"There is no reason why you shouldn't own this game"

You got to give Sid Meier's credit. Civilization 1 was a break through in strategy gaming and so the everything about the game was fresh and new. So a few bugs were bound to pop up and some graphics weren't all that great but what do you expect with a prototype? Well Civ 2 is Civ 1 with all the bugs ironed out. This is what Civ 1 was suppose to look like.

-The Story-
As in Civ I, the goal of Civ II is to take a little nomadic tribe (the settler) and found a city which will become your capital. When you first start out your can only see a few squares and everything else is shrouded in darkness. Once you found your city and build an explore, you can begin to uncover the dark squares and look for new sites for prospering cities. You will need to build new settlers, raise an army, build diplomats to trade or steal technology and build up your cities to become science and cash cows. Then maybe one day you can invent a way to leave the planet and colonize distant worlds.

-Gameplay-
Same basic concept as Civ I. Since this is a pc game you will be able to use the mouse and not some stupid control pad to move your units around. There are some new features that improved from the last game such as better diplomacy,(now you can kick people out of your territory) and improved military combat. Gone are the days when the Battleship would lose to an ancient Roman Legion. You have the option to let the A.I. control your city production which should take away some micromanagement pressure. Deal with neighbors by trading or blowing them up. Research technology and blast off to the starts. This game is what Civilization 1 should have been.

-The Graphics-
The first major change is the 3-Dish view of the world and units. Although still flat it's not like Civ I's Up,Down,Left,Right world map. Gone are the poorly done crayon images and maps that plagued Civ I. Units are easier to recognize and terrain looks halfway decent. Still the graphics arent what Civ games are about and it shows. The graphics of the game dont break any new ground or anything. Atleast they kept the city view, and they fixed the railroad graphic.

-Audio/Video-
I miss the good old tracks of Civ I and the tracks of Civ II (which are all right for the most part) just doesnt hold the same place like Civ I did. Some of the tracks are just plain annoying and many a time have I been yelled at to ''turn down that God awful sound.'' New to the sound department are the individual sounds units make when attacking each other. Musketeers attacking sound like gun shots, cannons make big booms, and nukes make really big booms :). The wonder movies are well done and I actually like some of the music from those more then the game tracks. Most of the Audio is hit or miss.

-Replay-
The map tools are great. I never use the map generator found in the game since it produces really bad maps. There is a lot of replay because no two games are ever the same (which is what makes Civ so popular)

Buy: Yes, Even though this game is already 5 years old at the time of this review, you simply cant be the gameplay. Especially now that there are soo many expansion pacts and mods available. Its also dirt cheap. YOU MUST BUY THIS GAME!!!

The Final Tally:
Story: 10 (Same as civ I, everytime you play you rewrite history)
Gameplay : 10 (Same great gameplay as Civ I, just updated)
Graphics : 8 (Much better then Civ 1, but nothing we havent seen before)
Audio/Video : 5 (The Wonder movies are great, the sound tract is not)
Replay : 10 (Same as Civ I, map tools and mods make this perfect)
Buy : YES (This game is like 10 bucks at walmart and mods can be found on the net)
Final Score : 9 (Some small A.I. bugs but you wont even notice them)

This is what Civilization I should have been. This game is like $60 value in a $10 cd at walmart. A must have for every pc gamer.

Reviewer's Score: 9/10, Originally Posted: 08/17/01, Updated 08/17/01