"Classical empires, classical gameplay, classic game"

Classical empires, classical gameplay, classic game

The word ''classic'' is often overused when describing games that simply don't deserve the title. This game, however, deserves to be called classic. Civilization is one of the deepest games ever created, with a great many things to do, and one that manages to be fun as well.

In the beginning, you are told by the intro movie that all humans needed to get past being cave men, was a great leader, you. That in order to create a Civilization, an immortal guide, you, is needed to lead your people from simple agrarian to complex modern. Alrighty, let's get cracking.

Once past the intro, you are given command of a settler unit, the MacGuyver of the game, this unit does it all. With this unit you build roads, mines, farms, and of course, new cities. Which means that you have to balance whether you are going to go off and build a new city, or whether you're going to keep the settler working to improve an existing city. But for now, we just build our first city. And for a few turns, we just watch it grow, waiting for our first unit to appear. Once the little Militia is there, the game gets going for real. From here you have to build up a mighty Empire, take down rival empires, and keep from getting killed in the process. Not as easy as you might think.

First you have to worry about each city's defenses. Usually this is one or two of the best units that you can get. You can also improve your city by building City Walls (once you have the requisite technology, of course) to keep out those pesky Other Civilizations. Next you have to explore your world. You have to find the enemy before they find you, and you have to find good locations for a new city. Once you find another civilization, you have to do something about it, either signing a treaty, or sending out your armies.

As you progress along the game, you gain new ''technologies,'' which in the beginning are the simple things, such as ''The Wheel'' and ''Iron Working,'' but by the end are more complicated items like ''Nuclear Fission.'' At each new tech, you also get new armies, buildings for your cities, and even railroads which improve transportation between cities. This is what really keeps the game constantly fresh. Sure, you may not be able to beat that enemy civ at the moment, but as soon as you get that Really Good New Tech, they'll be sorry! Sure, the reverse is also true, they could at any moment, get a great new tech and start beating you up, but that's the whole of the challenge. The game always has a constant sense of ''freshness'' to it, as it is always growing. You aren't playing the same game, really, at the end as you were at the beginning.

The relations between the civilizations in the game can be one of a few things, Treaty, War, and Alliance. Depending on your personal strategy, you might be a pacifist and try to ally yourself with everyone, or you could be a warrior and want to take them all down.

And depending on your mode of play, there are different ways to win the game. The ''best'' way is to send a spaceship to Alpha Centauri, as it is the hardest one to get to. There is another way to win, simply get rid of everyone else. This isn't quite as satisfying, unless you just like the challenge of it. But that's the beauty of the game, you get to choose how you want to play it, and also how you win it!

The graphics are good, not CivII good, but decent enough. They neither add to, nor detract from, the gameplay, which is most important to me.

I liked the music here, what there was of it. Whenever I hear the opening theme, it still gives me many fond memories of playing this well into the night.

Civilization is a great game. Classic, even.

I rated Civilization an 8 because it's a great game, but Civilization II is better in every significant way.

Reviewer's Score: 8/10, Originally Posted: 04/20/00, Updated 04/20/00