Good ol' isometric Civ. The last of which is Civ 3.
Ever since the first Civilization came out, it has been a boon to gamers seeking to combine politics, war and economy management all in one game. Of course, while experience has shown that it is definitely a game slanting towards war rather than peaceful development, it all depends on you on how you want to develop your Civ, and how you will face various enemies should they arrive at your borders.
This open-endedness of the game has certain goals to keep your attention to where it is supposed to be. In order to win, you will have to fulfill certain victory conditions such as sending your people into space, eliminating your rivals, or having the largest national borders. Of course, every other Civ will have the same set of goals to attain, and so you’ll have to keep an eye out on their actions and scientific development. The best strategy, of course, is to play well and always be ahead of your rivals.
They don't discriminate, even if the leader is fugly.
Civ III is a game that requires patience to learn its somewhat steep learning curve, which can take a few hours. Once you’ve got up to speed, however, you’ll realise what this game has to offer – a lot. It is an extremely addictive game that will keep you in your seat for many hours, simply because you’ll want to finish a game in one sitting (8h+). The rewards of playing the game are quite large too – there is a great feeling of wiping a civilisation off the face of the map, or successfully building a wonder before they do.
But there is a problem. Sid Meier designed this game for regular desktops and therefore it has a small resolvable issue with netbooks – its low-res screen. The minimum resolution for this game is 1024×768, and therefore, most ten-inching netbooks lack the extra 168 pixels to play the game. But this isn’t a big problem, as it requires only a small, simple fix.
Civilising Mission
Your advisor is suggesting to you that you should Pearl Harbor the Americans.
The first order of the day is to get your computer’s res up to Civ III’s requirements. It is possible to make your netbook run at 1024×768, in a few ways.
- The regedit way (requires no programs)
- The AsTray way (is a program that will make future adjustments easier)
After you’ve done this, you’ll then need to modify the configuration files in Civ III’s folder. Head over wherever you’ve installed the game and find the file conquests.ini and add the lines,
KeepRes=1
Video Mode=1024
Done!
Like
Superb multi-aspect gameplay dynamics
Great for passing time (while flying, on a road trip, etc.)
Superb replayability
Not obsolete even with the release of Civ 4 and 5
Dislike
Requires modding which ruins the graphics a bit
Steep learning curve that tests your patience
Verdict
Civ III is a special game. In a sense, you get a game that is unique to itself – even if you have played Civ 4 and 5, you’ll find Civ III has something of its own to offer, and the gameplay is similar to every other Civ – addictive, sophisticated and ultimately very fun. It is a pity that you would need to do some modding before it plays.
Pictures: Civ3.com
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