|
|
CIVILIZATION:CTP PREVIEW ON GAMERSENTRAL
Markos Giannopoulos wrote an article on C:CTP for GamersCentral
and we re-post it here.
Why?
When I first heard that Activision was working on a Civilization game, I
wondered "What for? We already have Civ2, pretty soon we will have the
multiplayer version and hopefully in 1-1,5 year Microprose will make a
civ3". After reading previews, looking at screenshots and discussing on
forums with the developers of the game, Activision's Civilization: Call to
Power will be worth it's money. Especially since things seems to go
slow on Microprose, Civ: CTP looks like a gift from heaven for civ2
players.
The next millennium
Civ: CTP brings some new ideas to the old Sid Meier concept. New
governments, each with its advantages and disadvantages, will give you
more choices in your 7000 years of reign. Yes, the game now ends in 3000
AD instead of Civ2's 2020, allowing not only to "change" the history of
the world, but also the future. The next millennium in Civ: CTP includes
governments like Multinational Republic or Virtual Democracy, and new
government-specific special units for unconventional warfare. For example,
the Ecotopian government (where the only concern of your people is the
environment) can build a unit called Park Ranger, which can wipe out an
enemy's highly polluting city, leaving nothing behind (and no pollution of
course!).
Improved micromanagement
Beyond the new strategies, which we probably have to play to see if they
are as fun as they seem, Civ: CTP has some new features, which will
definitely make the game more fun. One of the main problems of Civ2 was
heavy duty of micromanagment in the late stages of the game, where you had
to manage every single of city and unit. Building queues, city macros to
maximise production, happiness, growth, or science and the ability to give
build orders to multiple cities with one command will managing the cities
a lot easier. Also, land improvement will take place on a larger scale,
without the settlers, requiring less "work" form the player and allowing
him to concentrate on the main part of the game. For those who love
micromanagment, all these features will be optional.
Less micromanagment means faster multiplaying. Up to 7 players will be
able to play through various ways: TCP/IP, hotseat, modem to modem. E-mail
games is also a possibility. Activision's plans include an online player
matching system, much like the one used in other Activision games.
8 sides to the story
Probably the most outdated part of Civ2 is its graphics. Although many
players will say that graphics don't matter, I don't think anyone would
not choose to play with Civ: CTP's graphics. Each unit has eight facings,
according to its direction, and an animation for each of the five modes:
idle, walk, combat, death and victory. Activision though, targets for low
system requirements: a P90 with 16MB Ram and a common video card will be
fine.
Christmas
Combine all that and what do you have? A worthy opponent for the upcoming
Microprose titles (Multiplayer Civilization II Gold Edition and
Civilization II: Test of Time) and Sid Meier's Alpha Centauri. No matter
how good these games will be Activision's Civilization: Call to Power will
make a pretty good Christmas (since it scheduled for a Christmas release)
present for your Civ2-maniac friend!
Apolyton Civilization Site Copyright © Robert Plomp and Jeroen Schweitzer
All trademarks and trade names are the properties of their respective owners.
|