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Good changes made

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 106 / 117
Date: October 19, 2000
Author: Amazon User

I am sure a lot of players might disagree with this review but CTP 2 really has taken some steps in the right direction. If you liked CTP (1) game play interface then you will like this sequel.

The following are the major changes:

Combat - A very important change is the addition of an armor attribute to each unit. This means that the phalanx will no longer be able to stand toe to toe with a tank - it simply won't be able to do much damage even if it hits.

Stealth - Spies will let you see all approaching hidden units. While you'll still need the appropriate defense team to stop the approaching stealth unit

New units, Wonders, and Advances CTP 2 includes the City Planner, an advanced settler option that allows users to build cities that come with basic buildings already included and that have a higher population. The game also has loads of new sea units.

Diplomacy - This area is my favorite in the sequel. A completely new diplomatic model allows you to offer proposals and negotiate counter-proposals with other empires. React in friendly or hostile tones as you confront distinct opponents with more in-depth AI personalities for even more realism. Utilize all-new diplomatic options such as Borders to help define the geopolitical situation. For example, you could threaten to attack a country if they don't give you their maps.

Advances - The game will also include new Wonders of the World as well as new "Feats of Wonder." These are one time, temporary bonuses that you get for performing certain actions. For example, if you're the first person to circumnavigate the globe, you get a sea movement bonus for a few turns.

Other important changes in CTP2 are that the Space playing level has been completely removed and the game lasts from 4000BC to 2300AD (instead of 3000AD of CTP).

Overall, what are you waiting for?! Go get it...

Anjan

Seriously flawed-- If I could return this game, I would

1 Rating: 1, Useful: 12 / 14
Date: December 30, 2000
Author: Amazon User

Personally, I feel ripped off for having wasted money on this product. Like Call to Power 1, the game has some interesting features, particularly the variety of stealth units. However, the game suffers from a number of MAJOR PROBLEMS. Not only does it appear that the designers never playtested this game, it's clear that they never went back and played the first Call to Power either; many glaring problems from the original are still here. The worst problems:

1. WAY TOO MANY BUGS: The game crashes often. Also, there's a problem with save game files being corrupted that gets progressively worse as the game progresses. -- I finally gave up after a game that I had spent 25 hours on would not reload, even though I had EIGHT seperate save game files from the last EIGHT turns. Every single one of them was corrupted.

There are also numerous less catastrophic, but more consistent flaws in the programming. For example, stealth units are supposed to be clandestined. When you are attacked by one, you don't know who sent it. The computer players, however, always do, and immediately declare war in response to any stealth attack by you.

2. BADLY WRITTEN DOCUMENTATION: Quite frankly, this is the worst rulebook I have ever seen. It's long winded and repetitive, yet still lacks many key pieces of information. As a result, you have to use trial and error to figure out how much of the game works. One example: the rules mention that you must have military units on hand to control your slaves, but never spells out how many. The right ratio turns out to be 1:3, but you wouldn't know that unless your read the rules to Call to Power #1.

3. WHOLE PARTS OF THE GAME DESIGN JUST DON'T WORK: While the stealth units are interesting, some of them are so badly designed that they just don't work. The Cleric, for example, is the chief weapon of the Theocracy, which uses it to go out and convert enemy cities to your faith. This is an expensive and risky operation. However, it is so ridiculously easy to undo this conversion (station a military unit in the city, endure one turn of mildly elevated unhapiness among the citizens) that no player (computer or human) ever allows a city to remain converted for more than one turn. So why bother having the cleric unit in the game in the first place? There are similar extreme problems with other parts of the game, many of them left over from Call to Power 1. Do these people ever playtest their own products?

4. CLUNKY INTERFACE: The interface is badly designed. Information that could easily be put on one screen gets spread out over two or three. For example, information on trade routes that you currently have and those that are still available are placed on different screens. So to compare them and figure out if you have the optimal set of routes requires endlessly flipping back and forth between two screens.

Overall, I just don't see how the designers could have played this game and still released it in the pathetic state that they did. This is the second game that I've bought from Activision which was released in an unplayable condition. Personally, I'm swearing off their products in the future.

Those interested in a good Civilization type game should probably try Civilization 2, or better still, Alpha Centauri.

