Customer
Reviews
Civilization 3 is a great game
but it's not for everyone
Civilization 3 is a great
game but it's not for everyone. It is akin to chess and Risk but much
more complex than either.If developing a civilization from a single
tribe to a modern superpower sounds like your cup of tea then you should
already have this game. You manage all aspects of your chosen
civilization: War, diplomacy, trade, etc... .This is a turn based game,
slow paced and not action oriented. If your looking for great graphics
this is not your game. I think an active imagination is essential to the
enjoyment of this and maybe a fondness for history. Patience and much
thought must be put into playing this and some people don't enjoy that
for entertainment. Understandably I suppose.
Personally this is my
favorite game ever. If I could only take one game with me into eternity
this would be the one. The replay-ability on this game is phenomenal. I
have been playing it regularly since it was first released. For me thats
its greatest strength. In this age of jaded video gamers (including me)
its truly something for a game to remain so intriguing no matter how
many times you've played it. There is so much dept its staggering.
However, most of that dept is below the surface and isn't really needed
until you start playing on Emperor difficulty or above. After 3 years of
playing this I am still learning new things.
One aspect of
Civilization that you should be aware of is the modifications people
have made for it online. This extends the replay value even more so. The
Warhammer mod for this game is excellent. If you want a fantasy setting
with elves and dragons etc.. The Rise and Rule mod makes this epic game
all the more so by adding hundreds of new technologies and units. There
are far to many good mods to address here. Seriously, the mods change
Civilization 3 into different games practically. If you have
Civilization and haven't taken advantage of the mods your missing out.
They can be found at the best gaming community I've ever had the
pleasure to lurk upon: The aptly named www.civfanatics.com. Along with
strategies and game analysis.
Civilization
III is finally Complete!
Civilization III Complete is
the entire set all in one thorough package.
Civilization III
(called "Civ3" by most of its fans) is the best turn based sim game of
its type available. So what if it's turn based? Real-Time Shooters
(called RTS by their fans) often don't even give you a chance to think
before someone sneaks up behind you, and you're a piece of burnt toast.
That's no fun. A Turn Based game can give you a chance to review your
options before making a decision.
Of the World Building games,
Civilization 3 holds the crown of leader of the pack. If you play games
like Settlers, Pharaoh, Caesar III, Tropico, or older versions of
Civilization, you owe it to yourself to check out this great game.
If
you don't yet own Civ3, this is the perfect present. It includes all
three of the packages - the original Civ3, the "Play the World" edition
which adds the multiplayer option (including online and even
play-by-mail!), and the "Conquests" disc which adds new world leaders
and many great scenarios. The option to install just one, just two or
all three sets of data was a great touch.
But if you already have
Civ3, it's probably cheaper to buy just the "Conquests" add-on disc
because it also has the "Play the World" data in the same package.
Recommended
for anyone who wants to see what it would be like to own the world.
Highly recommended for "sim" fans.
You
Don't Need Civ4
In late 2002, I took a second
job at a major electronics retailer and decided to use my employee
discount on what looked like a cool game: Civilization III. That game
changed my life... in the gaming sense. It was everything I ever thought
a computer game should be: turn-based strategy with multiple avenues to
test my ego and self-promoted genius. Above all features of Civ3,
however, my most favorite was the customization of the game through the
map editor and the wonderful online resources of the Civ community.
(I've downloaded more Civ3 files than MP3s.) This allowed me to express
my self-proclaimed genius with new rules, technologies, and units (and
all the accompanying chronologies and requisites) at my discretion.
Nothing could get any better, I had thought.
When Civ4 was being
talked about, however, I couldn't imagine on what grounds they could
improve - except perhaps making the game even more customizable and
thorough. Well, you've already read about the differing features of the
game: less micro-management, more diplomatic and trade features, new
technology trees, enhancing popular mechanics found in previous Civ
titles, and of course, going 3D with it all.
When playing
Civilization IV, you sense an overwhelming POTENTIAL to be a really
great game. In my mind, that potential has not been fulfilled, and I
hereby advise you to purchase Civ3 Complete instead and forego Civ4 if
you haven't chosen so already. If you have already purchased Civ4, let's
send a message to Firaxis Games that they need to do better - let's
stop purchasing Civ products until they are actually without so many
bugs, that aren't rushed to be released for the holidays, and that don't
insult our intelligence by requiring expensive "expansion packs" which
merely add content that should already have been included in the
original release.
Here is a list of comparative reasons to only
own Civ3 and not Civ4 and boycott future Civ titles until something
changes for the better:
1. There is no map editor in Civ4.
Instead, they included a "World Builder" which is so awkward and
strange. It is not like Civ3's map editor where you can set starting
positions, resources, civilizations, and terrain BEFORE you play the
map. The "World Builder" of Civ4 only allows you to alter scenarios from
the installation or randomly generated maps. You cannot create maps
from scratch - you can only change what has already been created within
predefined parameters.
2. Who needs 3D graphics for a turn-based
strategy game? Civ4 is not fully 3D; it merely allows a tilting view
from ground level to overhead. That can be cool, but consider the
offset: it is unnecessary for this genre, it diverts computer resources
from other cool and more thorough features, and it makes the game
extremely difficult to modify. For Civ3, there are well over 1,000
things you can either download or make yourself and put right into the
game. You don't have to know XML or Python programming languages as you
would in Civ4. Civ4 requires advanced education (like a graphics design
or computer science degree) to simply alter things like governments,
units, buildings, and game rules. Waiting for others to design them
(like the amateur online community or the professional expansion packs)
isn't so fun anymore.
3. Expanding content for more money? This
was a problem with Civ3, as well - its first expansion pack was a total
waste of money because everything was later put on the second expansion
pack. People bought the first expansion pack because they loved Civ3 so
much and didn't know it was a waste. (Many video game makers are taking
advantage of gamers in this way, not just the Civilization makers.) My
point here is to fight back. We already know what they are going to
pull: Civ4 has an expansion pack out there titled Warlords. It basically
includes elements intentionally left out so as to somehow formulate a
"new" product. In the base version of Civ4, you have the Great People:
artists, scientists, merchants, and prophets. Hmmm... now we get the
warlords, eh? Oh, and a few other civilizations and buildings left out
from before. Nice try... Boycott this type of marketing out of sheer
principle. Play Civ3 Complete until Civ5 comes out if you have to. Maybe
Civ will be less of a cheap shot then.
4. The last reason why
you should be content with Civilization III and completely forget that
Civilization IV was ever made is the most simple. Purchasing Civ3
Complete right now (1) will cost you less than half of Civ4; (2) is
fully expanded while Civ4 is still looking to make more money off of us;
and (3) Civ3 has the very same level of addictive game play as any
other Civilization title. If you have already dropped the cash for Civ4,
simply do not support Civ4 any longer. In fact, uninstall it and put it
in your drawer as a sad chapter of shameless marketing. Yes, Civ4 is
fun, but it is does not live up to its potential in most ways. Playing
Civ3 will take up your time quite nicely until they release a REAL title
that doesn't take advantage of us so blatantly.
To conclude, my
overall point to stick with Civ3 and forego Civ4 is this: without an
easy, efficient, and overwhelmingly powerful customizing interface (like
an awesome map editor that allows FULL customization), we are simply
asking for "re-tread" products. The fact that Firaxis did not include a
kick-butt map editor proves in my mind that they expect us to wait for
their "expansions" to come out and spend at least $150 each before they
move onto Civ5. Hold out with Civ3 Complete and wait until Civ4 goes
away.
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