Civ3 vs other strategy games

[Aqualung71]

I often see people refer to other games in these forums, most notably SMAC, MOO3 and CTP2. My experience with strategy games is rather narrow, having been bitten by the Civ3 bug as pretty much my first computer game.....so the only other strat game I've ever played much is Empire Earth, which is basically about building units and killing the AI's.

I'd be very interested to see some of you more experienced gamers to provide some comparative comments on the differences and similarities between Civ3 and some of the other popular strategy games, as I'd like to try some others but don't have enough "non-Civ" time to try very many (yes, sad isn't it!).

So, which games are better than Civ3 and why?

[vmxa1]

Skip CTP or CTP2, not that good. Smac is excellent. It wil be quite familar to you after Civ.

TBS games that I favor are Moo/Moo2, Heroes II/III, Warlords II/III. Stars and Age Of Wonders. Maybe the best of the later ones is Disciples II.

These are IMO, not gospel.

[ErikM]

SMAC is arguably the best game in Civ genre. Gameplay is much richer than in Civ III but AI is worse (largely because of the added complexity).

Heroes of Might and Magic series is outstanding. HOMM III is probably the best, but previous entries are also very enjoyable. The latest installment is HOMM IV which is not as good as earlier versions (imo).

Europa Universalis II is the best RTS game (again, imo). Although it is RTS, it has a feel of TBS games - it is definitely not a clickfest. The added bonus is that one can actually learn quite a bit of history from this game and developer's support (Paradox) is excellent. There are several other Paradox games based on the same engine for different time periods (Hearts of Iron, Victoria) but EU2 is the best of them.

These are my personal top 3

[Fatwreck]

I think civ3 is the best TBS with SMAC, the Heroes II and III as close runner ups...

EU2 is great as well

but I think the best RTS is Warcraft 3

[dexters]

I've never played SMAC. I bought it recently as part of EA's laptop series of discount bundles, but have not touched it yet.

If the AI is worse due to increased complexity, then quite frankly, no thanks.

The lifeblood of TBS games is the AI, since these are long, plodding (but exiting) single player games. The AI matters, even if its a multiplayer game, you probably still need AI as filler.

After experiencing the Civ3 AI, which is flawed, but very interesting on many levels, I can't go back to Civ2.

Anyways, my rant has gone OT :P sorry.

[lethe]

If nothing else SMAC is worth playing through a couple of times at the lowest diff just to see all the GREAT movies for the Wonders (called Secret Projects in SMAC). The one for the Cloning Secret Project still makes me chuckle just thinking about it.

If you are easily scared then don't watch the ones from the psi secret projects at night when you are home alone.

We must dissent!

[TheArsenal]

CTP2 is a fun game if you use one of the mods from this site.

[Barinthus]

We must dissent! I love that Self-Aware Colony special project movie, I always get that SP just to see the movie.

SMAC and SMAX would be a nice change of pace for you, Thriller.

If you like role-playing, play Civ 3 and aim for building the spaceship and send it off for inter-planetary colonization. (I haven't touched Civ 3 yet but did play Civ 2 before so I assume Civ 3 have that spaceship thing).

Then play SMAC/X, and that's where your nation's spaceship went.

Graphics are not that good as Civ 3 but it's still a joy to play. It'll always have a home on my hard drive. At least until they come out with SMAC II which is highly doubtful.

[vmxa1]

Test Of Time let you see where your space ship went a long time ago.

[CrONoS]

Europa Universalis 2 is one of the best strategy games i've ever played.
If you love a good political/diplomatic/economic simulation system, you gonna love this game.
This game take a little time to learn and understand all the option of the game, but once you know how the game work, you'll have fun.
Look this review:

http://www.gamespot.com/pc/strategy/europauniversalis2/review.html

[mrboo123]

Must agree, EU2 is one the best games I played recteintly, but my favortie are: 1- Civ3, 2- EU2, 3- Railroad Tycoon 2 (hard, but fun)

[okblacke]

Originally posted by cronos_qc
Europa Universalis 2 is one of the best strategy games i've ever played.
If you love a good political/diplomatic/economic simulation system, you gonna love this game.
This game take a little time to learn and understand all the option of the game, but once you know how the game work, you'll have fun.

I've taken three (unsuccessful) runs at the tutorial to date. I've also found I need a book to read in between turns.

Like I've said, I'm sure it's a great game. I've never been able to figure it out, tho'.

[ok]

[Aqualung71]

Hey, thanks for the great responses chaps. I'd like to look at one or two of your recommendations for variety's sake, if nothing else......though realistically, it may not be until I get tired of playing Civ3 (or 4 or 5....).

Cheers!

[MqsTout]

Though not for PC, some decent strategy games on consoles are by chinese developer Koei. The "Romance of the Three Kingdoms" series. It is dual-level: strategic and tactical. I've mostly played #3 in the series (which was for SNES), but the AI in it was rather decent. It can also be configured for multiple players, which is quite fun. It takes a LONG time to finish one game, though.

I have mixed feelings about bi-leveled games like that. I often have fun with them, but I'd really hate to see Civ go that way. The Lords of the Realm/Magic series was fun to me, with TBS strategy and real time tactical. Impressions city-building series (Caesar & Pharaoh) is somewhat like that too. I think I heard that CTP had this? A fun unheard of classic: Conquest of the New World.

I, however, did not like the Total War games (Shogun & Midieval). That's probably because I really hated their tactical level's operation.

[SpencerH]

The AI is weaker with SMAC, but the tradeoff is a much richer game. Just think about this, I remember reading about a player who devised a strategy to win as the greens by deliberately polluting then capturing the spawned aliens. The same player (or possibly another) also deliberately polluted in order to melt the ice caps and drown his opponents. Dont forget the imaginative unit permutations that could be built.