A rush job?

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 13 / 17
Date: December 24, 2000
Author: Amazon User

CTP 2 is very difficult to compare to the first Call to Power (which is itself quite different from the original Civilization series). Many new features have been added, and a few taken out, which in the end makes it feel more "real". Suggestions from users were the basis for most of the revisions, making this almost a game "for players, by players".

One of the most powerful additions is an apparent revamping of the senario system. Now, the senarios are not just limited extentions of the main game: they are almost games in themselves. Although only two (save the World Map, which is just a game on the good ol' planet Earth) are included the potential for development is huge. This of course means that individual users will have a bit of a time actually creating their own senarios, which would involve lots of programming no doubt, but I believe this to be one feature Activision will be sure to push.

Overall, however, the game feels terribly rushed. Every other version of the game, from the first Civ on, has been carefully constructed with practically few bugs or faults present in the initial release. CTP 2, however, has a number of little glitches which, although they do not hamper gameplay or crash the program, are a bit annoying. Also, the interface seems to be geared exclusively with people who played the orignial CTP in mind and does not seem to have the beginer in mind. With most of the computer users in the US devotees of the Civ series, however, this shouldn't be too much of a problem.

Given a few design and possible planning faults, this game still has some room for improvement, perhaps in the form of a downloadable patch. Even so, this still does not keep it from deserving 5 stars. This game, once a person gets used to the new interface and concepts, has a lot to offer players.

Civ 2 renamed

4 Rating: 4, Useful: 9 / 10
Date: April 02, 2001
Author: Amazon User

This game is in the genre created by the Civilization games. It has some great features that arent seen in many of the other "civ" type games such as underwater cities. However the game assumes that you know all about the tech tree and doesnt offer much information automatically about what direction tech is taking you. Although you can set a far off tech goal and the computer will point you in the direction of that tech.

Over all it is a good game, but it assumes that you are familar with the earlier generations.

Great game

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 15 / 23
Date: November 20, 2000
Author: Amazon User

For those of you that liked the first call to power you won't be disipointed, for those of you that didn't you should at least try this one out. The first thing that you'll notice is that they redid the hole interface. It is much more usefull than in the first game. The next thing you'll notice is when you set up a city a border will apear. These are very usefull. The next thing is when you meet someone is the awsome dipilomatic options, this is my favorite part of the game. You can have two propesals ie I will give you Hull making in exchange for your map. Then the computer can counter I will give you are map for iron working. If they refuse you can threaten them that sometimes works. When you establish emapacies, (an obsoulte must) you have new optoins like a military pact, trade pact, science pact, polution pact, peace treaty, cease firer, and allenise. In this game making pacts is very hard and an allenise is quite the accevment. Also when you try and take over another players city you will find something strange, 4-10 guys. Gone are the days when you can crush a city with 3 samuri. Also for those of you who were fustated when tanks somehow lost to archers that will not happen anymore. Over all this is a great game.

Save your money for Civilization III

3 Rating: 3, Useful: 13 / 19
Date: January 23, 2001
Author: Amazon User

If you have not played Sid Meier's original Civilization or Civilization II (without the Call to Power in the title) then you do not know how good this game use to be.

Civilization III is probably a few months away. Sid Meier actually has input in Civilization III which means it will most likely be a decent game. Firaxis is producing CIV III and Hasbro is publishing it.

If you feel the need to play Civilization, go find an old copy of Civilization II before it became Call to Power. Activision took away too many cool features. I bought this game and the most upsetting part of the game is that you cannot go past a number of cities without changing a form of government that does not exist yet.

Sid Meier's last game was Alpha Centouri. I have not played the game yet, but from what I read, it is the game I should have bought. Again, put your $50 away in an envelope, wait for CIV III to come out or buy Alpha Centouri instead. The only reason gave this game 3 stars is because it is based on the original game.

CTP vs. Civ

4 Rating: 4, Useful: 6 / 6
Date: June 05, 2002
Author: Amazon User

Starting caveat: I am originally a Civ player although I picked up CTP/CTP2 in lieu of CivIII.

First of all, CTP2 is FAR superior to CTP. They definitely fixed alot of the balance problems. (Although they didn't get the trade mechanism figured out.)

