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One of the greatest ever and still a contender.

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 25 / 25
Date: February 28, 2002
Author: Amazon User

It still surprises me how many fans of the Civilization series missed out on this one. Created by Sid Meier, a legend in the computer gaming and also the creator of the aforementioned Civilization games, this game reached a zenith that few video games ever dream of reaching. It's funny, but Civ 3 is actually a throw-back when compared to Alpha.

I've played a lot of strategy games, both real-time and turn based, and Alpha Centauri reigns supreme for replayability. There's so much going on with all the different advances, secret projects, customizable units and the like that you can play it over and over again and never get bored with it. One of the things that bothers me about Civ 3 is the total lack of a multiplayer element. After playing Alpha for a couple of years, I was certain that Civ 3 would use all those ground-breaking multi-player features like an in-game voice chat (no third party software necessary) modem to modem gaming and even a play by e-mail. No such luck. After buying Civ 3 and playing it for a month, my friends and I went right back to Alpha.

Alpha also has something else that Civ 3 doesn't: an extremely good story. The ongoing battle between the different factions is eventually eclipsed by the restlessness of the sentient planet they'd come to call home. There are several paths to victory, the easiest being conquest and the most difficult being transcendence. What other game will you ever play where the ultimate goal is to reach a higher plane of consciousness and even a form of omnipotence?

Alpha is the most sophisticated and intelligent game I've ever played but it can be as simple as the player desires. Ultimately this is a game about humanity, who we are, what makes us tick and the meaning of life, or at least how we perceive it. That's a pretty bold theme for a video game. After you've played it once, you'll find that every game after will peel back another layer of the game to reveal a new depth and intricacy. Now that the price of this game is in the single digits there's no reason for you not to own it. It's the Citizen Kane of video games and ages like wine. In a field where faster and stronger pushes the envelope over creativity I can't think of another game I can say that about.

comparison to Civilization 2

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 6 / 6
Date: May 02, 2002
Author: Amazon User

Sid Meier's Alpha Centauri is a fun game. The AI is good and the graphics are good for its time. The story line is a little bit choppy but I think it is better than Civilization 2. First of all you can automate all your units not just the setterlers, The computer interacts more with you, and there is a great diversity amung land sea and air units. The barbariens have been replaced with native life, and the native plants can be harmful. There are random events (volcanos, sun spot activites.ect) and it is sometimes hard to predict what the computer will do next. I have read in other reveiws that the game gets boring after a while, that may be true, but there are several ways to win the game. I find that if I play and then dont play for a while I still find the game fun. Multiplayer games are some of the best games to play, but the computer is still a good opponent. If you get bored with the current AI setup you can randomize there personalities. This game is definatly superior to Civilizaton 2

A classic of the same caliber as Civilization

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 5 / 7
Date: November 10, 2001
Author: Amazon User

Alpha Centauri is a classic, and with good cause. Every innovation that this game introduced to the Civilization series (to which this game doesn't exactly belong, but it might as well since it's by the same people and it's so similar) significantly improved the playability and entertainment value of the genre. For instance, unlike the first two Civ games, Alpha Centauri incorporates seven completely different factions into the gaming world, resulting in a much wider spectrum of possibilities. If you choose to dominate the globe's economy, you might choose the Morganites. If you are more of an aggressive, militaristic player, you might decide to go with the Spartans or the Believers. Or, if you would rather take a more diplomatic approach, you might play as the Peacekeeping Forces.

The introduction of distinctly individual factions to the game is just one of many improvements this game introduces to turn-based strategy gaming. Others include a more comprehensive and realistic combat system, the establishment of territories, a highly advanced technology tree, a much more flexible system of customizing governmental policies (you get to choose your political system, your economic system, your faction's values and even your ideal future society) and the implementing of unit creation. You can even create your own unique faction, although this requires that you edit the game's text files. But it's actually not complicated at all--anyone can do it.

There are so many things that are right about this game, but still there are a few reasons you might not want to buy it (even though it is ridiculously cheap). First, as is the case with almost all turn-based strategy games, Alpha Centauri gets a little cumbersome after hundreds of turns because there is just too much micromanagement. To be fair, though, you can always have your cities managed by local governors. Also, a game like this won't appeal to everyone. If Civilization wasn't your thing, neither will Alpha Centauri be. If you're more of a hack and slash or shoot 'em up kind of gamer, then this one's not right for you.

If you liked the Civilization games, or if you're interested in trying an epic strategy game for the first time, Alpha Centauri will not let you down. Of course, if you don't want to spend hours at a time sitting in front of a computer screen, or if you have scruples with becoming addicted to something, you just might want to steer clear of this game. It's that good.

strategy and resources management for fun

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 4 / 4
Date: October 25, 2001
Author: Amazon User

If you're looking for quick gratification, look elsewhere. But
if you want a game you'll still play years after you bought it,
Alpha Centauri (and its expansion pack, Alien Crossfire) is your
ticket. It's easy to be put off initially by the complexity
that this game can provide, especially if you are new to this
style of strategy; but with the same software you can play games
as different as your imagination allows. Multiple victory
conditions (destroy all you enemies, or be elected as supreme
leader, or become the economic tyrant, or transcend to a higher
existence . . .); civilization ratings in technology, industrial
production, ecological savvy, wealth building, social
engineering and more; factions with built-in likes and dislikes
and many more nuances create a life-like simulation game.
To give an idea of the subtlety you will need to manage,
consider that you may want to renounce some higher ratings for
your civilization to maintain a strategic alliance with
a party that dislikes certain types of advancements and
thereby defeat a common, but stronger, enemy threat. I'm now
having as much fun trying to lead to victory some of the
weaker factions as I had years ago trouncing everybody
when running a strong civ at an easy difficulty level.
Mastering the game requires years, and be prepared for
games that will last months. There is nothing like
Alpha Centauri except perhaps the forthcoming Civilization III.

