Customer Reviews

Sid Meier's Civilization III Complete

5 star:		(50)
4 star:		(18)
3 star:		(8)
2 star:		(6)
1 star:		(11)

 

 

Civilization 3 is a great game but it's not for everyone. It is akin to chess and Risk but much more complex than either.If developing a civilization from a single tribe to a modern superpower sounds like your cup of tea then you should already have this game. You manage all aspects of your chosen civilization: War, diplomacy, trade, etc... .This is a turn based game, slow paced and not action oriented. If your looking for great graphics this is not your game. I think an active imagination is essential to the enjoyment of this and maybe a fondness for history. Patience and much thought must be put into playing this and some people don't enjoy that for entertainment. Understandably I suppose.
Personally this is my favorite game ever. If I could only take one game with me into eternity this would be the one. The replay-ability on this game is phenomenal. I have been playing it regularly since it was first released. For me thats its greatest strength. In this age of jaded video gamers (including me) its truly something for a game to remain so intriguing no matter how many times you've played it. There is so much dept its staggering. However, most of that dept is below the surface and isn't really needed until you start playing on Emperor difficulty or above. After 3 years of playing this I am still learning new things.
One aspect of Civilization that you should be aware of is the modifications people have made for it online. This extends the replay value even more so. The Warhammer mod for this game is excellent. If you want a fantasy setting with elves and dragons etc.. The Rise and Rule mod makes this epic game all the more so by adding hundreds of new technologies and units. There are far to many good mods to address here. Seriously, the mods change Civilization 3 into different games practically. If you have Civilization and haven't taken advantage of the mods your missing out. They can be found at the best gaming community I've ever had the pleasure to lurk upon: The aptly named www.civfanatics.com. Along with strategies and game analysis.

Civilization III Complete is the entire set all in one thorough package.

Civilization III (called "Civ3" by most of its fans) is the best turn based sim game of its type available. So what if it's turn based? Real-Time Shooters (called RTS by their fans) often don't even give you a chance to think before someone sneaks up behind you, and you're a piece of burnt toast. That's no fun. A Turn Based game can give you a chance to review your options before making a decision.

Of the World Building games, Civilization 3 holds the crown of leader of the pack. If you play games like Settlers, Pharaoh, Caesar III, Tropico, or older versions of Civilization, you owe it to yourself to check out this great game.

If you don't yet own Civ3, this is the perfect present. It includes all three of the packages - the original Civ3, the "Play the World" edition which adds the multiplayer option (including online and even play-by-mail!), and the "Conquests" disc which adds new world leaders and many great scenarios. The option to install just one, just two or all three sets of data was a great touch.

But if you already have Civ3, it's probably cheaper to buy just the "Conquests" add-on disc because it also has the "Play the World" data in the same package.

Recommended for anyone who wants to see what it would be like to own the world. Highly recommended for "sim" fans.

In late 2002, I took a second job at a major electronics retailer and decided to use my employee discount on what looked like a cool game: Civilization III. That game changed my life... in the gaming sense. It was everything I ever thought a computer game should be: turn-based strategy with multiple avenues to test my ego and self-promoted genius. Above all features of Civ3, however, my most favorite was the customization of the game through the map editor and the wonderful online resources of the Civ community. (I've downloaded more Civ3 files than MP3s.) This allowed me to express my self-proclaimed genius with new rules, technologies, and units (and all the accompanying chronologies and requisites) at my discretion. Nothing could get any better, I had thought.

When Civ4 was being talked about, however, I couldn't imagine on what grounds they could improve - except perhaps making the game even more customizable and thorough. Well, you've already read about the differing features of the game: less micro-management, more diplomatic and trade features, new technology trees, enhancing popular mechanics found in previous Civ titles, and of course, going 3D with it all.

When playing Civilization IV, you sense an overwhelming POTENTIAL to be a really great game. In my mind, that potential has not been fulfilled, and I hereby advise you to purchase Civ3 Complete instead and forego Civ4 if you haven't chosen so already. If you have already purchased Civ4, let's send a message to Firaxis Games that they need to do better - let's stop purchasing Civ products until they are actually without so many bugs, that aren't rushed to be released for the holidays, and that don't insult our intelligence by requiring expensive "expansion packs" which merely add content that should already have been included in the original release.

Here is a list of comparative reasons to only own Civ3 and not Civ4 and boycott future Civ titles until something changes for the better:

1. There is no map editor in Civ4. Instead, they included a "World Builder" which is so awkward and strange. It is not like Civ3's map editor where you can set starting positions, resources, civilizations, and terrain BEFORE you play the map. The "World Builder" of Civ4 only allows you to alter scenarios from the installation or randomly generated maps. You cannot create maps from scratch - you can only change what has already been created within predefined parameters.

