
To keep from overwhelming you or requiring you to memorize the manual beforehand, Firaxis has created a well-done interactive tutorial which can walk you through each interface window the first time it pops up, and warn you if you're neglecting important game elements. But xenofungus, cyberethics, and polymorphic encryption are new concepts to everyone. After all, even those of us burdened with a typical American public school education are familiar with the basics of historical civilizations and the progress of technology throughout the centuries. While Alpha Centauri shamelessly borrows the elements that made its predecessor magic, the game here is much richer, more sophisticated, and better tailored to individual styles of playing than Civ II.Ī big concern with moving to a science fiction realm is accessibility. However, this is true in the same way that Starcraft will feel familiar to any Warcraft II player. Sure, mindworms may take the place of barbarians, and you may create Planetary Datalinks instead of the Great Library, but gameplay will feel instantly familiar to any Civ II player. The map perspective is similar, the command interface is virtually identical, and there are nearly direct corollaries between some of the historical and science fiction elements of each game. To this effect, gamers will find that Alpha Centauri's gameplay looks and feels much like Civ II's. Thus, it turns out that life on the new planet is going to be much like the life man knew on Earth - exploring new territories, setting up colonies, and using diplomacy and war to deal with the other societies. Each decides to land on its own and try to remake the planet in its own philosophical image. Before the colony ship lands, the crew splits up into seven factions with different priorities for the new world.


This game picks up with a colony ship reaching that system, but it turns out that moving to the stars doesn't change mankind's basic nature. Civ II ends with you leaving behind the conflicts of Earth to make a new life on Alpha Centauri. Well, be warned: Sid Meier's Alpha Centauri is another one of those games that can make hours pass like minutes, a game that makes you put a cooler full of sandwiches and sodas next to your computer desk so you don't have to get up all weekend.Ĭreated by Brian Reynolds and Sid Meier, the team that brought us Civilization II, Alpha Centauri is clearly the spiritual sequel to that game. and you were still hungry? Invariably, in such conversations, Sid Meier's Civilization is cited as one of the worst offenders in creating "bleary-eyed next day at work, but boy was it fun" syndrome. Ever have one of those conversations about those magic games you decided to boot up before dinner, just to get a look at it, and the next thing you knew was 4 a.m.
