Civilization: Colonization

I'm an absolute whore for the Civilization series, and whenever a new expansion back comes out, I'm usually the first to go pick it up and play it.

I loved the original boardgame, but the series didn't really sink it's hooks into me until Civ II. I missed the first because, well, I didn't own a PC - I had a sexy Apple IIe (with 2, count em, 2 5 1/4 floppy disk drives). But, in college, two games caused me to loose a lot of sleep: Frontpage Sports Football and Civilization II.

So, when Civ III came out, and by that time, I had graduated school and gotten married, I jumped in with two hands and head firmly ready for some rewriting of history. What I got with CivIII was a overly complex mess. Too many resources muddled down exploration and forced civilizations to place more cities in play to gather critical resources. Example: saltpeter is required for making gunpowder in the real world, but its inclusion in the game made it one of the most useful early resource in the game, without it, no gunpowder, no musketry, and domination by an opposing civilization.

Anyway, I digress, Civ III left a bad taste in my mouth, but when I heard more and more about Civ IV, I sighed in relief. Not only did they simplify the game after the twisted mess of Civ III, they made the game far more maliable and moddable. After Civ IV, and it's outstanding mod, Rhyes and Fall of Civilization, I was hooked again. So, when they released Civ: Colonization, I knew I had to get it because there was finally a game that combined two of my obsessions: The Era of Exploration and Video Games.

So, the game, its outstanding. Of course, it requires some micromanagement (it wouldn't be a Civ game without it) and the game is sufficently challenging, even on the easier difficulty levels. If you enjoy the Civilization series, you can't go wrong with Colonization. That being said, the game is ugly. Civilization has never been a gorgeous game, but Colonizations UI palette is horrible - a real step backwards.

So, if you need me, I'll be attempting to break the subjegation from my Imperious ruler.