Civilization III is the long awaited sequel to the highly acclaimed Civilization II. It had a lot to be compared to as both of its predecessors were truly excellent-Civ III does not disappoint. It manages to be both original and yet similar to Civ II, making it an amazing stand alone title. There are a few subtle changes to the gameplay of Civ II. The concept of unique factions is used for the first time on Civilization III, i.e each civilization has its own unique units and two bonuses which characterize the tribes somewhat. This change seems larger than it actually is, and is in fact somewhat superficial, the unique units only provide brief advantages and throughout the whole of the game they aren't very useful, a nice new feature all the same. Another, far better, new feature is the civilization strengths, my personal favourite tribes are the Babylonians and the Persians. When playing as the Babylonians, described as scientific and religious, you pay half price for scientific and religious structures, can change your governing style without causing anarchy, and receive a free technology upon entering a new age. Changing civilization actually does affect game dynamics, and finding which faction suits you best is actually important. National, or cultural borders, are yet another new tweak to the Civilization experience. Each city accumulates a culture score, by the building of such buildings as wonders, cathedrals, etc. Your cultural borders can suffocate those of neighbouring rival cities and the population of those cities are drawn to your superior influence and become a part of your empire. This provides a little more realism to the game as in truth people remaining loyal to an empire that does not support them is a little unrealistic. A further development in gameplay lies in the fact that now terrain provides defensive bonuses, as well as just food. Also, resources have to be colonized by a worker and linked to your cities by road or rail, if this is not done the fact the resource or luxury is within your cultural borders is irrelevant. Once again this adds realism as good must be imported and exported to travel round your empire and gives the map more depth other than just an expanse of land. The diplomacy in Civ III is also better, and far easier as you have to placate your allies and enemies a little less. In Civ II a war could break out at the drop of a hat and be over by the time the hat hits the ground, in Civilization III the wars are fewer and further between but at a much larger scale. The computer AI, even at higher difficulties is a little easier than the first two games but that is not a big problem, as it is still competent enough to provide a challenge. Civilization III also has a tremendous amount of replay value, the scenarios are a great new addition to the series as they can keep a player busy for hours, and though some of them are quite similar, many of them are unique. This combined with the lower difficulty level of the game, makes it accessible both to avid strategy gamers, and to the more casual gamer who is looking for a bit of fun and exploration. On the other hand, the game suufers from being best at the beginning and middl e and a little more tedious toward the end. As your empire becomes vast and the number of units both the player and the AI opposition manipulate the tuns become longer, as does the time between them. Giving all your units commands, managing your cities and the tedium of having to command your workers can be a taxing endeavor. The game map certainly isn't an eyesore, with a perfect balance in scope between the aesthetic and the practical being reached. The units battling it out with one another and their rapturous cheering at their victory is rather quaint. The look of buildings, rulers and advisors progress to mirror the age and seeing Shaka of the Zulu in a business suit is light comic relief. All of these features make it great graphically. The soundtrack is also a little less tiring over time than its predecessor, and no complaints can truly be made about the sound of the game. All in all, another excellent game in what appears to be a long running series.
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