Sid Meier's Civilization II

The Good

This game is great for someone without access to a PC, who has a deep longing to try out the Civilization series. It captures the basic gameplay elements of the PC version well, and may provide entertainment to die-hard strategy fans.

The Bad

Unfortunately, the Sony Playstation is not a PC, and this game does not translate well to a console system. The interface is clunky and awkward, with all interactions performed through the control pad. The graphics leave a lot to be desired. The Playstation is certainly capable of making things look nicer than this. The real killer of this game however, is the unbearably long amount of wait time between turns. Late in the game, on a large map with 5 opponents, you can find yourself sitting idle for literally minutes on end, while the opponent AI manages its empires.

The Bottom Line

'Civilization II' for the Playstation is not going to make very many people happy. Only fans of the Civ series who don't have access to a computer should try this one. And really, what fans of the Civ series don't have access to a computer?

The Good
First of all I had played and loved Civ I. I thought no game would ever replace it as my favorite game of all time. So when I bought the second installment I doubted that Civ II had what it took. At first I was right. It was hard for me to give up the old Civ for the new graphics and design. I looked for any excuse to put this game down (3d isn't the same, its hard to learn ect) But this game had so much to offer. After a month I would never play the orginal again. If I had to put my finger on the one thing that made this game better it had to be the unit editor. To be able to create my own units and built Airbourne and B-52's WOW WOW WOW.

The Bad
In some ways Civ II added so much, but in others it didn't. Really the game is not that much different from Civ I in the way the game progresses. You could say that Civ II is just an update with some more units and better graphics. However I think that would be a little unfair. Overall the game has few flaws other than a bug with music. Me and my friend both had trouble getting music to play at times. (Sometimes If I uninstalled Civ II and then reinstalled it later the music would not work.)

The Bottom Line
I have been playing PC games for a very long time. I have also played more games than the average hard core gamer. Right now I have over 200 game cd's (not burned) and there is not many that I have not beat. After 15 years of gaming on Pc's, Nintendo's, Sega's, Atari's, and others THIS IS THE BEST OF ALL OF THEM. Take it from me it doesn't get any better than this.
WSM

The Good
Hmmm, just about everything. Great (and very addictive!!) gameplay, no-frills graphics, and more customizability than you can handle. And even though I get tired of this game sometimes and quit playing it for months, I always seem to come back to it eventually.

The Bad
The music gets kind of boring (though you can turn it off), and the original version was NOT multiplayer (though multiplayer was added later -- I eventually got Civ2 Multiplayer Gold). Otherwise, I can't think of much else.

The Bottom Line
Don't play it if you have to get up early, because you may be up all night. Start playing at 9 or 10 PM, and next thing you know, it may be 4 AM. An all-time classic!