Civilization: Call to Power

by ACTIVISION

Product Details

• Shipping: This item is also available for shipping to select countries outside the U.S.
• ASIN: B00001N2OM
• Media: CD-ROM
• Release Date: March 30, 1999
• Average Customer Review: 3.2 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (47 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #23,515 in Video Games (See Top 100 in Video Games)
• Discontinued by manufacturer: Yes

Product Description

Amazon.com Product Description

Civilization: Call to Power spans from primitive history to the techno-future of 3000 A.D. Experience new units such as Genetics, the Spaceplane, the Superconductor, the Nanite, and more. Your goal is to lead a conquest of land, water, and space, where every choice affects your future world.

Product Description

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

18 of 18 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Great Animation, with Automated Tasks, and Lots of Fun, November 17, 1999

By 

Bob Norton (New Orleans, LA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Civilization: Call to Power (CD-ROM)

I've been a fan of Civilization for years. In fact, I play almost no other game. Call to Power's graphics are greatly enhanced beyond those in CivII. The animations and sounds are really cool. This game offers many new units, city improvements, and wonders to build.

Call to Power adds the ability to establish production queues in each city and to maximize the exploitation of each city's resources at the touch of a button.

You now have the ability to build terrain improvements using a "Public Works" tax based on your total production. You no longer have to use settlers or engineers for this function.

You can now "stack" units for movement and battle. A battle window pops up with close-up animation of the battle scene. This is pretty cool, with the animation and sounds.

The interface takes a while to get used to, however. If you're not paying attention, you can send a unit off on a long trek across the map.

I have a 400 MHz PC and have to turn off some of the animation features later in the game to keep the graphics from getting too sluggish. I can only imagine how the game would play on a slower machine.

Overall, though, this is a really fun game. I recommend it for anyone who enjoys Civilization.

34 of 38 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Call to power more accurate in the historical sense., January 9, 2000

By 

Aaron Webb (Seattle, WA USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Civilization: Call to Power (CD-ROM)

Civilization: Call to Power makes some needed changes to the "Civ" line. The previous games were very well done, and nicely balanced. But they were more like games. The addition of the "dirty tricks" units is a reflection of the history of empire building and technological advancement.

Take for instance the slaver unit. The slaver unit can travel to other cities and steal the population from them, giving their civilzation more manpower. If the victim civilisation is not careful, they will be crippled from the outset. Just like the Portrugese (and others) in Africa. Historicaly whole african empires were decimated. However, those that use slaves in the game must be careful. If someone creates the abolitionist, it is pretty much all over for the slave using nation economicly. Just like Portugal. So CTP reflects the fact that some civilizations in the real world did not get far due to another's dirty tricks.

As militray units go, combined mixed forces have always fared better then more technologicly advanced units. And just because a unit is more advanced than another does not mean that it will always win. Look at the Native Americans. Look at the Scottish fighting under William Wallace. Look at the Philipenos durring the 16th century. CTP mirrors this fact quite well. Greater numbers employing several modes of attack will always destroy lesser numbers employing one method of attack. And then there is also random chance. I thought that the terrain defence modifiers were very accurate. A city built on a mountain, with walls and three phalanxes is almost impossible for anyone to take!

As for the graphics, I think CTP is a great improvement. The interface is much easier to use on the management level. However the tactical level can be a little squirly if you get to tired. The designers have made it so that nothing happens if you right click. This will get you out of the messed up path that may have been created. Still if you do not know this secret, the game can get annoying at times. This will cost a half star.

The improvement system is better now than with the old settler based system. Improvements are a result of empire and wealth. Irrigation and mines as we know them today were not arround until someone had money and power. Before that ore was either picked up off the ground in chuncks (as it was in the bronze age), or quarried for. Besides, no one ever separated a large segment of a city's population to build irrigation and roads. Those people and their production were always considered part of the city.

One thing I did not like was the fact that you cannot move populations arround like you did in CivII. No longer can a settler join a city. (at least I think, i was kind of tired when I tried this) This ignores the entire idea of human migrations. So minus half a star for this.

Another improvment is the tech tree. No longer do muskets come before cannon. (It was always the other way arround) In civII there were a lot of problems with the tech tree. For one communism came with the industrialisation and philosophy. Communism is not a result of industrialisation but rather trade and wealth. Also democracy was arround long before what CivII calls invention. And why did medicine give you the ability to build shakespeare's theater? Would that not be more associated with Writing and Philosphy? What they have done is made the tech tree more accurate in a historical perspective.

Also they have made the game more easily customisable. Changes are easier to make in the tech tree by just editing a file. The player can now change what units are allowed and also in what era you begin.

All in all I think that CTP is an accurate representaion of the factors that dictate historical development. If you are looking for a game that is all about conquering and starting even with everyone else, look elsewhere. Civilzation: Call to Power is historical simulation. And in history not everyone wins easily and with the same formula. In CTP you may take the world by storm, or you may never get started and be crushed by civilzations with more advancements.

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Civilization CTP, May 4, 2000

By 

"bg75asd" - See all my reviews

This review is from: Civilization: Call to Power (CD-ROM)

The Civilization collection is one of the best of all time. This has the same idea as civ 2 and family but has a diffrent game play. The game has changes in three major ways; 1, you now use the mouse alot more instead of the keyboard. 2, Instead of seattlers to build roads you now use Public Works or PW. I like this idea of the game better. 3, you can now bombard units. You basically attack them without attempting to take over their square. This is one of my favorite additions. The diplomatic options are better and you can build more units and improvements. I would HIGHLY RECOMMEND to anyone anyone who likes straitgy games