Customer Reviews

Sid Meier's Alpha Centauri (Mac)

5 star:		(12)
4 star:		(3)
3 star:		(3)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

I was in a store years ago examining a Civilization II game box when the guy next to me looks over and says: "I wouldn't get that if I were you. Too addicting."

So, of course I bought it...

In retrospect, perhaps that was a mistake because the guy in the game store was dead right. The compulsion to play 'just *one* more turn before bedtime turns otherwise normal gamers into insomniacs, staring in utter disbelief when the clock blinks 2:00 a.m.

This effect is even more pronounced in Alpha Centauri -- which picks up the story line where Civ II leaves off, as the human explorers leave earth to colonize a new world.

Starting on an empty plain, you've got to start cranking out settlers, military units and laying claim to precious resources before some of your rivals come calling. And when they do come, be prepared to use diplomacy, spies, threats, bribes, military power, or gifts to defend your interests -- or else.

The best part about this game is that it's never the same twice. You can play seven different factions, each with their own philosophies and sets of strengths and weaknesses that alter gameplay. You can micromanage everything, if that's your bent-- design military units, instruct cities what to produce, etc. -- or leave it up to programmable "governors."

It's true that the artificial intelligence that guides some of the automated processes (such as terraforming the landscape, building certain city improvemnts) don't always perform optimally, but as far as I'm concerned, this is a minor quibble.

Simply put, Alpha Centauri is a challenging blend of resource management, empire-building, strategy and tactics, and it is unmatched in its ability to provide engrossing entertainment.

Having said that, it's also clearly too addictive -- I wouldn't get it if I were you...

My one real complaint about this title is that a full game can take more than 30 hours to complete. This means that a 'normal' person with a day-job will likely spend a week or more on a single outing -- and this game is devilishly difficult to put down; there's always one other objective that you meant to see to before you can pack it up for the night.

There are also some concerns within the gameplay that add to the lengthiness of a game. On my iMac 333, the game slows down noticably towards its later stages, as more and more units and bases need to be juggled by the processor. The '150 mHz or faster' listed in the specs isn't terribly realistic if you don't want to spend a whole month playing one round. Setting units to 'automatic' *ought* to be of some help, but in fact the way this is implemented, they have a bad habit of wandering around in circles or getting stuck in place for no apparent reason, and if you have many units set on auto, it could be 20 minutes before you regain control of the game to change the unit's orders (by which time you're likely to have lost track of what the problem was).

Overall, I found this game to be a hell of a lot of fun, but frustratingly slow. The vaunted AI is not all THAT smart, so you will spend even more extra time keeping an eye on it and countermanding its orders. But, if you have either a lot of time or a lot of self-control, it's a good romp.

The game as initially released (version 1.4) had some annoying bugs in it; a patch to 1.4.1 is available at the website (I think it's at the Aspyr site, but it might be at the game site). This fixed almost all the problems I was having except the automation quirks.

As a big fan of Civilization 2, I had high expectations of Alpha Centauri. It definitely doesn't disappoint. The overall structure and gameplay are similar to Civ 2, making it fairly easy to learn, but the details set it apart. Units and technology advancements are very unique. The 7 factions you can choose from have strong personalities of their own, and solid AI. If you enjoy Civ 2, this game is a great step forward. One negative is that it's too addicting!

I really thought this would be a dud: gee whiz, Civ in space, whoop-de-doo. I was wrong. Sid is just a genius, and he manages to make somthing that ought to stink one of the brilliant games of all time.

Beyond the game itself, it must be noted that this runs way too slow on anything but very new equipment (iMac 333 or newer), and that the box minimums must be taken with a grain of salt (no shock there). On the other hand, the interface is a delight, and the 3D landscape is nothing short of amazing after years of Civ, Civ II, and (very disappointingly) Civ:CTP. (And please note, I like CTP, it's just nowhere near what it could have been.)

This is a keeper!

I think Sid Meier games are fantastic, and honestly, I like Alpha Centauri more than Civ 2. Like the Civs, your goal is to nurture a complex civilization that dominates the world by political, military, economic, or scientific means, facing the strategic tradeoff between outward expansion and inward development. The technology tree is really outstanding, not just for the fun of the new, totally customizable military hardware you can build but because of how they really do seem like plausible advances for a future society-truly mind-blowing. The interaction of the human factions with Planet itself forms a very interesting dimension-do you essentially declare ecological war on Planet (and face its semi-sentient response), or do you try to cooperate with it in search of global dominance? Each faction is truly unique in its strengths and weaknesses and in the way the AI uses it as your opponent. And the diplomatic dimension, while not brilliant, is adequate.

However, it does suffer the same problems as the Civs. It is so detailed, it is easy, especially if you're an automation-eschewing perfectionist like me, to get bogged down in the details. Furthermore, like the others, you get to a point in the game in which the winning faction becomes a foregone conclusion. If that faction is yours, you have a choice. Do you keep playing for many hours to actually see it through (keeping in mind that the further the game goes the more complex it gets, which takes yet more real-life minutes per turn), or do you drop the boredom and start a new game? I've usually done the latter, which means, I'm sure, that there are many more cool technologies that I have not witnessed because there's scant motivation to take it that far. And also, the ceaseless red earth, blue water, and black displays hurt the eyes after a while.

I admit that I have never played any of the Civilization games, so I don't know if this is big step down, or not. What I do know is that this is a great game, and I love playing it. The plot is that there is something wrong with the plant Earth, so a colonization ship is sent out to find themselves a new planet. Something goes wrong and the captain is killed and the survivors split into 7 factions that land on the surface of a plant in the Alpha Centuri system. The factions then battle for the dominance of the planet. You get to pick to be the leader of one of the factions, and then it is up to you to lead you faction to victory. You build cities and discover new technology. The graphics are good and this is a great strategy game. I would recommend it to anyone.

Old but not aging, this classic is still my number one go to game. For turn-based strategy fans only. Almost as rich as its sister Civilization it plays much more quickly and the factions are more varied and fun.

The port to Mac by Aspyr is a model of how it should be done graphically, but there are definite problems to be overcome with OSX. Fortunately the game comes with OSX installer software that is easy to use. Using window-mode (not full screen) the game plays faultlessly, though missing some interesting but inessentiial graphics. (In full screen mode it falls over all the time).

Don't go near it if you value your job, your relationships or food and drink. Deeply addictive, highly satisfying. A golden great.

This game is so involving and addictive, I have labeled it as a "Life Suction Device." I lose hours and hours sitting in front of my Mac due to this game.

I totally recommend this if you have life/time to get totally engrossed in an awesome game.

-taftman

This game is great, I love it. This game is a cross between SimCity and Starcraft, better than both in most ways. YOU should own this game! -Ben

It's amazing how the hours fly by while playing this game. The interface is a little complicated, but the game can be played with a minimum of instruction and you can learn as you play. It would be helpful to have better descriptions of the military vehicles and units and what they are capable of. Overall though, I really enjoyed playing the game. I was a bit surprised when I came to the "end" of the game -- there's apparently a chronological limit on how many "years" you can play for.