"A very, very addictive and enjoyable experience."

OVERVIEW:

This is my very first review here at Gamefaqs, so I decided to review the sequel to one of my favorite games of all time. Civilization II has been and always will be one of my favorite games. Sid Meier's newest addition to the series, Civilization III, tries things a little differently, but fails to disappoint in the process.

THE GENERAL IDEA

The Civilization series has always been more of like a history class than an actual game. A nomadic tribe decides to settle down and start a new nation, and you are elected to be its eternal leader. Your decisions impact its fate, as you decide what kind of civilization you wish to develop. Want a strong military, or an incredible culture? Want to be an economic powerhouse, or more advanced in terms of scientific discoveries? The choice is yours, though you'll find it near impossible to excel in every area. Furthermore, your competition are the other nation-states themselves. You can decide either to destroy them all or work in unison with them to build a better world.

GRAPHICS: 8 out of 10

The graphics in Civ 3 are fairly simplistic, and will remind you of Civ 2's easy-going format. No elaborate battle scenes here, just little pixels going at each other in rabid style. Civ 3's graphics are fluid, if not stunningly beautiful, and well-rendered. Unlike in Civ 2, Civ 3 units look and more realistically. Well, as realistic as you can get for a 2D sort of strategy game.

SOUND AND MUSIC: 6 out of 10

The in-game sounds (battle noises, construction noises, etc.) are for the most part realistic, although if you ever participate in a battle between a Knight and a Tank you'll probably die of laughter at the clash of battle sounds.

The music is hard to judge, for this reason alone; it's stunningly beautiful (especially the piano mix for the Industrial age and most of the Middle Ages music), but it repeats. And repeats. And repeats. After a while you'll want to smash the game into pieces because you're hearing the same damn musical loop over and over and over.

Still, the music is beautifully rendered. So while it will test your endurance, you won't be entirely disappointed.

INTERFACE: 9 out of 10

The interface (meaning, the different windows and buttons you use to access and carry out orders and actions in the game) is perhaps the biggest area of improvement between Civ 2 and Civ 3.

Basically, by clicking one button, you are taken to a window through which you can access any or all of your advisors to receive important advice concerning your domestic affairs, diplomatic affairs, military, and research and development.

This simple setup makes controlling the nuances of your civilization's development easy as pie. By clicking on particular cities, you can decide just about everything going on in that particular town. Or, you can simply allow the town's bureaucracy to decide for you.

Civ 3 is purposely set up so that you can win regardless of how much (or how little) you care to monitor every single specific of the nation's development. Don't care what advancement your scientists are going to discover next? Don't worry about it...your scientific advisor will make choices for you. Of course, it's always better to *be* involved in the processes than not, but you won't suffer a significant penalty if you're feeling lazy.

CHARACTERS (or, in this case, NATIONS): 10 out of 10

Since I usually review RPGs, I have a section of my review dedicated to character analysis. In Civ 3, it's not really characters you're dealing with, it's nations.

Civ 3 shines in this area, with a wide variety of famous civilizations to choose one, each with certain qualities and advantages. There are different ''nation-traits'', each which add replay value to the game by making your experience with each civilization slightly different.

'Industrious' nations have an easier time developing cities, and their workers need less time to complete projects. 'Expansionist' nations tend to spread out easier, start off with a scout that can explore the region, and are more effective in spreading their culture. 'Militaristic' nations tend to have an easier time developing strong militaries, and are more aggressive against opponents. 'Religious' nations have stronger cultures, and can easily construct religious buildings like temples and cathedrals to make the populace happier. Finally, 'Commercial' nations are excellent traders who know how to make money effectively.

Also, each of the 16 civilizations you can choose from has a special nation-specific unit that only they can produce (my only complaint is that it would be more realistic if even more than one unit for each nation was unique). For example, the Americans get an F-15 fighter to replace regular jet fighters, and the Greeks can control Hoplites instead of Spearman on the battlefield.

I love the customization of the different nations, but my one minor qualm is that not enough nations are included. Where are the Spanish? The Mongols? The Dutch? The Vikings? Fortunately, the upcoming expansion pack will likely fix this minor issue. One more thing...why is there only one leader you can be for each civilization? I'd prefer to be Stalin over Catherine when playing as Russia, for example. Another very small issue, and one that might be addressed in a future expansion set.

PLOT: 10 out of 10

Can't really complain about the plot, which basically involves you creating your own version of history. In fact, the very idea of doing so can make the game become extremely addictive.

The progression through the game is slower than in Civ 2 (you won't make it through ages as quickly), which makes the game more enjoyable and more of a challenge. I thought Civ 2 took things a little too quickly (you could discover advances every two or three turns or so with the right science rate) but Civ 3 tones it down and lets you spend more time in each era.

GAMEPLAY: 7 out of 10

The gameplay is, of course, the crux of any game, and Civilization 3 is no exception. This is where the game both shines and falters.

The pros:

First, you have an incredible amount of customization ability. You can pretty much change everything from the names of your towns to the way the game itself works. You can, in fact, with the editor, modify every nation's stats and alter the gameplay to your liking. Don't think the pikeman have sufficient enough defense? Change it for yourself.

This is a factor that has been ignored in many reviews I've seen posted for this game. Most people complain about certain gameplay factors without realizing that everything can be changed to their liking with just a tad of effort.

Second, especially with the patch, diplomacy is realistic and well-done. I've played too many games where the diplomatic aspect is virtually ignored (Imperialism, in particular, suffers from this fault). In Civ 3, you have the ability to craft alliances and trade with other nations in a manner that's not too easy, but not very difficult.

In a subject related to diplomacy, the AI in this game is tough. Very tough. In the con section I'll talk a little about AI aggression, but overall, the AI in this game will keep you challenged and busy. A far cry from the comparative cakewalk that was Civ 2.

Finally, the culture system is unique, original, and definitely worth it. It puts a spin on the game that allows you to concentrate on non-violent methods of domination.

The cons:

Unfortunately, even with the latest patch, corruption is a little too much of a problem.

Pollution is also over-exacerbated in the game. As soon as I entered the Industrial Age, pollution appeared everywhere...I didn't even have many factories yet! Unless you enjoy sending a huge load of workers here, there and everywhere, you're going to be yearning for Civ 2, where pollution was much less of a difficulty.

The AI is a little too aggressive. Even the most peaceful nations, like India, go berserk at times, and even worse, AI nations tend to declare war on *you* and ignore themselves. In fact, in one game I played, no nation ever declared any war on any other nation unless I started the chain of events. That's just dumb AI, and it should be fixed.

Also, in battle sequences, a pikeman can defeat a tank! Now, wait a minute, come on. That just shouldn't happen. It kind of takes away from the importance of scientific advancement if you can fight a tank with a horde of Knights and come out victorious, doesn't it?

Okay, I exacerbated the problem...it really isn't *that* bad. It's still, nonetheless, something that hopefully will be addressed come Civ 4.

IN THE END...

This game is definitely worth the purchase, in my opinion. While far from the *best* game I've ever played, you're still going to have a lot of fun with Civilization 3. It's not as groundbreaking as Civ 2, nor quite as notable, but it's certainly a welcome improvement. My only hope is that the genius behind the game, Sid Meier, continues to produce games like these in the future.

OVERALL SCORE (not exactly an average): 9 out of 10

Reviewer's Score: 9/10, Originally Posted: 09/18/02, Updated 09/18/02