Civilization 2: Test of Time

by Micro Prose

Product Details

• Shipping: This item is also available for shipping to select countries outside the U.S.
• ASIN: B00000K4DV
• Item Weight: 12.3 ounces
• Media: CD-ROM
• Release Date: August 17, 1999
• Average Customer Review: 3.3 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (31 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #18,074 in Video Games (See Top 100 in Video Games)
• Discontinued by manufacturer: Yes

Product Description

Amazon.com Product Description

Build a powerful civilization that will thrive and dominate, then travel to new worlds to continue your epic journey of conquest into the unknown. Civilization 2: Test of Time takes you where no Civilization game has ever ventured, and the challenge awaits those who dare to reshape history, legend, and the future. This Civilization includes three epic games covering 10 worlds.

Product Description

The Greatest Civilization Awaits Your Command!Product InformationBuild a powerful civilization that will thrive and dominate - and then travel tonew worlds to continue your epic journey of conquest into the unknown.Civilization II: Test of Time takes you where no Civilization game has everventured and the challenge awaits those who dare to reshape history legendsand the future.Build conquer and defend. Lead the world through clever diplomacy and ruthlessstrength!IncludesThree Epic Games. Ten Fierce Worlds. All At Your Command!The Original Civilization IIYou'll get the classic Civilization II with updated graphics and extendedgameplay into the Centaurus star system with dangers you've never seen. Plusthere are more units more advances and more wonders.Universe of Lalande 21185The Science Fiction game will transform your reality when you crash land andbegin to colonize a terran planet. From inhabiting abandoned space stations tothe deadly gas giant your only goal is to return home.World of MidgardThe Fantasy game may start you high int he clouds beneath the sea or deepwithin the bowels of the earth to engage in battles of magical and militarymight with the races who rule there.Product Features Addictive epic intuitive: command your armies build cities and create wonders of the world to stand forever. Danger is no longer just on four sides. Civilizations threaten from above and below on multiple worlds within each game. Multiplayer compatible for up to seven people - play over the Internet or LAN.Minimum Requirements 166MHz Pentium or faster Windows 95/98/Me 16MB of RAM High color graphics (640 x 480 x 16-bit color - 2MB video RAM minimum) Quad-speed CD-ROM drive Hard drive (60MB free) DirectX-compatible sound cardRecommended Requirments 200MHz Pentium or faster 32MB of RAM High Color graphics (1024 x 768 x 16-bit color) Hard drive (235MB free)Multiplayer Requirments 28.8 kps Windows compatible modem (2 players) Local Area Network with TC

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

16 of 17 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars I know Civilization. This . . . is not Civilization., November 4, 2000

By 

Robert Young (Great Barrington, Massachusetts USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Civilization 2: Test of Time (CD-ROM)

What is this, then? It's a rip-off of a wonderful game; the technology trees make no sense, the graphics are horrible, and it adds nearly nothing to Civilization II in terms of gameplay. In many superficial aspects, the designers tried to make a complete break from Civilization II; however, they tried to do so while making as few changes to the underlying engine as possible. The result is a somewhat muddled mess.

Graphics first. The graphics engine, in fact the entire game engine, is virtually the same as that for Civilization II. This is an engine that was made in 1996; made, essentially, for 640x480 resolution, and it suffers greatly. This isn't helped by the poor quality of the graphics.

The learning curve can be difficult, to say the least. Many of the games have multiple worlds, each with their own separate terrain types, none of whose effects can be easily learned. In Civilization II, the task of remembering which terrain type does what is reasonably simple, since terrain types correspond to terrain in real life: there are mountains, hills, grasslands, plains, rivers, swamps, tundra, deserts, and glaciers. Imagine trying to remember that many terrain types for each of four different worlds, without being able to refer to real life. What sort of effects do you think metallic hydrogen would produce? Without the terrain chart and the technology tree poster, things rapidly become ridiculous.

This was a game made without Sid Meier or Brian Reynolds, and it shows; though there is some promise to the concept, the execution seems to have consisted of taking the buildings, units, and technology of Civ II and scrambling it all up; it's Civilization II with new names for everything. Not even that much; in scrambling everything around, it loses the excellent game-design of Civilization II, and punishes prior knowledge of Civilization; if you've played Civilization, you know that all of the buildings and wonders are simply renamed versions of the old ones, and to know that, and to know that you'll have to relearn the names of the scrambled buildings, is a depressing thought.

If you truly want a follow-up to Civilization II, buy Sid Meier's Alpha Centauri, or wait for Civilization III, both from Firaxis and both done with Sid Meier. If you like the idea of a fantasy game, or like the idea of multiple parallel worlds, the concept was done much better in Master of Magic, a game, that, though five years older than Test of Time, looks and plays much better. It's simply too bad that the sequel was never completed.

24 of 28 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars Civilization Rules! This... doesn't, August 1, 2000

By 

"penguinpower9" (Sammamish, WA USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Civilization 2: Test of Time (CD-ROM)

I love Civilization. I bought the original a week after it was out. I spent entire vacations playing it only. I upgraded to Civ 2 and played it even more. I am absolutely adicted to this game.

Then I bought Test of Time.

And I was severely disappointed.

The graphics make the game next to impossible to play. Plains look like deserts, forests are indisinguishable, units are blurry, and so on. The familiar flashing unit it replaced by four yellow lines around the base of a unit, so it takes several moments simply to distinguish which unit you are using. The city interface is more difficult to use, plain and simple. The layout and interface are confusing. The whole game is simply a dark indisinguishable mess, a far cry from the brightly colored, easily distinguished graphics of civilization and civ 2.

This game really does have so much promise conceptually. Its a shame its next to impossible toplay. For those of you who really want the next generation of Civ games, get Activision's Civilization- Call to Power, a game that blows this piece of @#$%^ out of the water any day.

11 of 12 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars Dissappointing follow-up, August 29, 2000

By 

D. J. McDermott (USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Civilization 2: Test of Time (CD-ROM)

I loved Civ and Civ II but Test of Time is a Waste of Time. The new graphics make piece movement difficult for it is difficult, first to figure out which piece you're moving, then it's hard to figure out what kind of piece you're moving.

The city interface is clumsy and difficult to figure out if you're used to Civ and Civ II. I recommend you buy a copy of Civ II instead.