Rating: 
Summary: Civ II: You against the world?
Review: (This review applies to the PC version.)Let's be clear up front about one thing: this is an OLD game. By PC standards, it's geriatric. It's not going to show off the powers of your new ACME 3D EYE BLEEDER CARD or wow you with the way it exploits the quadrophonic features of your WIDGET EAR PUNCTURER 3000. When the "Civ" license fragmented into "Test of Time" and "Call To Power", these both made (at least some) improvements on the graphics and sound (particularly CTP). So why do people (like me) keep Civ II on their hard drive after so many years? It's the game, baby. It's a system of rules which is simple, elegant and addictive. It has a somewhat intuitive--and relatively large--technology tree. It feels right. It mostly works right. (Some of the AI is pathetic but I've yet to find a game where that isn't the case.) It's easy to learn but constantly challenging. And the rules are =balanced=. Both CTP and TOT made changes to the rules that either made things murkier or threw the game way out of balance. Did I mention that this is a =long= game? Even a short Civ game is long. Unbalanced rules in Civ mean that the last 12 hours you spent building your civilization went to waste because your opponent developed an uber-unit. It's no wonder some people were ready to burn their copies of CTP or TOT. Civ II doesn't have that. If your civilization gets off the ground at all, you're going to be aware of most of the potential threats. You can throw it all away with carelessness, but not because the game put you in an impossible spot. You can lose ground due to a surprise, but you can regroup and counter. And you can play it so many ways. You can be the conqueror, the scientist, the diplomat, et cetera. In some ways, it's a fragile game, given how easily attempts to alter the rules have thrashed it. It remains to be seen if even Sid Meier (HimSelf) can improve on this formula with the upcoming Civilization III. Now: You can get the regular or you can get the gold. The Gold adds improved multiplayer support and all the scenarios. For myself, I don't much care for the scenarios. And as the game progresses each turn takes increasing amounts of time: Maybe not ideal for multiplayer. (Some people dig it, though.) So you may want to save a buck or two and get the vanilla. But you can't really go wrong with this game. If you like computer strategy games at all, this is a must-have.
Rating:
Summary: The 2nd best game ever!
Review: 1st goes to Ms. Pac-Man. If you own the original Civ II this one might not be worth the money. If you like modifying the game then you might find the scenario editor worth the money. If you don't own this game BUY IT NOW! This game is awsome. I have played this game for hours and hours until my eyes were so bloodshot that I had to quit. If you are tired of mindless shooter games, and want to give your brain a challenge, order this game.
Rating: 
Summary: CIV II is one of the best
Review: And Multiplayer Gold is the version that I purchased for myself. The graphics are not spectacular or anything, but generally you don't buy a strategy/sim for that. Multiplayer Gold is very much the same game as the regular version, but the added scenarios are a plus. What I really like though, is the ability it gives you to make scenarios of your own. I'm working on one based on the life and times of William Wallace myself, and it's rather easy. Be warned, though, it is time-consuming. If you already have Civ II, you probably won't want to dish out the extra cash. However, if you're looking at buying Civ II for the first time, go ahead and get Gold. I found it cheaper than the original where I got it.
Rating: 
Summary: It's not Civ II
Review: As a HUGE fan of Civ II (I've spent more time with that game than I spent in High School), I was pretty excited when this came out. Sure, it looked different, but it had lots of really cool additions. Now, a week has passed, and I must say that this game kinda sucks. It lacks the primary component that Civ II has. PLAYABILITY. It's so freaking slow as far as game play goes, and the battle scences are simply horrid. Civ was like a nice little chess game on the nth scale. This is Might & Magic with four billion rules. There's a difference. Wait for Alpha Centauri. Sid Meyer actually had a part in that.
Rating:
Summary: Best Civ Yet
Review: Best civilization game yet! You can go much farther up to 2000 years, more weapons upgrades and way more advancements it may diserve best strategy game of the year. Thank you creators for another great game.
Rating:
Summary: Mostly better than civ 2
Review: Better interface and graphics, lots of cool new units and a more realistic flow of history. The game is a bit easier though, so if you're an expert type player you may want to think twice. Also, the 48 Meg RAM minimum is a laugh.
Rating: 
Summary: OK game
Review: Civ 2 Gold was alright. It's basicly playing civ2 with more scenarios. The problem with the scenarios is that they're kind of boring. You also get to play multyplayer online, or with your friends on the same computer. There are some changes in gameplay but not alot. It's not worth anymore than $20. You might like it if you already have civ 2 and want something new
Rating:
Summary: Icing on an already great cake
Review: Civ II is still probably the best strategy game in existence, and the Gold Edition only embellishes this. My favorite new feature is the scenario editor--while it still takes forever to build a scenario from scratch, the game parameter options allow to fiddle with the technology tree, units, and variables such as the chance of a trireme sinking in open sea. I've used it to make the industrial phase of the tech tree much more accurate and to eliminate the "goody huts," which ruin play balance for the early stages of the game. The added scenarios fall into two categories: the good historical ones written by Mick Uhl, and the crazed fantasy ones (which may be good too--I haven't tried them) where you control aliens, dinosaurs, elves, etc. Save this stuff for other games! I have a few small complaints: 1. (about the original) Whoever made the Europe map was geographically illiterate. Critical regions like Belgium and Italy are shrunken, and France and Russia are exaggerated. Not to mention the islands are all wrong and there was no attempt to differentiate between steppe and northern plain. 2. Old bugs have not been removed in the Gold Edition. I won't get started on how annoying this is. 3. The new music is HORRIBLE! That being said, I recommend the Gold Edition if you're new to the game or if you want more scenarios and wide freedom to tinker with the game.
Rating:
Summary: Different is Good
Review: Civ: CtP is the latest iteration of the Civilization family -- in fact, it would be fair to refer to it as Civilization III. Most people who have played Civ or Civ II will be able to quickly get up and running with Civ:CtP, as many of the concepts -- settlers, city and coutryside improvements, and so forth -- remain. But there are some changes in detail that make this game more than just a graphics upgrade. One of the niftiest new features, in my opinion, is the ability (obtained via patch from the MacSoft web site) to play by email... allowing different players on different schedules to play together, without requiring them to arrange to be online at the same time.
Rating:
Summary: Nice attempt but misses the mark
Review: Civilization Call to Power has some nice new features that add to the Civilization series. However the documentation is poor and it strays from the series typical pieces. Its interface is nice in regards to grouping but it is too easy to send pieces off in the wrong direction. It is also ackward to view the protecting pieces for a given city without activating them. Once activated it takes two turns to fortify them again. The civilization advances, playing pieces are completely different and do not seem to be well thought out for game play. I have not completely given up on this one, but I am close. One very frustrating thing is that you must have the CD mounted in the computer for play! Save your money and give this one a pass.
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