Civilization 3 Review

Diplomacy has many options, from the basic World Map exchange to creating alliances. You can create a military alliance with one nation against another. There is also a number of treaties that you can sign: peace treaty, right of passage, trade embargo (against a certain country), trade route establishment, etc. You won't have to build the annoying old caravans anymore. Trade routes are now being defined from the diplomacy window. Exchange of goods does not usually include food: only luxuries and strategic resources. Luxuries are goods which increase population happiness, which is crucial for the success of the empire. The happier the people are, the better they work, and the faster your empire grows. Luxuries include gems, furs, dyes, ivory, incense, wines, silks and spices. Strategic resources are used for unit production, city development and small wonders. I should also emphasize that you won't be able to build certain units if you do not have the required resources. Aluminum will allow you to build Jet fighters, Iron is a perquisite for most military units like Pike men, Cannon, Ironclad or Swordsman; Rubber will allow modern warfare with units like Helicopter, Infantry, Mech Infantry or Tank. If a nation produces a surplus of some resource, it can export it to a friendly nation it established a trade-route with.

The cities only develop if their population is happy, which depends on many things. Primarily, you have to take care of their living standards and avoid high taxes, as well as give them the most modern system of government (Democracy is a lot better than Despotism). Each system of government has its upsides and downsides and its optimal place in history.

I found culture to be one of the most important aspects of the game. Culture determines, in one way or another, practically everything - population happiness, area of influence and technological development. Civilization III has defined state boundaries (like Alpha Centauri), and each cultural advance will take up more territory (you can spread your influence by conquering enemy cities or building new ones, but culture is still the dominant element). If an enemy state has a city relatively near one of your cultural centers, it will slowly be assimilated into your state as your culture advances further.

Culture will depend on the level of education of your population (universities, temples, etc.), but you will only acquire Cultural points by building Large and Small Wonders. Cure for Cancer will, for instance, generate four points per turn, Newton's University will generate six points, and small wonders will generate about three points. Wonders are crucial for the development of your civilization as they can both improve technological development and activate the Golden Age of your nation... and they look pretty on the map :-).

The tech development has been split into Ages, unlike the development in older Civ games, which only had one unique tech tree. Now, you will have to develop your way through Ancient times, Middle Ages, Industrial Ages and Modern Times, each of which have a huge array of technologies and discoveries to research.

Advisors play a very important role in this game. The Domestic Advisor deals with internal policy, development and citizens' disposition, giving you detailed reports for each city. The Trade Advisor will advise you about trade and economy. He will keep track with the international market and suggest what resources to import and where from. The Military Advisor will advise you how to organize the military budget and what units you should build. The Foreign advisor will look into international politics and takes care of your diplomatic contacts with other nations. The Cultural advisor will give you advice on how to spread your influence, and how best to organize your cities. And finally, the Science advisor will offer you available fields of research, and insight into all tech trees.

The game ships with an excellent map editor which will allow you to create your dream campaign. Apart from some minor bugs and several strange solutions Civilization III has to offer infinite possibilities and extreme replay value.