User Reviews (41 - 51 of 66)

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Just Another War Game

2 Rating: 2, Useful: 5 / 17
Date: February 17, 2000
Author: Amazon User

I had anticipated more building, more great projects such as in the Civ games. Basically, you spend all your time making a bigger war machine than the Joneses. Diplomatic relations are simple, boring, and moot, as the real goal of the game is that you have to conquer everyone else before being able to live peacefully... and then there's nothing to do. I regret I shelled out 40 bucks for this game that's collecting dust.

Is excellent

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 2 / 4
Date: November 06, 1999
Author: Amazon User

The game is very good. Very good pictures, sound. Is the most game in the world. I'm very good playing this game.

You have no control

2 Rating: 2, Useful: 4 / 15
Date: March 29, 2000
Author: Amazon User

The game has great potential, but so many things are automated that you CANNOT do what you want. It is very difficult seize control from the automation. Unfortunately, the automation is stupid and prevents you from carrying out interesting or reasonable strategies. The game needs to provide much more support for user strategies. I got so frustrated that I injured my elbow by banging it on my desk.

Just short of perfection

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 1 / 1
Date: July 13, 2000
Author: Amazon User

The title for this review would be "absolute perfection" if it weren't for the stratospheric expectations I had of it.

The gameplay, as anyone familiar with Civ would know, is unbelievably addictive, we're talking losing sleep and missing meals addictive. If you don't know what I'm talking about, Civ and AlphaCentauri have a "Just One More Turn" phenomenon.

Unlike other games with different races, the seven factions in the game are supremely balanced, and Firaxis has created a fairly interesting storyline.

The only faults I have with the game are: 1) its harder to relate to the units-- its a lot easier to visualize tanks and legions than sigularity trance marines; and 2) with the latest patches startup can take a long time. But these are not even pimples on blips on the radar.

Pretty damn good

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 1 / 1
Date: February 03, 2003
Author: Amazon User

Alpha Centauri is the kind of game that you really have to get into to fully enjoy. As with the other Civilization games, it is primarily an empire building game with its prime focus on controlling the planet outlying the Alpha Centauri star system. This game is deep...and I mean DEEP. I have spent countless hours playing this game only to find that I have barely scratched the surface. Unrivaled in complexity and depth, if you have time to spare and you wish to do something that you will not regret with it, then you owe it to yourself to play this game. There are downsides to this perfection though. The game moves at a pretty slow clip, so if you are trying to get fast results, you will be disappointed. The game can suffer from overcomplexity issues with micromanagement (not NEARLY as bad as Star Wars: Rebellion thought) but the "Governer" of each base will assist with that. Other than that, some of the factions seem improperly balanced (the University faction has strengths in research...and thats it...what good is the best techs if you don't have combat attributes to use them effectively). And I think the atrocity factors are unbalanced too (use too many Planet Busting Missles and the whole PLANET hates you). But this game must be played and played to get everything out of it. Great game and a must-play.

Great Civilization follow-on

4 Rating: 4, Useful: 1 / 1
Date: July 12, 2003
Author: Amazon User

Alpha Centauri is a turn-based, city-building strategy, a great follow-on but not a sequel to Civilization II. The game adds a lot of diplomacy features although I usually try to wipe the other players out. Alpha Centauri has automation features too: City governors who decide what to build, although sometimes they would try to build something they shouldn't such as the `Build' governor making military units. Overall a classic, recommended for most and a must have for Civilization fans.

Simply The Best

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 1 / 1
Date: November 12, 2005
Author: Amazon User

All the five star reviews (which of course are the majority) are exactly correct. This game has made its way onto three of my computers over the years, and it will no doubt be installed on my future computer. If it ever stops working on modern operating systems (no problems with XP) than I shall keep my current rig (P3 800 PCI Geforce2...) so I can always play this game, along with the other best PC games ever: Thief 1&2, System Shock 1&2, Deus Ex and Baldur's Gate 2.

I wish Brian Reynolds would sell one of his kids to get the A.C. copyright and remake this gem.....

Chuck

It still holds up

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 1 / 1
Date: March 01, 2006
Author: Amazon User

I still play this game even today, in the era of games like Civilization IV and Age of Empires III, and other strategy games that require two NASA supercomputers and the blood of a virgin to run properly. That is the test of a truly great game folks, that even years after you got it, it's STILL installed on your computer, or rather that every new computer you get has this game on it.

Lasted a long time

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 1 / 1
Date: September 01, 2006
Author: Amazon User

Alpha Centauri is perhaps one of the best strategy games ever. I really like the way you can change your environment with the formers. I usually create rover formers and run with those. They're the same as rovers only can move 2 squares instead of the usual one so you do more faster!@!@

I start at the edge of my continent and continuously raise terrain adding new area that I can plant colony pods on. Simple by today's standards, but I just can't stop playing it!!

Alpha Cenauri

4 Rating: 4, Useful: 1 / 1
Date: May 09, 2007
Author: Amazon User

In 1991, Microprose release Sid Meier's Civilization, a game like no other the world had ever played. It's innovative take on developing technology and advancing a civilization took the world by storm. It won Game of the Year in 1992 (Computer Gaming World) and Best Consumer Entertainment Program in 1991 (Software Publishers Association). This was only the beginning of its success.

850,000 copies later, it has entered game history. Few computer gamers haven't played it, and it's legacy is going strong.

In 1996, Sid Meier, Jeff Briggs, and Brian Reynolds banded together to form Firaxis games (named after a musical piece by Jeff Briggs). Why the sudden break with Microprose? I haven't heard an official story, and I wouldn't dream of promoting rumors . . .

The fact remains that Sid Meiers left, without Civilization. The first release Firaxis had was Sid Meier's Gettysburg. Now, Alpha Centauri is the second release.

This game continues the old tradition of Civilization and Civilization II. You build cities, develop technologies and form strategic pacts, all in the old familiar fashion. But does it do justice to it's presitgious lineage? Drum roll please . . .

Yes.

That is not a resounding yes, but a yes nevertheless. I enjoyed this game immensely. I did tired of it more quickly than it's predecessors, however. I couldn't say whether that has to do with the quality of the game, or if it's just because I've done all this before. Needless to say, I haven't met my goal of winning it every way possible on the hardest level. I'm sure I`ll never meet the goal of winning with every faction.

So what is the game like?

We'll its just like all the others. You don't see the buildings being build on you city display, but you can set up ques of buildings. You can also set three different governers, allowing you to set a governer with the same priorities as technology. Want to go to war? Set all of your governers to Conquest. Want to spread out? Set them to Explore. Want to build? You guessed it. Set them to Build.

In most of the games in the past, I'd rather hammer a nail through my hand than use their governers. Alpha Centauri is the first on the really won me over. The stupid things they do a rare enough to cause less headache than doing all the work myself.

The game looks much like it's predecessors. The graphics are better, but that's to be expected. Game play is essentially the same.

This game has a lot of fun moments. The story line to the plot (it does have a story line), is interesting, if not compellingly presented. Each new achievement give a quote, some of them pretty funny. My favorite is the Recycling Tanks: "It is every citizen's final duty, to go into the tanks . . ." Soylent Green anyone? A close second is the blatantly Microsoft based add with the tag line "Where do you want your node today?"

To get the full impact of this game, win by transcendence. Only in this way, will you see the storyline played out to conclusion.

Bottom line? I liked it. You will too, if your not looking for something different. It doesn't matter how many innovations went into the technology, the game concept was not particularly innovative. I've seen people who loved it and people who got sick of it in ten minutes, because they had played so many hours on it's predecessors. You'll have to decide which kind of person you are.

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