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Game Of The Year?

3 Rating: 3, Useful: 60 / 64
Date: November 22, 2002
Author: Amazon User

This "Game of the Year" edition includes an extra CD that includes a few extra maps, a "making-of" video, a few chapters from the strategy guide, and frankly is worthless.

Civilization 3 itself brings a few new ideas to the mix with culture, strategic resources, and civ-specific units as well as revised units and wonders. The graphics have been updated and the map is very pretty if not always useful. It is sometimes difficult to distinguish terrain types without reverting to right-clicking on the square. Units now feature animations that are entertaining at first, but you'll soon tire of seeing cavalry attacking musketmen for the 100th time.

The scale of the game has grown and it is not uncommon to have a civilization of 20 or more cities at the larger settings. Luckily there are now governors to automate some of the more routine tasks of city maintenance.

The combat model is changed with the air arena being much different than previous versions. However, some combat seems to have taken a step back and it isn't uncommon to see older units defeat newer technology. You'll need new strategies to win here so don't expect your Civ 2 experience to guarantee success.

With version 1.29f, the game is relatively stable and most of the bugs/issues (rampant corruption) from early versions have been addressed.

I personally believe this game is inferior to Civ 2, but the price of this new version certainly makes it more attractive.

Save your Money!

1 Rating: 1, Useful: 3 / 14
Date: January 10, 2003
Author: Amazon User

There are only about a dozen or so strategy games out there that are more interesting, creative and exciting than Civ3. Consumer beware! This is nothing more than Alpha Centauri repackaged and maybe a little more eyecandy. This is yet another formulaic, static, staid pseudo-strategy game with nothing new or innovative whatsoever. The combat is frustratingly illogical, (axe-wielding warriors defeating tanks?!?) and simplistic, and the controls are simply juvenile and clumsy. Forget economy or commerce too, they are nonexistent in this game. They claim to have hyped up diplomacy, but do not be fooled! All they did was put some pretty pictures in the windows! There is really no difference in this game from Master of Orion, a game which is a decade old now, but clearly the better of the two.

Great, but too time consuming

4 Rating: 4, Useful: 25 / 28
Date: February 10, 2003
Author: Amazon User

When reading another review of this product I felt obliged to write something more balanced. If you are used to playing Civ you might get a little annoyed with this game at first, since it is so different from its predecessors.
The economical system is quite much remade and the first thing you're going to notice is that the corruption makes most of your cities useless, even under higher forms of government. Since only a few of your cities are going to help in the scientific research, this makes the game a lot more even. Also smaller civilizations get a fair chance to keep up in the science race.
But after playing a while you'll find out that having lots of cities is not such a bad idea after all. The most important reason why you need'll all your cities is because all those neat resources you find around the map now have become essential to your whole civilization, instead of just being a bonus for the local city. The more luxury resources you have snatched, the happier your people will be. And you'll need the strategic resources like iron or oil to be able to build certain units.
The culture adds a completely new dimension to the game. Now it is possible to win the game without ever having to attack your enemies, just focusing on the welfare and glory of your empire. But don't forget the defenses because your enemies are very likely to get jealous on your prosperity!

The only disadvantage I find in this game is that it is far too time consuming. Of course, that is a part of the all strategy games, but in my opinion it is a little too much administration. Of course you can have your advisors to do this for you, but since I'm a perfectionist, I want everything to be done exactly as I had intended it. OK, I guess I have to blame myself on that point, but still it reduces my overall mark of this game to a 4.

It's a sequel - deal with it.

4 Rating: 4, Useful: 5 / 6
Date: March 06, 2003
Author: Amazon User

Warning: Lengthy review ahead:

Anyway...this game is pretty good, although the AI isn't terribly good. The game centers around four major points:

* Culture: Your empire's borders are defined by the strength culture of its cultural identity in its city and empire. If you take over a French city, you still have a city full of Frenchmen; unless you wow them with your superior culture, you'll still have a bunch of (...) Frenchmen after many years, who are itching to revolt.

* Resources: Strategic and luzury resources are extremely neat, although the luxury resource model is a little skewed. The AI isn't agressive enough to take strategic resources, and if you get all 5+ luxury resources, you're pretty much guaranteed victory from the happiness they provide.

* Military Power: While other reviews are correct that axe-wielding warriors do sometimes beat tanks, this is realistic. The Zulus managed to wipe out a regiment of British riflemen with spears and shields.

* Diplomacy: The diplomacy model is pretty nice, although if you're significantly larger than your trading partner, you're going to get hosed in trades for luxuries (since luxuries are more valuable to you than your partner).

The game unfortunately loses some replay value in being a wee bit too close to Civ 2. If you've played Civ 2 for a long time, this probably isn't new enough to blow a few years of your life on. It's good in its own right, and definitely worth the money.

If the version you buy isn't 1.29f, immediately download the patch.

