Forget Civilization III & IV. Were they fun? Sure. But they're just wannabes latching onto the glory of this treasure.

User Rating: 9.4 | Sid Meier's Civilization II PC
Civilization II was a gem.

This game, as old-school as it was, was so very appropriate for the genre. It took the basic ideas from Colonization (a legendary game in itself) and updated it to be appropriate for a new generation strategy game of this type.

In this game you play as one of many civilizations starting from the dawn of humanity and into the post-modern era of the early 21st century. The game focuses on territorial expansion and technological mastery.

Additionally, the game keeps players hooked with diplomatic discussions between leaders of other nations and AI that can mean trade relations with one nation and hostilities with another.

This game is a hands down classic and unfortunately all the attempts to remake this game better have not done much good. Sure, Civ III & IV are a lot of fun, and they have better graphics. But is there anything new beyond cultural and religious themes? I agree they were good additions, but nothing new besides that.

The gaming industry needs to come up with some original ideas. Civ II wasn't even that original in its day, but at least they remade the Civilization game properly.