Customer Reviews

Sid Meier's Civilization Chronicles

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This collection is a great one - it's like buying the trilogy of your favorite movie series or buying all the episodes for Star Wars.

That means that there are exactly two reasons why anybody would buy this package.

The first reason is the most obvious: you don't have any (or most) of the titles and/or you are looking to learn more about the history of this classic game.

In that light, this package offers everything you can possibly buy with the Civilization title on it except for the very latest expansion packs to Civ 4. (There are nine titles here!)

If you have never seen the roots of Civilization (there were versions released for game consoles, as well), you will get your chance here. And again, if you love Civ but don't have the "not for sale in stores" versions of older Civ titles, here you go.

The second reason somebody would buy this package is simply because they are a diehard fan of Civilization and want it all.

My comparison is to movie trilogies insomuch as they typically offer slightly upgraded versions of the products released many years ago, thus increasing both the nostalgia and the fervor. Some titles have essentially been patched to perform decently on newer computer systems - reminds me of the Atari Classic Games release a few years ago where they enabled the old games to play on Windows XP, for example.

This package meets your needs if you want it all as you get every Civilization title (expanded or not) to play on today's current computer systems. More importantly for the diehard fan are the collectible items inside.

There is also a DVD that is pretty cool, I think. It is essentially the "Making of..." feature that you find with movies, and because Civilization is a classic, this "Making of..." will appeal to those who have been with Civilization for a long time.

There is also the card game (which I never got into because I'd rather sit in front of my computer and have it do most of the work). This game is most exciting when you play it with your friends, in my opinion. My challenge was finding even one friend who loved Civ as much as I to play this with me, but all those online features really drew me away from the cards (if I wanted to play multi-player). The card game is still fun, though - it can let you interact with your friends more intimately.

And, of course, the book...

This is more than just a game manual or a strategy guide - this is the bible (as they tried to make it out to be). But it is basically the DVD documentary in written form, albeit nicely done. It is a great collector's item as it shows you a lot of the concepts (new and old) and some of the "mind of Sid," as well as the chronology/history of it all (like changes between the titles). Good content if you are into that sort of thing.

I really think that the collectors will appreciate this offering the most. I can't imagine turning people on to the Civilization culture by introducing them to the older titles and then having them work their ways up to Civ IV.

In reality, if you are a Civ history/culture buff, this is your $65 baby.

I also noticed that for about $91 you can get EVERY title ever made for Civilization - that means you just add the new Civ IV: Warlords expansion pack to the order.

For me, personally, I own Civs 1-4 on one format or another, and I have spent almost $200 so far. I thought Civ 3 was perfect for gamers like me (people without advanced computer degrees but who love to customize), but nowadays the Civ titles are increasing the gap between the yuppies and the computer geeks. (I am a computer geek, but on the lower end.)

Buy this if you want it all (in a nice box to boot). If you aren't that way, just buy Civilization 3 Complete - it's got everything you'd love about Civilization and the price is delectable.

See my original Civilization II review from way back in 2001, after having played the game for close to five years.

I bought Civ III and again Civ IV within days of their release, ran all the way home with them clutched to my chest, and dropped them right into the PC, so eager to get the latest, most awesomely updated, so incredibly tweakified versions up and running. In both instances I was disappointed, and my play on both of these has dropped off to just about none in the last couple of years. But disappointed why? I'm not too sure. For both updated versions, the AI was better, play faster and more varied, the icons and graphics better, the options for all aspects so much better; they were improvements in every respect. But they didn't do it for me like Civ II does.

I don't really know what it is, but it is Civ II that snagged me in 1997, and has never let go. My parents have a couple of old PCs at their home, and as soon as I visit, I'm straight to those dinosaurs to play Civ II, whether for an hour or two, or for an entire weekend. I've tried to update my Civ II for my XP machines, but have never been able to make it work (with due credit to the Civ Fanatics Forum; I'm not geek enough to make it all work). Civ II is the version I fell in love with, and it's the only one I want to play.

And last night, about 9:45, I loaded it up. (I got it in the mail earlier that day, and the only reason I didn't go straight to the PC was a number of events that I just could not get out of.) It loaded quickly and easily, and I clicked that Civ II logo. And after years of deafening silence in my dark PC man-cave, that single opening note sounded on the intro, and I got that thumbnail video with its distinctive soundtrack; I was home.

Next thing I knew it was close to 1:00 a.m. and my wife was asking me what the hell I was doing, since I get up for work at five. I mumbled agreement, played for another 30 minutes, and then went reluctantly to sleep, thinking of my coming moves against the Carthaginians and the Sioux threatening my two new towns on one of the southern islands, and how I was going to retake Zappatown from the barbarians.

Regardless of which Civ version makes your geek flag fly, this package has got it all, in one single space, and tons of goodies. There's a DVD all about Sid Meier and his Civ achievements. You get the original Civ, plus II, III and IV, with just about all of the bells and whistles. You get a ton of expansion with Civ II (Multiplayer Gold ), to include Fantastic Worlds, Conflicts in Civilization and Test of Time. With Civ III you get Play the World and Conquests. You get the Civ advancement charts for all four games, and even a Civ card game. You get all of this for less than $30, which is an amazing price.

