Argh, why did you have to show that British hag. The Egyptian one was hot. --Mjb67
Spawned many, many sequels and spin-offs, inlcuding CivilizationII? (better), CivilizationIII? (much worse), Colonization (Civ in the NewWorld? - a lot of fun) CallToPower? (worse in it's original form, modded to something very playable), CallToPower2? (ditto), AlphaCentauri (properly Sid Meier's Alpha Centauri, hence known as SMAC - supposed sequel to Civ, very playable), and it's expansion AlienCrossfire? (hence SMACX, SMAX or just AX or ACX. A very reasonable addition).
CivilizationIII? much worse? I'm not sure I agree. Amongst other things, the culture aspect added a lot to the considerations when playing the game. --Angoel
CivilizationIV? is slated for a November 2005 release. Only time will tell if they've improved markedly on Civ3
ChrisHowlett now has it on extended loan. First imressions are favourable.
CivilizationIV? rocks. Best Civ by miles. Combines all the best elements of III and SMAC to produce something hugely enjoyable. The only thing I wish to whinge about is that they removed separate attack and defense values for units. The AI also appears to be slightly better than the earlier games, though that may just be because out-expanding it no longer works. --SF
ChrisHowlett's personal view is that SMAC/X is/are the pick of the bunch
If you want to waste a few weeks: play SMAC. If you want to waste a few days: play Colonization. --Edith (who otherwise agrees)
Also: Something that the Americans have "The greatest in the world" - they keep it in a small bottle under the Nevada desert, in case they get any on them.
I'm now having visions of some ethereal voice declaring the RealWorld to be an American cultural victory and asking us if we want to keep playing.