2. Who needs 3D graphics for a turn-based strategy game? Civ4 is not fully 3D; it merely allows a tilting view from ground level to overhead. That can be cool, but consider the offset: it is unnecessary for this genre, it diverts computer resources from other cool and more thorough features, and it makes the game extremely difficult to modify. For Civ3, there are well over 1,000 things you can either download or make yourself and put right into the game. You don't have to know XML or Python programming languages as you would in Civ4. Civ4 requires advanced education (like a graphics design or computer science degree) to simply alter things like governments, units, buildings, and game rules. Waiting for others to design them (like the amateur online community or the professional expansion packs) isn't so fun anymore.

3. Expanding content for more money? This was a problem with Civ3, as well - its first expansion pack was a total waste of money because everything was later put on the second expansion pack. People bought the first expansion pack because they loved Civ3 so much and didn't know it was a waste. (Many video game makers are taking advantage of gamers in this way, not just the Civilization makers.) My point here is to fight back. We already know what they are going to pull: Civ4 has an expansion pack out there titled Warlords. It basically includes elements intentionally left out so as to somehow formulate a "new" product. In the base version of Civ4, you have the Great People: artists, scientists, merchants, and prophets. Hmmm... now we get the warlords, eh? Oh, and a few other civilizations and buildings left out from before. Nice try... Boycott this type of marketing out of sheer principle. Play Civ3 Complete until Civ5 comes out if you have to. Maybe Civ will be less of a cheap shot then.

4. The last reason why you should be content with Civilization III and completely forget that Civilization IV was ever made is the most simple. Purchasing Civ3 Complete right now (1) will cost you less than half of Civ4; (2) is fully expanded while Civ4 is still looking to make more money off of us; and (3) Civ3 has the very same level of addictive game play as any other Civilization title. If you have already dropped the cash for Civ4, simply do not support Civ4 any longer. In fact, uninstall it and put it in your drawer as a sad chapter of shameless marketing. Yes, Civ4 is fun, but it is does not live up to its potential in most ways. Playing Civ3 will take up your time quite nicely until they release a REAL title that doesn't take advantage of us so blatantly.

To conclude, my overall point to stick with Civ3 and forego Civ4 is this: without an easy, efficient, and overwhelmingly powerful customizing interface (like an awesome map editor that allows FULL customization), we are simply asking for "re-tread" products. The fact that Firaxis did not include a kick-butt map editor proves in my mind that they expect us to wait for their "expansions" to come out and spend at least $150 each before they move onto Civ5. Hold out with Civ3 Complete and wait until Civ4 goes away.

If you have the patience level of a 12 year old, then this is probably not the best game for you. However, if you see the depth of a game like chess and appreciate games that require concentration and don't rely on eye candy as their selling point, then by all means buy this game. Civilization III does not require a high end graphics card to play because of its turn-based format. The graphics are still good, but this means that people with a variety of computer setups should have no trouble running it.

This game is addictive to say the least. The most appealing part of the game is that there is more than one way to win. You can win the game without firing a single shot or participating in a single war. You can win by expanding your civilization's culture, or through diplomatic means. Of course, if you are a warmongerer, you can certainly conquer the world the old fashioned way by crushing your enemies.

I have played all the other strategy type games for PC, including Age of Empires, Pharoahs, etc. and this game without QUESTION leaves them all cold. The incredible level of depth makes it as enjoyable the hundredth time as the first time.

Having just recently purchased this i'm looking at it from the perspective of someone playing the original Civilization to now Civilization III Complete.

The greatest strengths it has is infinte replayability and fun factor. Probably why it has been so acclaimed as being one of the best Turn Based Strategy games. When you play it..you can definately see why.

Personally I was just interested in the original Civilization III and the Conquests expansion. I have no real desire to play a very long game like this online with another person so the "Play the World" portion for me was useless.

It is a fairly simple format for the Standard Game. You choose a map to play on selecting variables for the Land Mass to Water ratio, Type of Land Mass, AI strength, Barbarians and of course...What civilization to play. Depending on what civilization you select and since you have the expansion as well you get a very wide assortment to choose from all with their strengths and weaknesses. Once all these are selected it generates a world for you to play on. Everything is very simple which is the appeal of this series. Complex enough to hold your interest but not overly so that you get tired of it. The game can be as short or as long as you want. For a nice challenge choose to play against 16 other civilizations in a Huge Island world. Things get pretty interesting ;)

One of the big additions I noticed over the original was the introduction to resources on the map. Control of these resources is pretty vital if you want to accomplish anything. For example there are deposits of Iron that will appear on the map after you have researched Iron Working. You will have the ability to recruit Swordsman but unless a deposit of iron is controlled by you on the map you will be unable to build them.

Conquests is a great expansion. This basically adds some bulk to the original game and opens up "Scenarios" you can play where the rules are very tailored to a specific time period. For example, you can play the Feudal Era of Japan and the civilizations you can play and select from are different Japanese Feudal Daimyos.

The actual Civilization III complete itself installed very nicely. Compared to something like Elder Scrolls III: Morrowind Complete Gold blah blah Edition where installing the original game and two expansions was not seemless. For this, simply pop in the first disc and the auto-wizard will start putting everything in prompting for the expansions to be installed.

