Civilization: Call to Power

aka: CTP, CivCtP
Moby ID: 336
Windows Specs
Note: We may earn an affiliate commission on purchases made via eBay or Amazon links (prices updated 3/23 7:18 AM )

Description official descriptions

Civilization: Call to Power is a turn-based empire building game. The players start a civilization in the stone age and lead them to the future through science, diplomacy, war, trade, and other actions. Eventually, the player will be building colonies in space and cities in the ocean if the player can survive.

Spellings

  • 文明帝國:權傾天下 - Traditional Chinese spelling

Groups +

Screenshots

Promos

Credits (Windows version)

347 People (294 developers, 53 thanks) · View all

Reviews

Critics

Average score: 78% (based on 31 ratings)

Players

Average score: 3.2 out of 5 (based on 61 ratings with 7 reviews)

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.

Windows · by Isak (612) · 2000

Sid Meier is god. This game proves it.

The Good
Nothing - I played it for fifteen minutes, then it was out the door so fast even gravitation didn't bother to work its magic on it.

The Bad
This game is just SO lacking in every respect the only game sequel I ever enjoyed less is Dune 2000. It's like Activision took everything that made the original Civilization what it was and spat on it, making this game a dull, graphically and musically inferior waste of time... and worst of all, they didn't even consult Sid Meier!...

The Bottom Line
Don't touch it, don't get near it. If you see it in the store take it, wave it in front of the salesman, scream "BLASPHEMY!" and tear off one of your arms! It's that bad!

Windows · by Tomer Gabel (4539) · 1999

Boring and full of pesky details.

The Good
The game has some nice Wonder movies.

The Bad
Other than the movies, everything:
* Interface: Clumsy. It takes quite a while to get used to it, and every minor task requires a lot of other minor tasks.
* Graphics: Ugly. The units are small and unrecognizable and the buildings are poorly rendered.
* Stability: None. The game constantly crashes.
* Gamplay: Terrible. The AI barely moves, and the first turn of the game takes 15-20 seconds, not even mentioning the later ones. There are many one-purpose units which require a special defense, there are many units (like the Slaver) which drain your resources and require a special defense just for them. One of the wonders actually has a chance of 3% a turn to make you lose the game.

All in all, this game is a terrible miss, trying to ride the fame of a popular game to sell more copies.

The Bottom Line
This game is full of flaws with almost no advantages. There are other, much better strategy games available, so you better try one of them.

Windows · by El-ad Amir (116) · 2000

[ View all 7 player reviews ]

Trivia

Civilization title

Call to Power is not related to Sid Meier's Civilization in any way. It is made by a completely different development team, and the only reason it shares a name is because it is based on the Avalon Hill board game Civilization. Trademark lawsuits related to MicroProse's franchise allowed one game based on the board game to be made with the Civilization name, and any sequel must drop the title. The similar gameplay is more coincidental than anything, though it may have been inspired by Sid Meier's Civilization.

Sales

In 1999, Civilization: Call to Power won the Gold-Award from the German VUD (Verband der Unterhaltungssoftware Deutschland - Entertainment Software Association Germany) for selling more then 100,000 (but less then 200,000) units in Germany, Austria and Switzerland.

Awards

  • Verband der Unterhaltungssoftware Deutschland
    • 1999 - Gold Award

Information also contributed by Xoleras and Zack Green

Analytics

MobyPro Early Access

Upgrade to MobyPro to view research rankings!

Related Games

Call to Power II
Released 2000 on Windows
Sid Meier's Civilization V
Released 2010 on Windows, 2010 on Macintosh, 2014 on Linux
Sid Meier's Civilization IV
Released 2005 on Windows, 2006 on Macintosh
Sid Meier's Civilization IV: Warlords
Released 2006 on Windows, Macintosh
Sid Meier's Civilization II
Released 1996 on Windows 3.x, 1997 on Macintosh, PlayStation
Civilization II: Test of Time
Released 1999 on Windows
Sid Meier's Civilization VI
Released 2016 on Windows, 2016 on Macintosh, 2017 on Linux...

Identifiers +

  • MobyGames ID: 336
  • [ Please login / register to view all identifiers ]

Contribute

Are you familiar with this game? Help document and preserve this entry in video game history! If your contribution is approved, you will earn points and be credited as a contributor.

Contributors to this Entry

Game added by Brian Hirt.

Macintosh added by Corn Popper. BeOS added by Kabushi.

Additional contributors: Michael Dionne, Paulus18950, Patrick Bregger, Evolyzer.

Game added October 30, 1999. Last modified January 29, 2024.