I’ve played three games of this incredible, latest installment of the Civ series. Below are
my favorite highlights from each game as well as some suggestions to improve it:
GAME 1 - Chief level, 8 civs
As the Romans, I thought my Legionnaires would have a field day with Cleopatra’s War
Chariots since chariots have weak stats. I recalled first reading the stats and thinking,
“what on earth was Firaxis thinking?” Boy was I wrong! When the first battle ensued,
my Legionnaire was about to win when the War Chariot RAN AWAY! I looked this up
in the Civilopedia and that’s when I first learned about retreats. Man, did this change
everything! Sure my troops can defeat the chariots, if they could only catch them!
Unfortunately for me, I did not have a huge army (overconfidence in the Legionnaire
stats). Cleo had many chariots which she used to rush past my troops, destroy roads and
improvements, and eventually wither down and defeat two of my cities. The injured
chariots, of course, were brought back to her barracks to be refreshed for the next round.
She also signed an alliance with the Aztecs who were on my eastern front (Cleo was on
my western front). Those blasted Jaguar Warriors were just as nimble! This obviously
called for a new strategy. I made peace with Cleo and built up my Legionnaires en mass.
I managed to hold of the Aztec offensive and then gained the advantage as I eventually
smashed my way through four of their cities, including their capital. The Aztec empire
still had 3-4 cities but their power was forever broken.
Many years later, Cleo appeared ready to stage another attack with her mighty chariots. I
finally wizened up and built a few knights. As before, the war opened up with her
rushing in and pillaging everything. My knights came to the rescue! Cleo’s chariots could
not outrun them and they were cut down. Then, an incredible thing happened. Cleo
pulled her remaining chariots and brought them back into her cities. It was as if she
KNEW they were no match to my knights and, therefore, brought them into safe areas!
This was cool! (or perhaps my imagination?
) Anyway, my Legionnaires marched forward and eventually took two of her cities.
VICTORY!
Conclusion: The retreat feature is cool, and the AI appears able to exploit it.
During my war with Cleo, the Aztecs managed to found a coastal city in the heart of
Egyptian territory (they were good buds). This was across the bay from where some of
my coastal cities were. I never thought much of it because the Aztecs were not a threat
and the city was surrounded by a lot of desert. Meanwhile, at the end of my war w/ Cleo,
she was starting to introduce Cavalry to the front lines. I managed to sign a peace w/ her
(see paragraph above) but became worried about where I could find some Saltpeter. Well
wouldn’t you know it . . . that Aztec city was my closest source! In all my years of
civing, I very rarely declared war on anybody (yes, I’m one of them pathetic peaceful
builders). You cannot believe how much I wanted . . . no . . . lusted after that city! And it
would have been so easy too! The Aztecs were still building Jaguars! Well, I decided to
be a good boy and held off the urge . . .
. . . until the discovery of oil, that is. That’s right, that blasted city was near a source of
oil. It was in Cleo’s territory, but the Aztec city was close enough to serve as a useful
base for further operations. I gave in to my evil craving as I summoned my troops and
took over the city.
Conclusion: Resources are one of the best things to happen to the Civ series. Never has
my playing style been so drastically changed by a concept.
With my Saltpeter secured, I focused on finishing off the Aztecs from the continent (they
had one island city to the northeast). The remaining cities were in good positions and so I
had to move fast to take them. Why did I have to move fast to take them? Not because
of the puny Aztec army, but because the remaining AI tribes are A PACK OF
BLOODTHIRSTY VULTURES!!! You got it! Within the next turn or two, they ALL
declared war on the Aztecs and joined in on the feeding frenzy. I took most of the cities I
wanted, the Greeks (who were south of the Aztecs) took a city, and Cleo (yes, the traitor)
took that Aztec city off the coast. The Aztec empire was no more.
If my memory serves me correct, I only had one Mutual Protection Pact, if any, with one
of the other tribes. Besides, the Aztecs were too weak to even attack me. I can’t help but
think that the AIs were simply looking for some excuse to gobble up the Aztecs. Well,
they had their fun.
Conclusion: The AI tribes are . . . well, I’ll say it again . . . a pack of bloodthirsty
vultures!