Not as good as Civ II

2 Rating: 2, Useful: 6 / 8
Date: March 07, 2003
Author: Amazon User

After carefully reading all the reviews I finally bought my own copy of Civ III. First, if you are not sure whether you like strategy games, do not start with this one. For those who have played Civ and/or Civ II (which I have) this review is more for you. Civ III is a low budget version of Civ II that corrects some of the problems with Civ II but looses much of the magic that made Civ II so much fun to play. For example, gone are the actors who would evolve with your advance from cavemen and cave women to Elvis, General Patton, etc. Instead we have gone back to a Civ I approach where your advisors are inanimate goofs that do not give you any helpful advice. "Compared to them your military is unimpressive." Unfortunately "them" is never defined. Plus, although you can play with up to 16 diferrent civiliazations as opponents, you only communicate with 8 of them ! Where is the logic in that. The instruction manual [is not good]. It took me forever to figure out what to click on to start an embasy in a foreign nation. All told, Civilization is still a great game. Compared to Civ II, though, Civ III lacks style and fun. If the creators ever combine Civ II with Civ III and create a Civ IV I think we will have the perfect game.

There has never been better turn-based strategy

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 5 / 9
Date: March 10, 2003
Author: Amazon User

Civilization 3 is without a doubt the best turn-based strategy game on the market. I have owned this game since it first came out and I still pick it up and play at least a couple of times a month. Unfortunately, because it is a turn-based game, there is quite a bit of time when you'll be waiting for the computer to take its turn(s). This is more than made up for by the complexity of the game. Players must balance not only their military and their economy, but also must take into account their "culture", the happiness of their people, and their technological advancement. Watch your civilization grow and thrive from the days of old, all the way through the space age. I wholeheartedly reccomend this title to anyone who is looking for a strategy game with plenty of detail.

what a disappointment

1 Rating: 1, Useful: 3 / 16
Date: March 12, 2003
Author: Amazon User

1. Exhausting
2. Fustrating
I had a city full of f 15s and not one bombing raid hit, this game is a complete waste of time to play, not enjoyable at all. Dont waste your money on this game, buy Civ 2.

NOT QUITE GAME OF THE YEAR MATERIAL

3 Rating: 3, Useful: 3 / 4
Date: March 19, 2003
Author: Amazon User

I bought this game because I had heard so many good things about it, and the box said "Game of the Year" and "The Best Computer Game Ever!". So I bought this game, along with my new computer, and played it. The first time I played it, I did not understand what to do, but I got the hang of it quickly. The first thing I noticed was that the time flew by when I was playig, but the game itself didn't seem to fly by like the time. This game is very time consuming and long (I think that there is no limit to the gameplay, but I am not sure). It is also hard. Bandit tribes attack you constantly, unless you wipe them out, and you are almost always at war with someone. The AI is very intellegent, sometimes almost too intellegent, like when they attack, they know that that attack will hurt you civilization. The units are also very unbalanced- a spearman can defeat a musketman.I thought that, with this game being game of the year, this would not be a problem, but I thought wrong. This unbalance can get to be very annoying when you are trying to take over an enemy city, or fend off would-be invaders. The battles are also unrealistic- it is just two large warriors standing on the map fighting each-other. This is the same with everyone else- the workers, etc. Also, when you zoom in to see your city, all it shows are a few buildings and houses and roads. I thought that I would be able to build/design my city, but, again, I thought wrong. The trading is also unfair. The other civilizations always want an unfair trade, for example, if we are trading Masonry for, let's say, Writing, it can't be one for the other. It has to be: I give them Masonry and 200 gold, and all I get is Writing. Do you think this is a fair trade? And if I try to counter-offer, and take away the gold, my advisor says that they wuold be INSULTED by this trade! The people at Infograms and Firaxis did not do a good job at evening out the human player and the AI. The other civilizations also demand tribute, and if you deny, most of the time, they wage war against you. There are not many pros for this game, but at least there are some. The graphics are very good. Warning: DO NOT buy this game if you have a 32mb graphics card or lower. It will take a very long time to load and will not work properly. Only buy this game if you have a 64mb card or better. Trust me on this one. Another pro is, again, this game is long. Like a long movie, I feel that I get my money's worth. Short movies and game are not worth the price, which in this case, is 40 $. Overall, this game is O.K., not great. If you want soe GREAT games, check out Blitzkrieg, Medieval: Total War, Starcraft, and 1503 AD: The New World, to name a few. Only buy this game if you are looking for a challenge and if you have a lot of spare time!
Hope this review helped!!!

Best Sim Out There For People Who Actually Enjoy a Challenge

4 Rating: 4, Useful: 1 / 3
Date: March 24, 2003
Author: Amazon User

Civ III is the best board-game I have ever played (and that's saying something). It is also the most interesting sim-style game I have come across. This game is not for the weak of mind or heart.

Game play can be tedious at times, later in the game, when your civilization grows large, and the game as a whole actually requires some thinking and strategy to play.

All in all, if you are the type who likes to play a game for fun...and likes an actual mental challenge, this game is for you.

Frustrating, Slow, and an overall disappointment

3 Rating: 3, Useful: 4 / 7
Date: March 24, 2003
Author: Amazon User

I was generally disappointed by this alleged "Game of the Year." It is light years more difficult than Civilization II, without a corresponding increase in game play enjoyment. Other civilizations do not seem to be bound by the same rules as the player, and they seem to produce units, and gain scientific advancement, at a far greater rate -- no matter what strategy you employ. Geography is almost entirely determinative of outcome and, if you start of on an isolated island, restart the game because you have no chance of winning.

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