Sid Meier's Colonization

"Dominate the America's"

Colonization, one of the great classics of the PC gaming industry. Built on the Civilization platform, except with a different premise. You don't have to invent new technologies and such. But the game has just as much replay value because the is much much more in depth management of your individual colonies. The game debuted in the early nineties and has always been on of my favorite back drawer games. This is a game that gets pulled out once a year and is played vigorously for around 40 hours and then heads back into the corner of a drawer until I get one of those urges to pull it out again.

Overview:
This game puts you in control of one of the four major European powers during the years of 1492-1800. Your goal is simple. Get enough of your colonists to back the independence idea and then declare independance. After that you must fight off a few waves of your European mother countries military might. If you build up your empire well enough you should be able to hold out.

Graphics:
For the early nineties this game was on par with games of its time. For today however, this game's graphics are pretty poor. Back when Windows 95 came out Micropose re-released this game along with Civilization in an updated graphics format. The game lost some of its sentimental value with a fresh look and generally isn't considered as "great".

Music:
The music of this game has a real neat feel to it. It puts you in the mood to build a new world. The game has done a good job incorporating colonial music to classic Indian music in a modern way that doesn't get repetitive or trite.

Sound Effects:
Pretty basic stuff. This does get repetitive. When you declare your independence you will hear the popping noise of muskets and canon so much you will probably just want to turn off the sound for awhile. Other than that the sound effects are pretty basic.

Replay Value:
You can play as one of four European powers. Each has its own pro's and con's. The beginning of the game you try to get along with the natives and your European neighbors while you build your military and trading empire. Once you get your colonies on their feet you can begin to wipe out the Indians that constantly harass you or your European cousins. There are many ways to "win" this game and many ways to have fun with it. If you get creative enough you this game can be quite fun for years.

Cons:
This game by today's standards can seem pretty slow paced and the graphics, music and sound effects are heavily dated. However, if you are a fan of the simulation genre and you remember civilization or games like this then this game will really satisfy you.

Reviewer's Score: 9/10, Originally Posted: 06/17/04