets on the market!) Beware though, the most!.. highly addictive game... Frit
| 
