Which is the best?

[Dapper Gent]

I have just recently got Civ3 and having played Civ2 quite a bit am disappointed with no multiplayer and the ridiculous turn times but in general am enjoying it quite a bit. I have never played Call to Power or Alpha Centauri and after seeing much criticism of Civ3 on these forums I was just wondering if the forum has an opinion on which of these three is the best. I'm enjoying playing CIv3 but if there is somethign better out there I'd like to waste my life on it instead.

[Velociryx]

Become a SMACaholic....

Seriously, if you enjoy Sci-Fi in the least, then you'll be addicted to the game. It's...amazing.

And, once you get the hang of it, just downgrade the power of choppers and you'll have a true gem....

-=Vel=-

[DrFell]

I hate sci-fi so it's civ2 for me. CTP2 sucks and CTP is probably similar.

[Smash]

If you were weaned on Civ2,everything else will disappoint you

SMAC is ok,but its too complex for the AI to handle.And too complex for real time multiplay.PBEM is ok though.But if you don't like sci-fi.....it is available real cheap these days.The terrain graphics MUST be replaced immediately...they're really awful.

[Sava]

SMAC - Good Sci-fi sim, 4 stars.
Civ 2 - Good civ sim, 4 stars.
Civ 3 - sub par sequel, 2 stars.
CTP2 - Good civ sim with new ideas 4 stars

I like CTP2 much better because of the combat system. It is the most realistic of the Civ Genre. I'm not sure why most people hate CTP2 with a passion. There are a few things that I would do without. But overall, I think its better than Civ 3. In terms of overall fun, Civ 2 is still king, SMAC a close second, CTP2 a close third, Civ 3 a distant fourth.

[Worthingtons]

I own all four games but only ever bothered to play Civ II and Civ III

I think they are both great, Call to Power looks Wierd, SMAC sounds very good and I might check it out one day.

[Spec]

IMO;

CTP sucks, to easy, to short, not a lot of strategy,
SMAC nothing to say except: It's amazingly addictive
Civ3 is great but....on huge maps turns are freakin too long and you dont need to think your brains out to win. But other than that, it's a great game.


Between the 3 it's SMAC first, Civ3 second, Civ2 second also and CTP comes after....ummmm.....Donkey kong or Frogger.

I hate CTP.....can you tell....?

Spec.

[Dinner]

I'd rate the modded CTP2 first followed by Civ2 and the rest tieing for third place. Most of the people who continually try to trash CTP2 haven't even bothered to play the modded version and the few that have probably never bothered to learn the rules (which are some what different from Civ2).
As you can see there isn't any real concensus about which game is the best so I suggest you go out and play them all so that you can decid for youself.

[Thrawn05]

Not since the new patch made it harder to pop rush stuff in despotism.

Help.
Citizen needs job.
Good at pre 1.17f patch pop rushing.

Photo:

[Bill9999]

OK

so I am NOT a sci-fi fan and SMAC is the best of the group.

It is by FAR the best of the group, though I will agree that the AI does have some trouble with strategy.

[Venger]

Well, CTP2 really, really is a nice game when you load the Cradle mod. Much more rewarding visually than Civ3 (though the Civ3 terrain is overall better). SMAC is great, with a wonderful hi-tech feel - menus, sounds, etc. Very well done, though the 3d graphics will play havoc with moving your units for a while. Civ3 is a number of nice ideas all poorly implemented - and seemed to exclude purposefully anything done in CTP 1 or 2. Too bad really, this was a real opportunity. Now we can wait for MOO3...

Or if you just want to have fun and rule the world, boot up old Civ2. You won't be disappointed.

MEC2

[Myrddin]

Civ III has the edge in single-player due to AI

CTP2 + mods are fun, especially if you want to conquer the world

Civ2 is too dated now and I never enjoyed the Sci-Fi elements of SMAC

[Tuberski]

My two cents, a game that is abandonware now....Master of Magic. I have been playing it for 9 YEARS off and on and still don't get bored TOO quickly, although after you learn how to play the AI is pretty weak.

[Capt Dizle]

Nature nodes, chaos nodes, those big turtle units. MoM was a great game.

But SMAC is way best still.

[Captain]

Originally posted by Tuberski
My two cents, a game that is abandonware now....Master of Magic. I have been playing it for 9 YEARS off and on and still don't get bored TOO quickly, although after you learn how to play the AI is pretty weak.

I remember that... whatever happened to it? It was really fun.
Is anyone making a sequel for it?

As for the thread topic:

Civ 3 ok, ancient era is fun, still needs modding, culture is nice addition, corruption model is bad, diplo better than civ 2, AI is better fighter than civ 2 but still illogical
Civ 2 ok, pretty fun, conquest was really easy, diplo sucked, AI was crappy, MP was good though it took forever to finish on big maps
CTP2, not played yet but I hear the modded version is great
SMAC, ok, some nice things but grfx hurt my eyes (hmm, I already have this game, maybe I should look for some mods for it)

You might find MOO to be a fun game too.