GAME 2 - Warlord level, 8 civs
As the Greeks, I was all alone on a small continent. Almost half of the continent was
tundra! I was able to construct 4 metropolis and 2 towns out of this mess. The only
resource on this thing . . . lots of silk and horses. That’s it. On a nearby, mountainous,
hilly, foresty island was a source of iron. The terrain was bad for a city, but I needed the
iron so I created a town. I started work on the harbor to bring the supplies back to my
continent when bad news occurred . . . the iron source was depleted! If my workers had
only dug into that so-called “rich vein” two more inches they would have discovered bare
rock! Curses! Well, the town was set up so I did the best I could with it.
Hundreds of years later, I finally meet the remaining tribes (I needed caravels to reach
them). They were all residing on two huge continents that were close to each other. In
other words, they had been trading resources and techs with each other for years. In spite
of being alone on an island and focusing purely on research, I was still a “backward
civilization” by four or five techs. So then, was there anything I could do? SILK!
Immediately, I established trade routes with the other civs in exchange for technology. It
was still somewhat costly, the other tribes always got the better deal, but it eventually
brought me up to par, and even surpass them. This, of course, took some money and time
but it paid off.
Then it happened . . . the Aztecs declared war on me. I had some fairly decent troops
built with the Saltpeter I received from another tribe but this source was unreliable.
Eventually, I had no Saltpeter at all. What was I to do? To the west of me was an Aztec
island with two cities. They were launching small raiding parties against me which I held
off but I feared that eventually they would mount a full assault once their war with the
Americans and Babylonians had ended.
After many years, a miracle was granted. That lone town on that small island discovered
Saltpeter AND iron!! The Aztecs were still busy in their war with the others so I quickly
built up both my army and navy. I then surprised their two city island and took it over.
VICTORY!
Incidentally, the Aztecs and Zulus would eventually go on to beat the English,
Babylonians and the Americans. It was fun watching history in reverse, so to speak. The
Americans went down fast in spite of their large size. I suspect this was due to their
controlling half of the world’s rubber. The other tribes simply wouldn’t put up with that
and so they all went in for the kill while they could.
Conclusion: Nothing new here . . . just reinforcement of what I said earlier. The AI tribes
are aggressive and resources really make this game fun and interesting!
It’s late in the game. I was the only tribe with flight. I figured this was my only chance to
get a foothold on one of the huge continents. I built two carriers and loaded them with
bombers. I built two transports and loaded them with some tanks and mostly infantry.
That’s right . . . I managed to obtain Rubber from the Zulus but when renegotiations
came, they wanted far more than what I was willing to give them. I chugged my invasion
force over to the closest city . . . a Zulu city! The irony of it all. I saved the game at this
point because I figured this was something my friend would want to see.
My planes blasted away at some of their Cavalry and the target city as I landed my troops.
Then came the slaughter. The Zulus and Aztecs, of course, had all their cities connected
by railroads. They must have attacked with a combined force of some 30 to 40 Cavalry!
And, of course, when they attacked my infantry and lost, they merely retreated. Sure my
tanks wrecked havoc on them, but there was just too many of them. Even worse, an
artillery unit inside the city was blasting away at my troops. They moped me up within
three turns. What in the world was I thinking??!! The two mightiest empires on earth,
and I’m assuming that a handful of planes and troops will do the trick. Yes, I may very
well have ruined their armies, but the whole operation was still an embarrassing defeat. I
decided to look at the map closely to see what else could have been done. And then an
idea hit me . . . (to be continued further down)
Conclusion: Combat, especially with planes, is fun. Yes, there is a greater chance of
funky results, but I don’t think it’s nearly as bad as some critics say. I still have yet to see
an ancient unit defeat a healthy, industrial unit when it’s used properly (i.e. don’t use a
Rifleman (attack of 4) to attack a Legionnaire (defense of 3) fortified behind city walls).
And while medieval units have occasional successes against industrial units, I find it rare
and enjoyable.
GAME 3 - Warlord level, 8 civs.
As the Aztecs, I took full advantage of my Jaguar Warriors (JW) to wear down the
Babylonians and take several of their cities. My JWs lose a lot, but their ability to retreat
really pays off.
As the years roll by, I eventually discover Saltpeter. Unfortunately, I don’t have any . . .
but the Babylonians do! What is a militaristic society to do? Why, take it, of course!
My knights thunder south into the capital city of Babylon and continued past toward
Ninevah. Capturing Babylon, of course, was very beneficial. But Ninevah, though out of
the way, is the target city because of its large supply of Saltpeter. Victory was swift and I
sign peace.
