Sid Meier's Civilization III (Windows)

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Description

Sid Meier's Civilization III is a turn-based game where the objective is to rule the planet. Players control one of 15 Civilizations (Aztecs, Egyptians, Russians, etc). Each Civilization has its own particular strengths and weaknesses -- some are more scientific, for example, while others have stronger cultural or military attributes.

The point of the game is to expand the influence of your civilization through resource management, conquest, or trade with other civilizations. As game time progresses from ancient times through the modern era, your civilization will acquire new technologies, which in turn enable interesting new abilities and enhanced power.

Since there are several ways to win (military, diplomatic, or cultural), it is up to each player to determine how best to manage the division of labor -- should you spend critical resources building new cities, or should you instead push your efforts into researching new weaponry? Such decision-making and management skills are the keys to this game.

Screenshots

Promo Images

Trailer

Alternate Titles

• "文明帝國 III" -- Chinese spelling (traditional)
• "文明III" -- Chinese spelling (simplified)
• "Wenming III" -- Chinese title
• "Sid Meier's Cywilizacja III" -- Polish title
• "Sid Meier's Civilization III: More Civ Than Ever" -- European tag-lined title
• "Sid Meier's Civilization III: das beste Civ aller Zeiten!" -- German tag-lined title
• "Sid Meier's Civilization III: créez le monde à votre image" -- French tag-lined title
• "Civ 3" -- Informal title

Part of the Following Groups

• Civilization series
• Games with randomly generated environments
• Game with Creator's name
• Sid Meier's licensees

User Reviews

The best civilization and empire-building simulation to date	Frecklefoot (203)
The best, and worst, computer game of all time...	Vaelor (381)
It's good... it's very good... but it's not more than that, unfortunately...	Gothicgene (83)
Another classic - but it''s got some flaws	Rick Jones (111)
A great new game, arguably a classic, but so different from earlier Civs that you can't compare them.	weregamer (169)
A worthy successor to the Civilization lineage.	James Kirk (168)
You call this a game? It's a MASTERPIECE!	Kobus Myburgh (2)

Critic Reviews

Computer Gaming World (CGW)	Jan, 2002		100
ESC Magazine	Mar 07, 2002	10 out of 10	100
IGROMANIA	Jan 30, 2002	100 out of 100	100
GameSpot	Oct 30, 2001	9.2 out of 10	92
Gamesmania.de	Dec 07, 2001	92 out of 100	92
GameStar (Germany)	Dec 05, 2001	91 out of 100	91
Joystick (French)	Apr, 2002	90 out of 100	90
4Players.de	Nov 06, 2001	90 out of 100	90
JeuxVideoPC.com	Jul 12, 2005	17 out of 20	85
Strategy Gaming Online	Nov 29, 2001	8 out of 10	80

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Trivia

German version

Because they didn't want to wait for Firaxis to release a German version of Civilization III, some German fans started to translate the game. They were about halfway through when they were forced by Infogrames to stop distributing their translation with an injunction, citing copyright infringement. The reason was not so much ill will, but Infogrames' responsibility towards the game's developer Firaxis on the one hand and commercial aspects on the other -- Infogrames wanted to sell its own localized version. As a sign of goodwill, Infogrames payed for the injunction's legal costs, so the fan project came away unharmed.

Music

You may notice that some of the original themes from previous Civ/Sid Meier games have made their way into Civilization III. For example, the Middle Age music for Oriental Civilizations is the Chinese theme song and the Middle Age music for North American Civilizations is 'Tenochtitlan' from Colonization and Civilization II.

References

The game's initial advertising campaign featured Gandhi and Abraham Lincoln wrestling. This is a reference to a comment made by Brad Pitt after filming Fight Club about the two people he'd most like to see fight each other.

References: Music

1) Let the credits roll through and right at the end, after Shakespeare's quote and after about two or three seconds of the credits screen being blank, a picture of Elvis Putnam appears.

To view this picture manually: Find folder: Infogrames\Interactive\Civilization 3\Art\credits

Then one of the pictures there is called "Elvis Putnam" obviously an Elvis joke of some kind.

2) Access your computer's clock by double-clicking on it, and change the date to January 8. January 8 is Elvis Presley's birthday.

Play any game with either "Regicide" or "Mass Regicide" mode on, and notice that your King unit looks like Elvis! If your Elvis gets into a fight, he will just stand there and say things like "Thank you, thank you very much!"

3) In the screen where you talk to your domestic advisor, you have the option to change your form of government. She will ask you, "You say you wanna revolution?" And you can select either "Yea, you know it's gonna be alright," or "No, you can count me out." Both are lines from the Beatles song Revolution.

Awards

• Academy of Interactive Arts and Sciences
  • 2001 - Strategy Game of the Year
• Computer Games Magazine
  • 2001 - Game of the Year
  • 2001 - Strategy Game of the Year
• Computer Gaming World
  • April 2002 (Issue #213) – Best Game That Didn't Win an Award
• Gamepen
  • 2001 - PC Strategy Game of the Year
• Game Revolution
  • 2001 - PC Strategy Game of the Year
• GameSpot
  • 2001 - Best Single-Player Strategy Game of the Year (Editors' Choice)
  • 2001 - Best Single-Player Strategy Game of the Year (Readers' Choice)
• Gamespy
  • 2001 - PC Strategy Game of the Year
• GameStar
  • Issue 02/2002 - Best Game in 2001
  • Issue 02/2002 - Best Strategy Game in 2001
• Wargamer.com
  • 2001 - Strategy Game of the Year

Information also contributed by -Chris, Indra was here, Itay Shahar, phlux, Rambutaan and Zack Green

Related Web Sites

• Civilization Fanatics Center (A huge site with loads of mods, scenarios, civs, etc... Has also a very active Community)
• Official Site (official site featuring game info and downloads)