One word: Alpha!
It’s very simple. It rocks. Right from the start the game drops you onto an alien world, Planet, and forces your little colony to survive (or die horribly by mind worm infestation…ewww). It might sound a tad overwhelming, but it’s not. The game guides you, step by baby step, slowly but surely, on the road to world domination (or Transcendence, if fighting’s not your cup of tea). Along the way you’ll build bases, improvements, facilities a la Civ II, burn those pesky mind worms into charred cinders and subjugate other factions populating Planet (I always loved torturing puny little Santiago...heh heh). And when you’re at last poised to take over the world, your overwhelming military forces parked outside the last rival base in some remote corner of the world, a feeling of pure satisfaction unlike no other takes over you. It’s like standing on the summit of a mountain, only better, because you’re not getting frostbite.
I’ve read somewhere (alright, in PC Gamer) that Alpha Centauri has ‘too steep a learning curve’, and that ‘the technologies are too difficult to understand’. That’s hogwash. If you can understand the meaning of the words ‘kick-arse technology’, then nothing in this game is too difficult for you to comprehend. Plus, don’t you think techs with names like ‘Sentient Econometrics’ or ‘Cyberethics’ just add to the mystique of colonizing a new world, in a more technologically advanced era? It’s Civ II with a futuristic twist, but it’s also uber-Civ.
Alright, I said I would keep it short, and I will. If you are still deliberating over whether or not to pick this gem up from the bargain bin (yeah, it’s old, so you won’t find it on the new release shelves, big deal) and have even the slightest soft spot for riveting turn-based strategy action, then shame on you. Better yet, find a copy of Alien Crossfire (there might still be a couple on eBay) and find out for yourself why this game remains one of the highest-rated of all time. That’s it from me, I’ve still got a couple more bases left to capture!