The rumors are true

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 4 / 4
Date: September 18, 2002
Author: Amazon User

I had heard from a number of people beforehand that SMAC was better than Civilization. I now believe that.

What is better is difficult to sum up, but the easiest thing to put a finger on is the variety of improvements that can be made to cities, terrain, and even troops. In Civ you had the occasional chance to update your troops to one standard breed of soldier. Now, along with the ability to create troops and vehicles from the ground up, a person can pick and choose what sort of force they want to create, down to even fairly small details.

Another thing I feel is an improvement is the research system. What is researched is not a simple selection of a technology, the existance of which the player and his civ should not even know about to begin with. Instead, players select what sort of advance they want, such as military or construction technologies, and let things go from there. This helps to some degree keep things interesting, as there are no absolute garantees that you get what you wanted.

The planetary UN-type convention is another interesting feature. This should probably have been included in Civ 3, as well, as it gives a very good way to see how an individual is fairing in international relations, and also opens a door to new diplomatic ties not possible with simple one-on-one talks.

Many enjoy the story line given in the game, but this is something the game did not absolutely need. That is, through the discovery of technologies and information about the world, the story could have unfolded on its own. Instead, a person is yanked from play in order to read a story line supposedly centered on the player's character. If they were going to go this far, it would have been nice to have more personalized stories and endings for each player, rather than having in the end everyone with the same fate in store.

All in all, I can find no real problems with the game. It went beyond my expectations, and made it just that more difficult for me to be impressed by even Sid Meyer's other work.

Finally... better graphics!

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 3 / 3
Date: November 22, 2001
Author: Amazon User

In one word, excellent. Easily worth at least double the price. One of the best games ever; far outdoing its predecessors (Civilization, Civilization II), and even (loosely) continuing the storyline of CIV2. --
Definitely recommended.

The original sequel to Civilization 2

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 3 / 3
Date: November 08, 2002
Author: Amazon User

If you ever played Civil 2 you might have built a huge empire and launched your spaceship to colonize Alpha Centauri... but what happened next???
This game is the sequel of the award winning game Civilization 2 and starts where the other ended.
The spacechip desintegrates before the arrival in Alpha C. and the colonists are disgregated all over the planet.
You can choose any of the surviving group of colonists to found your base and start building your new civilization.
Each of the groups or "tribes" has their own peculiarities: warrior, scientific, diplomatic, etc...

The game is pretty much the same as Civilization 2 regarding building cities and colonizing the world but brings some features within that will later be available in Civilization 3 such as diplomatic victory for instance. Plus the possibility of customizing your units.

I really recommend it and assure hours of fun and joy.

Long and Enjoyable

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 2 / 2
Date: June 01, 2001
Author: Amazon User

You will need many days to play one full game of Alpha but the time investment is worth it. The game has many levels of strategy requiring the player to think through every decision. At the highest level, the AI will kick you butt until you learn the various techniques that will propel you to victory. I thouroughly enjoy this game!

My first Cd-rom game.

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 2 / 2
Date: September 24, 2001
Author: Amazon User

This being my first game (and without any info with it), it's great. I have had for about five months now and have completely defeated it with all factions and settings. If I could only find the expantion pack "Alein Crossfire". I have searched the net but no luck 'it's no longer avaliable'. May you faction be strong!

Alpha Centauri Rocks

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 2 / 8
Date: January 16, 2002
Author: Amazon User

If anyone has played Civ I/II and liked it, you'll love this game. The game play is long and involved but it's a great excuse to build up your military and start fights with the other factions.

If you want to get started with this game, here are some helpful hints (playing University):

Get Packs/Treaties with everyone at first, keeps them off your back.
Build forest practically everywhere.
Build formers and at least 2 other colony pods.
Now go to the game's folder, and replace the paragraph in UNIV.txt with this one:

University of Planet, The Scientist, University, M, 1, Zakharov, M, 0, 0, 1, 0, 0,
TECH, InfNet, TECH, DocLoy, TECH, 36, MORALE, 100, PSI, 200, SOCIAL, +++RESEARCH, SOCIAL, ++++EFFIC, SOCIAL, ++++GROWTH, IMMUNITY, EFFIC, INTEREST, 50, DRONE, 16, FACILITY, 8, FACILITY, 4, UNIT, 0, UNIT, 1, TECHCOST, 1, VOTES, 50, HURRY, 1, FANATIC, FREEPROTO, COMMERCE, TALENT

You'll be able to build anything for about 3 credits or less. Get all your research by 100 years, win planetary governer (haven't found a way to lose it yet) and never run out of money. Your growth is off the scale as well as your defensive capabilities against everything (a Lv1 foot soldier can take out a moderately guarded base).

It's a great way to view the game in a hurry and not miss out on too much of the indepth world of Alpha Centauri. Just remember to edit the file before starting the game and download the demo at gamespot.com or gamesdomain.com to try it out before you buy. There's a 100yr/turn limit though so get the full version right here if you like it!

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