Top 50 Video Games: Number 15

#15: Civilization II
System: Playstation, PC
Publisher: Microprose
Released: 1996
Players: 1


Ever wanted to bomb the French or have an empire of cities named after body parts? Make it so!


I owned a Playstation before I owned a PC. Therefore I ended up playing Playstation ports of many successful PC games. Most things are best played on their original platform, and the games in question were no exception. Thankfully I didn't know any better - I played Diablo, Warcraft II and Civilization II on the Playstation. These are some of the best PC games ever made and I played them with a controller. Ugh. I'm not even out of the first paragraph and I've already gotten sidetracked. Damn.

Civilization II puts the player in the shoes of a ruler of a nation beginning in the dark ages. You begin with a single settler who will found your first city. From there you will build an empire which will either flounder or flourish. You can create a powerful military with which to crush your enemies or you can be a peaceful ruler, inspiring everyone with your knowledge, wisdom and benevolance. The gameplay is turn based, and a single game usually has to be played out over several days unless you do really good or really bad. Think of it as Risk with a lot more depth and no silly dice.

The game is all about resource management and diplomacy. Your cities produce resources, partly based on the area they're placed in. Mountains, plains, shoreline, etc all have different effects on the type and quantity of resources that city will produce. Your cities produce troops and settlers, and everything has an upkeep so you can't just go crazy and produce as much of everything as possible. Your military,trade and city placement is one part of the game. Which
technologies you research determines which possibilities become available and when. For example in the early game you'll be researching things like the Alphabet and Ceremonial Burial (The latter is a prerequisite for religion) and later on you end up researching solar power and microchips. Pikemen give way to tanks which give way to nukes and so on.


Civilization was so much like a board game that they finally did make it into one. The lack of an in-game save feature would be a drawback though.


The gameplay is totally addictive. In Civ II you are always working towards something, so you're always wanting just one more turn. This is the only game that has actually made me lose track of time for a long period. I looked at the clock, saw that it was midnight and planned on wrapping it up for the night. The next time I looked at the clock it was 5am. "Shit!" Save. Turn off the TV. Go to bed. Civilization II is certainly not for everyone, least of all those who are impatient and/or cannot be bothered to learn a complex set of rules. It's a challenge to learn (as is its sequel, the excellent Civ III) but very rewarding. Also this game is the closest to edutainment I've ever played. Every military unit, technology, system of government and wonder of the world has with it an encyclopedia entry you can read. If they would've given me Civ II as homework I would've learned a lot more in history class (and had more fun.)