Summary
A great game without a name
The Good
Great mix of units, lots of non-combat unit-types, trade is handled a lot better than in
"that other Civilization game", managing lots of cities is not as much of a drab as in
"that other etc...", gamplay is at least as good as in
"that other and so on", interface is smooth and powerful once you shake the habits from
"that other ya-ki-ty-ya-ki-ty", game mechanics have been refined so you can't just go republic and buy the opposition out like in
"that other oh-so-holy-and-untouchable game by that fabled and much revered whiz-kid of computer game design".
The Bad
It hasn't got Sid Meier - but then neither has
"that other game" any more....
Apart from that there are minor flaws in design and mechanics, but they wouldn't have caught anyone's attention for at least another five years if Sid Meier had been the designer.
The Bottom Line
It's not perfect, and yes, the interface takes some getting used to if you have been living inside
Civilization II for the past few years. Besides that, it deserves a lot of credit for actually trying to make some improvements to a game that is now close to five years old. And it's not like the developers of the afore-mentioned classic haven't had the chance to improve it themselves. Four full-priced addons later, and nothing really substantial has happened. Hopefully this will change once Civilization III is released, but until then, if you're a Civilization fan finding yourself on the winning side a bit too often, I see absolutely no reason to leave this on the self. Pick it up - It's a challenge!
Ps. Sorry Sid, none of the above is meant as a personal insult to you. Rather it is intended for the cult of dead that seem to follow you around.
