Civilization III

"Explore your world"

Gameplay 10/10
Civilization III is the most addictive I've ever played on my computer. There are subtle differences between Civ II and Civ III but the game is basically the same. You start the game by choosing the leader of your new civilization. You may select the age of the world, how many continents you would like and even how humid or arid the world will be. Basically you are God before you begin the game. The number of rival civilizations, barbarians and level of difficulty also play a huge part in how your game will progress. Once your world is created you must create your capitol city and begin exploring the world. Defend your cities with military units and connect your cities with roads. You can easily be glued to this game for 10 hours straight or more.

Sound 8/10
Unlike Civilization II the battle noises are very cool. When your military win a battle and are upgraded to veteran or elite units, they make cool noises (especially the older units). The background music choices are also much better in my opinion. The game has excellent music and sound effects compared to Civ II and I really enjoy the overall sound of the game.

Graphics 10/10
Not to compare Civ II and III throughout this entire review but I was very impressed at the progress the developers of this series have made. The SNES Civilization was very poorly done. The graphics on Civ III are outstanding. Everything looks very realistic! I was most impressed with the new terrain look. The leaders of yours and other civilizations look extremely realistic with blinking eyes and facial expressions (very cool). The oceans also look very cool. Civilization III absolutely deserves a 10 in graphics.

Replay 10/10
This game is beyond addictive. You will not play just one game. There are many different options as I've mentioned such as choosing your civilization and level of difficulty. I have played countless games and currently have 6 different games saved that I still play. Even after you have won the game you may continue to play. The beginning of the game to me is much more fun to play because you get to use barbaric units. Wars are always fun as well. I'm sure if you buy a copy of this game you will play at least 20 different games. Sometimes you will be stuck on a very small island for thousands of years! Of course, you will want to start a new game at that point but then again it is very interesting to finally meet those rival civilizations. There are endless possibilities and every game is different. Replay gets a 10 without a doubt.

Controls 9/10
Units and cities are controlled many different ways. You may fortify units in your cities or just have him sit on a strategic place on the map. Your workers can build roads from point A to point B by holding Ctrl+r and choosing your areas. This is so great because Civ II had no such thing. Pressing ''i'' will tell your workers to improve the area around a single town and ''a'' will completely automate your worker. At that point it will roam around doing just about anything that can be done to improve the terrain within your culture control. A unit may be moved the same way as Civ II which couldn't be simpler. You get to see a line and it tells you exactly how many turns it will take you to reach your destination. The controls are very easy to figure out and get use to.

Overall 10/10
Two thumbs up! Go buy this game now if you haven't already. This game is only available on the PC so unless you know a place you can rent those games you won't be able to. Renting this game wouldn't be a smart idea anyway because you will need to devote a whole lot of time to playing it. If you don't have that kind of time, you may miss a day or two from work or be late for a meeting because this game is very addictive. Civilization is one of the most creative games I've ever played and enjoyed.

Reviewer's Score: 10/10, Originally Posted: 04/06/03, Updated 04/06/03