Civilization is a strategy game in which the player takes control of a civilization and guides it from 3000BC until the early 21st century. The player must select a number of other civilizations (2-7) who will compete for land, knowledge, etc. The player usually starts with one unit to setup a city and one to explore (depending on which tribe is chosen).
The game can be won by either destroying all other civilizations or by winning the space race. Whilst the graphics are simple the game-play is very absorbing and at the time of its release in 1991 it was groundbreaking.
I first played Civilization on my amiga 500 when it was released and it was the first game that I simply could not stop playing. There have been many other Civilization games released since which add to the complexity and graphics of the game but the simplicity of the original makes it easy to play. When I first used to play it took me weeks to complete a game but when I downloaded it recently for my PC it took me around 10 hours to finish. There are 5 different difficulty settings on this game and I still can’t win it on the hardest emperor setting!!
I would give this game 9.8 out of 10 for playability and originality
at the time of release and would advise anyone who has not played it or one the later versions to give it a go. It may take new players a while to get used to the way the game works but I was 10 when I first started playing and picked it up real quick. The civilopedia help feature guides you through most of the details of the game but experience of the game is the only true way of achieving a really high civilization score. I can guarantee that every time you play this game it will lead to a different ending because of the randomness of the AI and map creator.
Another great feature is the game ending; you receive your civilization score and can overview a detailed history of your game from start to finish. For people who enjoy this game other similar titles released since which would be of interest include: Civilization II, III, IV, Civilization Revolution, Colonization, Heroes of Might and Magic. But I would also suggest looking at the real time strategy games Command & Conquer, and Command & Conquer: Red Alert. Thanks for reading and I hope this review is helpful to you.