The game is incredibly deep. You could, potentially, spend far more time playing this game than any Civ. The stackability of units seems to be something Sid Meier is averse to. CTP also accepts some of the unseemlier sides of civilization like slavery, theocracy, totalitarianism and mass subversion while Civ sticks to the "clean" aspects of humanity. The single biggest concept I wish Civ would have adopted from CTP is the Corporate Branch unit. The idea that two nations, regardless of size, could fight legal/business wars with one another while completely at peace is a relatively young concept and CTP does a good job of extrapolating game concepts from sometimes tenuous real-life theories on civilization. The revolutions and creation of new civilizations is an interesting concept that I would have liked to see taken further.

The pro-Civers are not wrong at all, however. Sid Meier games feature a playability that's hard to define and nonexistent in other titles. Hours playing a Civ don't feel like hours. At first I was disappointed that CivIII seemed so similar to CivII but it really isn't. There is far more detail in the military simulations and the city management. Also, most importantly, is the concept of culture, totally new to this genre. Although it's not perfect it is really well done for a first attempt. CivIII acknowledges the reality that we all have unique cultural/racial heritages and that they affect us is subtle ways. For example, if you capture an enemy worker it will not work as efficiently as one of your own. (This is Civ's version of slavery but they never call it that.) Also, when you take an enemy city the citizen remain tied to their own culture and will assimilate to yours slowly. Until then they will be more likely to revolt against your regieme.

Essentially, I'd like to see CTP2 combined with CivIII. If someone did that I'd probably be a fool and pay any price for it.

*The* simulation game

4 Rating: 4, Useful: 5 / 5
Date: January 02, 2003
Author: Amazon User

While this game is getting a bit old (and thus, cheaper :-)), it remains one of the best simulation games that I've played. Activision does have a nasty habit of rushing games out the door and then posting patches online (get the patch!) but CtP II features solid gameplay for hours of enjoyment.

I gave this a 4 because it's missing a few features I'd like to see, such as different civilizations having different capabilities, and the AI could be better. Still, the first Call to Power was surprisingly addictive, and this one builds on Activision's previous success. If you like simulations, get this one.

This game is very fun!

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 6 / 7
Date: April 09, 2001
Author: Amazon User

I was really excited to get this game after I had beat CTP quite a few times. When I finally bought it I was very impressed about what Activision did in a short amount of time. The only big disappointment I had was the outer space part of the game being taken out. My favoite new thing is the Akimbo Scenario. I also like the new country borders because it helps me set my goals: to make my civ be big. Diplomacy is really easy in this game. When other countries reject my requests I threaten them by saying I'm going to destroy their capitol. When they still reject I use my eco-rangers (you don't want to know what happens). This game deserves 5 stars because once you get used to it you're hooked on the game. Civilization: Call to Power 2 is tied for first in my top 10 favorite computer games of all time, the other two tied for first being RollerCoaster Tycoon and Age of Empires 2.

Good game, a needed improvement over the first Call to Power

4 Rating: 4, Useful: 8 / 12
Date: December 19, 2000
Author: Amazon User

Finally Activision has made the needed changes to the original Call to Power. The original game created huge expectations but failed to deliver on a lot of levels. Even if this new version does not revolutionize the concepts of the classic Civilization series games, at least it addresses the many deficiencies of the CTP 1.

There are some new features, but these offer only a small improvement. Diplomacy is the most notable new feature, with the ability to trade proposals and counter proposals with other players. However, the vast majority of my carefully constructed offers met a frustrating blank wall of unexplained rejections. The original's easy to use interface has been upgraded to give greater depth and content, it takes a bit of learning but it's effort repaid. Gone are most of the city management features in the pursuit of a true empire-building concept. Mayors can be employed to manage all the mundane decisions using the same approach as computer players. Unfortunately the AI has not improved greatly, the computer will struggle to give a medium skilled human player a run for their money. The real good news, I think, is that it looks like this effort is more open to player customisation than the first attempt, which had to rely heavily on customer mods to reach the level of playability.

This is still not a great single player game. Unless you are among the small number who bought and liked the original title, which bore the time honoured label, best wait for the release of Civilization 3 next year.

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