The single best thing about this package is that you get the original Civ and Civ II in formats that will install and run on Win 95, 98, XP and Vista.

Bottom line: Here is the god game that started it all, and the one that continues to be the benchmark for all others. Here are its origins--new Windows OS-compatible original games for the retro crowd--and a ton of interesting and cool extras, all for a staggeringly good price. If you're new to Civ, start at the first and eventually choose your favorite version. If you're a Civ veteran, you'll know which one works for you best, and you can get straight to it, enjoying its subtleties with all of the bells and whistles that your late-model Win OS and updated hardware offer. Buy it now, buy it often. Give it to friends, and bring them into the ever-improving world that is Civilization.

Thanks, Sid, Firaxis, 2K, and everyone else who ever played a role in making this game a reality.
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Update, 28 August 08:

After playing this--just the Civ II game--for a few weeks now, I notice a couple of interesting quirks.

First, the instances of the mysterious "wacky spots" on the grid, where a unit will go off-course and maneuver randomly on its own, is very high, with me having to resort to single-space movement in very many spots.

Second, sometimes when I'm playing, all units' movement via mouse control goes away. The game itself continues to run fine. All other functions of the game via the mouse, and the mouse function in general remains unaffected, but I can't move units with the mouse, no "go" arrow. Using the keyboard for movement still works fine. The only way to fix this is to restart the entire PC; closing Civ and bringing it back up is insufficient.

This game is so fun and addictive that I have found myself up past 5am every night this past weekend. For this reason, I don't even turn it on during the week. However, I just found the option to set an alarm and display the current time while playing the game, so I'm hoping my 30 minute alarm limits my sleep deprivation in the future. ;)

This is the quintessential "god game." I really enjoy all of the different game play options, and the various means to achieve victory. This package doesn't come with a user's manual, but the in-game tutorial and Civilopedia are all you need to get up and running quickly.

Completely satisfaction. Delivered fast, too.
Note: Included Civ1 is not for DOS, but only for Windows.

Both my husband and I loved Civ2 as teens. Spent way too many hours playing it. When we saw all 4 games available for $30, we jumped at the chance to have them all. Now we spend way too much time playing Civ4. (Note: if you update Civ4 over the internet, there's a problem with loading shader libraries... google for the answer, it's out there, but it's a bit frustrating if you don't know what to do. But there are lots of Civ4 fansites that can help you.) We're very happy with our purchase.

Civ II (the original) is the best game of all time. In the speed, the interaction with the AI, in how you think and act according to real life. As hard as you want to think and predict what might happen, the game will pay you dividends. It is so much more engaging than chess, I truly believe it is the one game I have seen which can honestly supercede chess as a world pastime and trainer of minds.There has been nothing like it before or since. I would pay any amount of money to play this game. I have been playing it for 20 years. I have played all the latest games and game types ( I have 700 hours on Left for Dead, and am a level 134 on Runescape for example) but I still choose CIV as the first and BY FAR the best game ever made. I never ever get tired of it. Plain old vanilla CIV 2 is the pinnacle. The game is PERFECT. Sid Meier is a super-genius. If people were not so bewildered by spin-offs and thousands of choices and subject to game fashions, EVERYONE would play CIV. It (CIV 2) is by many orders of magnitude the BEST GAME EVER MADE -- with the most longevity. Getting tired of it doesn't happen. There are millions of ways to play it, millions of scenarios are generated - just like in real life. With every other game, it may take a while, but eventually you want to do something else. it gets old. Not with CIV. CIV is as rich and more intellectually engaging as life since you live or fall over time by the foundations your decisions have built. The game trains your mind to think ahead and plan to the point it makes chess seem pretty playschool. That's why their best forum online is caled CIV FANATICS. It literally took me 20 years of playing to finally get a 99 (highest) approval rating on the higher levels. I still can't get near that on the highest level. Now thats a GAME!

I played the original Civ all the time when it first came out, then I got the Civ net version for multi-player. The new versions retain the fun but have better graphics and sounds. If you like games that force you to build up your "forces" and make decisions based on limited resources, then you will love this game. Anyone that has played SimCity, Pharoh, or even Command & Conquer is likely to enjoy this collection of games.

Sid Meier's Civilization Chronicles My son, who is in college, loves this game. Great gift idea for a young man up to a dad.

Civilization is _THE_ turn-based strategy game by which all others are judged. It's great fun being able to play Civ I and II again (Civ II being my all time favourite) and the sheer amount of value in this pack with Civ I, Civ II MGE, Civ II ToT, Civ III Complete, Civ IV, and a bunch of bonus material is staggering. There is literally YEARS of gameplay here.

This is a game series that you have to love them. Take control of a civilization, making it the peak amongst them.

A game recommended for strategy turn-based games lovers.