Overall, if you haven't played Civilization in awhile and looking for a good turn-based strategy game to whittle away the hours it's a decent buy. If not, you can just wait for Civilization IV to come out (which i believe is sometime at the end of this year). If you can't wait...this is the way to go ;)

This is possibly the most addictive game ever invented! More so than The Sims, even.

You'll end up spending hours creating a world, modifying the terrain, distributing resources, planting barbarians, and then spend even more hours conquering it.

Some days it's the world building that's most rewarding. Coming up with your own map, making it extra hard (or incredibly easy if you like to cheat your way to victory), deciding how many or few opponents you want, where the resources will end up and how hard it will/won't be to get to them. But on other days there's nothing better than the catharsis of grinding all the other nations into submissive paste beneath your heel. Utterly and completely annihilate your enemies, overwhelm them with troops and force them to beg you for mercy. And then not give it.

A single game can take hours or weeks to play, depending on how you run it or how much time you have. But it's always rewarding, even if you suddenly realize the clock is reading 2 am and you don't have clue one how it could *possibly* be that late....

I love strategy, be it rts or turnbased games, but most of them dont have an ounce of creativity in them. When Civilization I&II came out, they gained a following but never evoked huge popularity. people preferred the faster paced but less original games such as command and conquer (dont get me wrong: i love those games too)

civ 3 is one of the most strategic games i have ever played. you have to defend rescources, build cities, go to war, trade, economize, govern, and harvest. the ai is extremely smart. they threaten, suck up, and act like real human beings (note: some people think that the ai cheats. it doesnt. it just plays perfectly)

i also like the sheer size of the game. there are over a hundred units (with conquests) and the game is just one big game, not campaigns.

if there is one problem with this game, it is that even with the expansions, there is no skirmish mode, even though multiplayer offers game types that would be good for skirmishes. but in conquest, there are campaigns in addition to the main game, so that kind of makes up for it.

this probably the best game i have played, and definatly the best
i own. (at least until i get homeworld.

I bought this copy of the game as a back-up copy for my original Civ III disks (bought many years ago), which are starting to show wear.

I have to split this review into three parts: (1) my satisfaction with the game itself, (2) my satisfaction with this purchase, and (3) my satisfaction with the version of the game that I received.

(1) The game itself is awesome: easily worth five stars. I have played every version of Civilization from I to IV, and Civ III is my favorite. Gameplay, graphics, and AI are all improved dramatically from Civ I and Civ II. Civ III was also the first version designed with the expectation that users would modify the game, leading to thousands of different modifications available for free online--everything from minor mods such as new units and graphics tweaks to major mods that essentially create an entirely new game. Civ IV's graphics are the only thing about Civ IV that I like better than Civ III, but they come at a price in performance (when I "downgraded" from Civ IV back to Civ III, I was amazed how much faster Civ III runs on my PC). The new features and options in Civ IV are interesting, but they make the game much more complicated and therefore--for me--less fun.

(2) I did not receive the game pictured above. Instead, I received a version of the game made by "Sold-out Software." I consider this to be a bit of a bait-and-switch, and so I am very displeased with this aspect of my purchase. I did not immediately notice the switch, and ended up opening the seal before I noticed. I'm not sure whether Amazon will take the software back now, but I will probably try to return it, especially given the problems described below.

(3) I have serious problems loading this version of the game due to the copy protection scheme and/or the fact that these are not "real" Civilization III disks. (They do not look anything like my original disks; they are copies made by Sold-out Software.) Almost every time I try to load the game, I get an error message. Sometimes, I get an immediate error message stating that I've inserted the wrong disk. Other times, the game tries to load for about thirty seconds and then gives me a "time out" error message. It's not unusual for me to have to retry three to five times until the game finally loads.

So, the game itself gets five stars, but THIS VERSION of the game--and a sales tactic I perceive as a bait-and-switch--gets one star. So I'll give the game five stars for fun, but only two stars for the overall purchase.

After being a longtime Civilization II addict I was a bit skeptical about this game at first. Mainly because, I wasn't doing so well. I took for granted that settlers could no longer create improvements and did not have nearly enough workers. I disliked the idea of civilizations getting their own individual units and my first instinct was that I had wasted my money and should dust off my Civ II CD and resume from where I'd stepped off. But as anyone who noticed my rating knows, my feelings changed.

I soon accepted the game for what it was: vastly improved, and I now enjoy all of the new features in addition to the better grpahics. I'm not quite sure what the point of my previous paragraph's rant was, because the majority of you should like this game immediately (everyone else I've spoken to has), but for anyone who finds it confusing, tough or boring, stick with it. By 1000 AD you'll be hooked ;)

PS: I disagree completely with lighten_up_already2's claim that your opponents recieve all of the useful resources and that the game is unfair. I've enjoyed every landscape I've played on and hopefully you'll have better luck then they did.

This game is awesome. The whole series is. You can make your own maps to play on, there are so many new resources, and more civilizations to choose from. There are scenarios that are really cool too. You can play anywhere from ancient Mesopatamia to WWII in the Pacific. If you are looking for an awesome stategy game this one is for you!!!!!!!!!