"Gets my favorite strategy series off on the right foot"

Civilization used to be a must have for any PC gamer's collection. Now it's sequel Civilization: Call to Power is. Sid Meier has created a masterpiece that can withstand the test of time. This paved the way for the strategy games of today like Age of Empires, Alpha Centuri, and Star Craft.

GAMEPLAY--10
This is the easiest game to play ever. Not by its difficulty, but by how easy it is to do everything. Moving your troops? Just press the number keys on the far right of the keyboard. Be careful not to hit the five key! (Play the game, do that, and you'll understand what I mean. You will not be able to move, until you press it again.) Attacking is nothing more complex than moving into your opponent. Moving is done by pressing the arrows. You can pick this one right up and attack with ease. I am not saying you will win though.

GRAPHICS--2
Even I will not give this game any higher than a two. The graphics are horrible. All they are, are badly drawn sprites on colored boxes. The cities are boxes with boxes on them. The huts look like mushrooms. Ugh! Civilization Two is light years ahead of this. Comparing them is like comparing Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles Tournament Fighter to Soul Calibur. Not hardly fair. Even though it is fair to compare Civilization and it's sequel together.

Adding on to your castle is fun. You can clearly see the improvements everytime. And if you mix the different styles, the image in the corner is rather funny.

The best graphics in this game though, are great. When you beat the game, by traveling into space, the image of your castle is done spectacularly, with dramatic lighting, and other graphical effects. The image looks breathaking, especially when you look at the rest of the graphics.

The earth, which you will see if you choose the game mode earth, looks like it is made out of clay. The volcanos and plants seem to pop out of the world. The water and land show up very clearly on the caly-like planet.

MUSIC--9
The music was so good, they kept it around for another run in Civilization II. And kept it again, and again. The fact that you get a little song that is different for each civilization that is perfect for what the Civilzation is. (If they played all of them, and you got a list of the Civilizations, you could probably guess at least three fourths right.)

CONTROL--9
The control is simple. It is very easy to tell cities what to build, and even easier to move your troops around the maps. It is one of those games that may confuse you at first, but you will get used to it later. You can play without a mouse, or with a mouse, depending on what you choose at the beginning. This is useful for those who have bad mouses, or just bad trackballs that squeek. Or those that do not move.

FUN--9
I have never played Civilization: Call to Power, but if there isn't a network option in it for multiplayer, one should be added. This would be a blast to play over the net. I could be the Chinese like I always am, and I could play people from all over the world. This game is still fun without multiplayer though. If you want to convince your parents to buy it for you, it is not too hard. You learn all sorts of stuff about history, like that Abraham Lincoln was an American. And Napoleon was French. OK, you do not actually learn a lot at all. But, it is still one of the most fun games on record.

REPLAY VALUE: HIGH
You will want to play this game again and again. Nothing will stop you from getting through this game and winning in a couple of hours with some practice. The fact that there are two ways to win raises the value even more. And, of course, you will want to beat it with every civilization. There are all sorts of intangibles, that make you want to replay Civilization again and again.

CHALLENGE: MEDIUM TO HIGH
Even on the Chieftan difficulty this game can be difficult. On the Emperor difficulty, at times, the game can be downright impossible. But, with enough practice and experience, anyone can overcome the difficulties, because you will have developed their own strategies to win.

CLOSING STATEMENT
I think that this is one of the most innovative games ever. Sure, it may not seem so innovative now, but the idea was fresh and new when it came out of the oven a while ago. This is a good, cheap start to the series if you are looking to pick up a Civilization copy. I like Civilzation II more, and I have not gotten a chance to play the 2 new ones yet. Unfortunately.

OVERALL--9

Reviewer's Score: 9/10, Originally Posted: 07/11/00, Updated 07/18/01