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> Results: Civilization III: Conquests
Format For Printing | Tell A Friend | Digg | Slashdot | del.icio.us Scroll down for our Kid Factor. 
The Expansion Adds the Fun!The initial release of Civilization III was frustrating and downright incomplete. The game contained numerous bugs and gameplay problems. If you need proof, you only need to dig up all the patches issued after the game came out and read the infinitely long list of bug fixes that filled the readmes. On top of all the problems with the game's stability, the AI opponent was a huge step backward from the similar game that preceded it, Sid Meier's Alpha Centauri. Along with the AI woes, the game lacked a lot of the personality and a lot of the sheer improvement to the Civilization-style of gameplay found in SMAC. The first expansion pack for Civilization III, which added multiplayer to the mix, only made things worse! A buggy and incomplete product, it was not worth the CD it was printed on. The third time is the charm for Firaxis and they can thank Breakaway Games for putting all the pieces together to make Civilization III the game it coulda, woulda, shoulda been all along. Of the aforementioned problems, most are corrected by this expansion and it goes far beyond the call of duty to give you gameplay more narrowly focused on specific parts of history. Favorite new scenarios include one based on the Shogun era that features a Daimyo "King" unit that must not die or the game ends. The Daimyo can be upgraded and becomes a formidable fighting force but in that age old twist of strategy, his usage is dangerous because one wrong turn could end your conquests in the emptying of a life bar! Other new scenarios include introductions to all the new rules that will be useful to both old and new players. They run the gamut of history from early Mesopotamia up to a nearly modern day Pacific War between the US and Japan. The developers have done a superb job of tightly focusing Civilization gameplay on these eras in history by altering the tech trees and giving you some new units play with. They're a triumph and a major part of this package's appeal.  It doesn't stop there though. Multiplayer actually works now. In Conquests, you can play TCP/IP based games or play by e-mail challenges. Setup for multiplayer could be handled a little better, especially when you're faced with creating your tribe in an play by e-mail game. You also need to set aside plenty of time to play but it's worth it as a human opponent is still preferable to the AI. AI players are now adjustable with varying levels of aggressiveness. That's a huge change that's very welcome. In the original game, it was often common to find the AI putting cities on any patch of unclaimed land possible. This "more is better" philosophy of play was more annoying than civilized and while you still see it in Conquest, it can definitely be stopped readily now. The biggest downer is the personality of the Alpha Centauri leaders is still lost upon Civilization III: Conquests despite more than thirty tribes. You won't find the Planet-hugging ideals of the Gaians or the fiscal responsibility of Morgan here. That said, the way the AI plays the game is a huge improvement and more "human". The interface hasn't changed much from its initial incarnation but everything does seem to be faster now. Whoever came up with the circle and X to make selections should definitely be sent back to the minor leagues. You'll often click X when you want to approve of a dialogue box despite circle being confirmation in the positive. There are other quirks to the interface like that one. They're never enough to ruin the game but they do provide enough irritation to make you pine for a revamp that didn't come in the expansion. Still, what's here is tremendously satisfying after the complete downer that was Civilization's debut. Arguably, Firaxis had fixed many issues in patches over the last couple years. The sour taste from the initial release probably meant you didn't keep up with them. In Conquests, you get all those changes and so much more that it really feels like a new game. Everything is more configurable, more functional and just plain more fun than it's ever been in this iteration of the series. There have been a number of expansion packs released through the years that have turned good games into great ones. This is one that takes a real let down and turns it into something special. Kid Factor: History, politics, war... it's all here. Alpha Centauri is in some ways a better game for kids that have an interest in Civilization-type play because it raises many interesting ideological questions about humanity. Civilization III: Conquests does something a little different. In the main game, it gives an overview of human record while letting kids develop their world as they see fit. In the new scenarios, kids can get a more in depth insight into periods of history that might interest them. This game can only do good things for kids despite the bloodshed that is a product of the subtitle's definition. It also encourages kids to think ahead and plan while facing what can be a ruthless AI opponent (too ruthless in fact). There's nothing here that isn't in their history book. Let them experience it this way and maybe you'll have them wanting to read their history book tomorrow. Reviewer Recommended Ages: 10+ Genre: Strategy ESRB Rating: E-Everyone Publisher: Atari Developer: Firaxis/Breakaway Games 
History, politics, war... it's all here. Alpha Centauri is in some ways a better game for kids that have an interest in Civilization-type play because it raises many interesting ideological questions about humanity. Civilization III: Conquests does something a little different. In the main game, it gives an overview of human record while letting kids develop their world as they see fit. In the new scenarios, kids can get a more in depth insight into periods of history that might interest them. This game can only do good things for kids despite the bloodshed that is a product of the subtitle's definition. It also encourages kids to think ahead and plan while facing what can be a ruthless AI opponent (too ruthless in fact). There's nothing here that isn't in their history book. Let them experience it this way and maybe you'll have them wanting to read their history book tomorrow.
Kid Factor by Dave Long
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