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Civilization in Space

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 16 / 16
Date: August 19, 2000
Author: Amazon User

Alpha Centauri is a turn based strategy game. You are the leader of one of seven rival factions who setteled on Chiron, a planet in the Alpha Centauri system. In the game, You build cities and manage them, build armies and attack, and conduct research.

Every fan of Civilization will find himself right at home in Alpha Centauri, even though the two games happen on different planets in different times. Major improvements from civilization are superior graphics, the ability to costumize your own army units, and 4 different ways to win: The traditional military conquest, Cornering the Economy, Becoming a superior leader of all the factions, or the new and most challenging way: Making contact with the planet itself, which is a living and highly advanced organism. The game also contains a great plotline, revolving around the player's relationship with "Planet".

A five star game.

Brilliant

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 40 / 40
Date: September 07, 2000
Author: Amazon User

I write this review well over a year after the game came out simply because I have to reiterate to those that may not have the game how great it actually is. I say this, because even after a year, I am still playing Alpha Centauri. There are not very many games that interest me 3 months after I beat them, much less a year. It is so satisfying on so many different levels that whenever I need a break from another game, I'll spend a couple days exploring Alpha Centauri again. There are several different ways to win. You can conquer the planet through military might, be elected Supreme Leader by the Planetary Council, Corner the Energy (the games currency) market, or the Ascent to Transendence, which is basically the most technologically advanced faction. Such parameters allow for varied styles. Want to beat your neighbor senseless? OK. Are you sneaky and want to forment revolts? You can do that to. Or you can buy off votes in the planetary council with cash or technologies. But it is many of the small things that make this game shine. Alliances actually work - your friends will help you when you need it, cut you off if you stab them in the back, and grow suspicious if you become to powerful. You can give away cities to reward a faithful vassal or pacify an enemy. If you commit atrocities against an enemy they will fight you to the last man. However, if you are a noble enemy, they will submit to your will and become your vassals. Such small details are glorious in the otherwise "kill 'em all" world of computer gaming. My few complaint with the games are niggling. On the higher difficulty levels it seems you are battling with a hostile planet rather than smarter enemies - which seems a copout for what is otherwise a robust AI. Also, the end game can really drag. If you have conquered two or three other factions and have a ton of cities to manage, a turn can take up to half an hour to manage everything. These small things aside, Alpha Centauri is brilliant game design at work. After a year I only wish other game designers had taken a look at some of the options the Firaxis team offered.

Sid Meir's Alpha Centarie

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 3 / 5
Date: October 16, 2000
Author: Amazon User

All I've done to date is download the demo version. But all I can say is: "wow! what a game!". Absolutely the best demo I have ever downloaded. And so far, it looks to be the best strategy game out there. You bet I will purchase this game asap! My husband and I can't get enough! Now it's time to get a second computer.... The demo alone allows a unique game each time it is played. Many options and many levels to explore. So far, I highly recommend it!

Good for a few days, but predictible to the core.

4 Rating: 4, Useful: 1 / 7
Date: November 08, 2000
Author: Amazon User

The factional ideologies are simply either irelivant at easier levels or all important at the most difficult level. Unlike Civilization there is no historical reality to measure the power of this simulation, however the social engineering martix is a good add. Once you go through the different posibilities of victory at transcendi level it is just tedious button pushing and you might as well be playing Civ2 with a mod pack.

Alpha Centauri

3 Rating: 3, Useful: 5 / 15
Date: November 14, 2000
Author: Amazon User

When I first bought the game I knew nothing about it but the box looked pretty cool. The game is addicting but only while you're playing it. The first night I had it one of my friends started playing it and continued all the way into the night till around 4:00 a.m..

You'll probably play for a couple of hours the first time you play but you won't be motivated to play a second time after that. The game is just too complicated the instruction manual is a novel and there are no cool videos.

A Classic. No, really.

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 7 / 7
Date: November 28, 2000
Author: Amazon User

This game takes the Civilisation genre that its author created years before and puts the final polish on it.

The mechanics of the game are rich. Times past i have wished that someone would take one of the fantastically detailed strategy board games like "World In Flames" or "Fire In The East" and automated their mechanics via computer. Then I have remembered that Alpha Centauri is that game.

I cannot say how many days of my life have been poured into this game. They were entertaining, that I can say without doubt.

Great game at this price

4 Rating: 4, Useful: 33 / 33
Date: November 30, 2000
Author: Amazon User

It took me a long, long time to really get into this game, but once I did, I really came to appreciate its complexity and playability. Like Civilization and other turn-based games, you develop a civilization from a single initial city with little military power, wealth, or technology into a large, planet-spanning, technologically advanced society. You compete with other growing civilizations (called "factions" in this game) for resources, land, and influence, and you can further your goals by military power, stealth, diplomacy, or a combination of these. Terraforming a hostile planet is also a very important part of the game.

Each game can play out very differently depending on the military and diplomatic choices that you make. You can also adjust many aspects of your society, such as your political and economic structures, values, and ideals, all of which have concrete effects on the game (making it easier or harder to learn new technologies, for example, or to produce highly trained military units). Also, one thing that is nice is that you have a lot of control over many automated features. If you want to manage every aspect of your city production or terraformer behavior, you can; or you can turn it all over to automated governors and forget about it.

Anyone who is familiar with turn-based strategy games will probably want to pick this up at this price. It does lack the historical connection that can make Civ 2 so addictive but is still a complex and interesting game (and it takes some time to figure out how everything works). Also, there are several different ways to win, so it's not necessary to go through the tedious process of capturing every single enemy city to win the game. If you have not played turn based games before, though, I'd recommend starting with CIV 2 and picking up the "scenarios" expansion pack.

STILL GOING

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 8 / 8
Date: December 16, 2000
Author: Amazon User

I've had the pleasure of owning this game for over a year now and I still love to play it. After all this time I've never repeated a victory, meaning I've never had the same end result. The graphics are great and the speed is wonderful. There are so many diffrent options for you to choose from that it would be counter-productive to list them all here. I've recommended this game to everyone that has asked me about strategy games. So now I'm recommending this game to you. If you like turn based games and like playability then this is the game for you. You can't beat this price either, I paid alot more for it!!

OK BUT I'VE PLAYED BETTER

3 Rating: 3, Useful: 0 / 10
Date: December 18, 2000
Author: Amazon User

This game I won in a contest. It is alright, although the instruction book is huge. It is alright for this price though. A game much better but a bit like this is Age of the Empires 2. It's great. The game takes up about 50 MB small installation. It does take a while to complete a game though. Unlike games where after an hour you're done. I say it's Alright.

Was not sure of "turn play" type game but....

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 2 / 2
Date: January 08, 2001
Author: Amazon User

...wow, was it adicitve. I was very skepticle of "turn based" type game play. Mainly because I am new to PC gamming. Only a year of this.

I thought what the hell at this "bargin price" of just $14.99 at Best Buy. So I did it and was very surprised. The depth of the game is great and is very difficult even at the "easier" levels.

This game is a winner and if you want yet another game to keep you from doing things that you should be doing...this one will most definitely eat up those precious hours in the day...and err, night.

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