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Thursday, November 17, 2005

Civilization

Hi, My name is Greg, and I'm a Civilizationaholic. (Thanks to Newmark's Door for the pointer)

I'm addicted!

Imagine, looking at that bright, shiny disc, turning it over and peering closely, as if to see the 1's and 0's scattered across the pitted surface, knowing that your life is about to become, once again, consumed, CONSUMED I say, by the overpowering allure of...

Civilization!



Specifically, Civilization IV.

The only problem with IV, as opposed to the first release, and II, and III, is that I cannot completely immerse myself into the game. The opposing civilizations keep wanting to sign treaties for Open Borders, and even as I savagely click It ain't happening, images of illegals swarming across river, desert and fence dance in my mind.

Intrusions of reality notwithstanding, the game remains exquisitely addicting. Sessions in excess of 8 hours are not unusual (the initial session after installation, for me, was 14 hours!). Micromanaging the minutiae of production, culture, religion, exploration, and building projects is very time consuming. Conflicts with opposing civilizations must be handled to your advantage. The mantra of the Civilization player is 'Just one more turn....'.

And I am not alone, not by a long shot!

Douglas Kern, writing in this TCS column, says:
I cut taxes, rammed my religion down the throats of my unwilling subjects, and nuked France. It was a great year. []
Yes, it was a very good year.

I understand, from documentation and statements by others, that it is possible to play relatively quick games. I cannot verify the truthfullness of this assertion. I mean, when I am presented with options in the game setup labeled Huge, and Epic, and am given the ability to add more opposing civilizations to the default choice, then I am really left with NO choice!
If you are like most Civilization addicts, your story began innocently enough way back in 1991 with the discovery of Sid Meier's Civilization by Firaxis Games. The original “Civ,” as it's called on the streets, and its two subsequent sequels, II and III, allowed you to create or conquer vast civilizations-from the dawn of man to the space age and beyond. The unique turn-based strategy game quickly became the game of choice for gamers around the world. For some, however, it became more than that...it became an addiction.
Hold on a sec... Julius Ceasar want to discuss a treaty with me...

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