Then it happened . . . a few turns later. For the first time in three games, a city I captured
revolted against me! Babylon was simply too large to hang on to. Worse than that,
Ninevah is cut off from me. True, I am at peace, but I was afraid of losing that city to
another revolt. It was surrounded by Babylonian culture! What was I to do? Hmmm . . .
I did a rush job on a temple in the hopes of expanding my cultural border around that city.
After sweating through ten turns, my borders expanded and I felt more secure. I’m
honestly not certain if this did, indeed, hold off any potential revolts, but it appears that
way.
Conclusion: History shows many great empires who quickly expand, only to be destroyed
because the people they “control” rise up years later to overthrow them. Hey, treat your
people right (i.e. culturally) and they’ll love ya for it. The whole idea of culture in this
game is cool!
GAME 2 (Revised)
Remember my infamous attack against the Zulus in game 2? Remember how I saved the
game just before the attack for my friend to see? Well, he did eventually come over and
here is how the “revised” attack went:
The Zulu town (Ellipi) was connected to the rest of their empire (to the west) by a narrow
strip of cultural territory. This was due to a French city to the southwest. Ellipi was also
connected to another Zulu city to the southeast by another strip of territory that they
controlled. Further south was the Aztecs.
Instead of attacking any units, my planes blasted away at the two narrow strips of territory
that the Zulus controlled, destroying their roads and railroads in the process. My troops
stayed on board, and out of sight, until the city was completely cut off. THEN I landed
my troops while my planes and ships bombarded the city. Meanwhile, the Aztecs and
Zulus tried sending in reinforcements to attack. At the same time, they moved in workers
to reestablish the roads. Ellipi fell and I dug in. What followed was intense. As the
enemy troops slowly approached the city, I blasted them with my planes and then sent my
tanks to mop them up. I had a Mutual Protection Pact with France so they ended up
declaring war on the Aztecs and Zulus. This was good until that French city fell. Oh,
GREAT!! Now the bad guys had direct railroad access to my city again! Desperately, I
started bombing the railroads again and succeeded. The enemy losses, combined with a
new front against France (on the other side of the world) really curtailed their attacks. I
managed to sign a Military Alliance with the Iroquois, who had a Right of Passage
through France, to attack the bad guys as well. All this combined to mark a turning point
in the war. I now had a firm base (Ellipi) with lots of troops (yes, I brought more in) and
plenty of planes. I isolated that Zulu city to the south and took that one over as well.
South of there, however, is a vast network of railroads. It was getting late (we played this
battle from 11:00 pm to 2:00 am !!!) and I suspected that my advance would have to
regroup before carrying on.
Conclusion: What a turn of events! By merely changing my combat strategy, the
outcome changed from steaming my ships home in defeat to capturing two Zulu cities and
getting two allies to help. I see this as evidence that a foolish general with advanced
weaponry can still lose the battle (which I like). Careful planning and analyzing,
however, can go a long way.
SUGGESTIONS
Improve the Foreign Advisor - I should know what kind of techs, agreements and
governments the other tribes have, even in war, and I shouldn’t have to contact the leader
to find this info out either. I’m always worried that contacting them too much will annoy
them (it did in Civ 2, no?) I should also have an idea of my reputation with the other
tribes. Also, I don’t like having to reclick all my tribe circles. Can a “Select All” button
be added?
Allow pacts to be broken - Yes, I can break them by declaring war but that destroys all
my pacts and then I have to renegotiate peace. This seems a little harsh when breaking a
Trade Embargo.
Allow bombardment to destroy units - I’m actually kind of torn on this one. I understand
where Firaxis was going on this but the idea of sending 50 bombers against a warrior and
still not able to destroy it kind of strikes me funny. More importantly, ships cannot be
sunk. The Pacific Theater in World War II showed the world how important aircraft is
and how it can play a PRIMARY role, not a supporting role.
Help Features - Please clean up the Civilopedia. That is THE MAIN source of info and it
should be accurate. Also, Civ 2 had a neat feature wherein the player, while examining
the city production list, can get help about a particular item by merely clicking it. This
was a handy feature! Please bring that back.
Phew! Yes, this was a lot. If you made it this far, you probably figured out by now that I
really do enjoy this game. There are other features I like as well as more suggestions but
these are the highlights. I almost wanted to post this in the Stories forum but I know that
many of you still do not have the game which is why I added my conclusions and posted
it the General forum. Still, Marko may move it but that’s fine by me.
Conclusion: A big THUMBS UP for Civ 3!!
