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Best game by best game designer ever!!!

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 0 / 1
Date: September 11, 1999
Author: Amazon User

Alpha Centauri, is quite simply, the best computer game ever made. It's intricate, and challenging. It can be played in an infinite variety of circumstances against the computer or your friends. Buy it!!!

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.

Don't believe the hype.

2 Rating: 2, Useful: 6 / 11
Date: November 10, 1999
Author: Amazon User

Certainly, this game is by one of the best teams in the 4-X business, and it does have some wonderful innovations. HOWEVER, it is crippled by the decision to include Planet as a non-removable, non-controllable player. Even playing the greenest game possible, I find myself reaching a point near the endgame, where rather than savoring my impending victory and polishing my civ to near-perfection I am forced to a hurried ending. Why? 'Cause Planet doesn't like me, and 30-unit stacks of Mindworms start turning my cities to goo. Yay. How fun. This is the very definition of an addictive, stunning game that's crippled by poor implementation of (what could be) a clever idea - the idea of a semi-sentient ecology, capable of protecting itself. Too bad that ecology is "magic" and has unlimited units to crush whatever offending city it wishes, never mind that, compared to you, every other faction is an eco-hitler. Save your money, buy Civ2.

It gets better the more you play it

4 Rating: 4, Useful: 4 / 4
Date: November 11, 1999
Author: Amazon User

My first few games of Alpha Centauri did not overly impress me. The gameplay was slow on my computer, the tech tree wasn't as interesting as Civilization and the ecological storyline wasn't compelling to me. The game was good enough to keep at, though, and now that I have a faster machine the game is much better paced. Once you pick up the tech tree the game makes far more sense. Letting the governor run your cities is anathema to many players but I experimented and have found the AI to be fairly solid and you can let the AI governor run your cities and you can just keep an eye on them while concentrating on achieving your goals be they militaristic, technological or economical. I do like the various ways victory can be achieved. It adds variety and winning economically provides a challenging diversion after playing a "conquer-the-world" type of game.

"Okay" sci-fi sim from Sid meier

2 Rating: 2, Useful: 1 / 8
Date: November 12, 1999
Author: Amazon User

Alpha Centauri fails at providing this game player with any kind of new excitement from Sid Meier. One can appreciate breaking away from the Civ 1/2 games, however the paradigm factions the game is based upon are just plain atypical and boring. In effect, military versus humanists, microsoft versus professors, etc... kinda like the UN playing "Lost in Space." Previous Sid Meier games were more tangible, the sci-fi in this was kinda corny. I've spent many a sleepless night playing the previous Meier games, but this one just seemed "okay," not spectacular.

Most improved concept!

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 3 / 3
Date: November 16, 1999
Author: Amazon User

When Sid makes a game (or puts his name on one) you can be sure he has thought of gameplay! This game is no exception.

I loved CivII and had looked forward to this game since hearing of it's creation. However, I had hoped it wouldn't be merely Civ in space. Sure enough, many things I would have liked to see changed or enhanced in a turn based stategy game were addressed in Alpha Centauri. Customizable units, customizable land, multiplayer issues (true pacts and alliances) new story concept (not just spear thrower to marine), hot seat works great! I love this game. The only negative comment I have is that it feels too dark sometimes. Doesn't have a lush new planet feel to me! But the gameplay makes up for that in my opinion. If you like strategy games that keep you awake at nights for months at a time, BUY THIS GAME!

Brilliant

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 3 / 4
Date: November 20, 1999
Author: Amazon User

Quite simply the finest strategy game ever. Taking the concepts behind Civilization II to a new level, Brian Reynolds and Sid Meier have combined to create a brilliant science fiction turn-based strategy game. I've been playing computer games since the days of M.U.L.E., and I have never seen such a perfect blend. If you have *any* interest in turn-based strategy and don't abhor science fiction, SMAC is going to be great--at least it has been for me.

Every thing Civ II was, and more!

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 6 / 8
Date: November 26, 1999
Author: Amazon User

This is one of the best games Sid Meier has ever made. This game is very much like Civ II, but even better. It's so addictive that you should be prepared to spend hours and hours on playing this game. If you like Civ I and Civ II, and the other Sid Meier game, this is a must buy!

Don't play it unless you've got plenty of time

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 3 / 4
Date: November 26, 1999
Author: Amazon User

Which isn't a bad thing. The gameplay is extremely addictive, the graphics detailed and enthralling, the technology fascinating to read about and the mind worms truly worrying. You feel genuinely worried when you see another faction edging towards your least defended outpost, or when a demon boil edges onto your territory. Above all, the ongoing story encourages you to keep playing until the very end.

Engaging, elegant, well-rounded game

4 Rating: 4, Useful: 12 / 12
Date: December 01, 1999
Author: Amazon User

This is easily my favorite computer game of all time, and I have logged the countless hours to prove it. What I find so compelling are the defining differences between this and other resource-based war games. 1)war is incidental, as in the real world, and not the sole raison d'etre; 2)the philosophical orientations of the factions, which have individual strengths and weaknesses based on their core behaviors; 3)the technological advances and terraforming are very thoughtfully constructed, forming a cohesive continuum that is as plausible as any advanced in science fiction literature or theory; 4)you can allow your bases and units to be computer "governed", or micromanage on an almost SimCity scale; I could go on but you're probably getting bored... I did not give the game five stars because 1)the gameplay gets bogged down as you proceed (although I don't know how the designers could have done a better job); and 2)at least on my computer, the game gets "hiccups" sometimes, especially in the sound (I have an AMD version of the Pentium MMX microprocessor and 32 MB DRAM). Overall, I love it! I can't wait to get the sequal "Alien Crossfire!"

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