Civilization II Review

9.0

Format PC

Developer Microprose

Publisher Powerplus

Genre Unknown

Even after all this time, Civ II is still regarded by many people as the best strategy game ever created, not least because of the depth of play it offers. Spanning the early dawn of civilisation through to the space age, the aim is to not only to keep your people alive, but also to be the first race to colonise outer space. To succeed you will have to master combat, trading, diplomacy and research. And even after you manage to 'win' there are still challenges aplenty by doing the whole thing over again. There aren't too many games that offer such a wide variety of confrontations, especially those such as this, without any multiplayer options tagged on the side.

Turn-based strategy has rarely been so well-handled. Even the graphics retain their original charm, and the atmosphere, guided by a suitably tribal soundtrack, still manages to cloud you in an epic battle for survival.

Next year will see the arrival of Civilization - Call To Power (essentially Civ III), and undoubtedly Civ mania will start all over again. You could save your pennies for that, but if you want to prepare yourself for the onslaught ahead, buying Civ II could be a very wise investment.