Sid Meier's Alpha Centauri™ Planetary Pack

Love the strong theme in this Civ game. It's very well executed, and truly feels like the future of technology. I played this as a kid when it came out back in the nineties, but the interface always overwhelmed me, even when I tried to pick it up a few times over the years. Now that I've played other Civ games with softer learning curves, I've been able to really dive in and see what everyone else loved about this game. Turns out, there really is a lot to love. That said, here are my main gripes. Governors are largely useless in the late game though if you're going for a Scientific or Diplomatic Victory. Discovery should just be about research and projects, but they lump in fighter jets and terraformers, which clog up your queue unnecessarily. Also, many factions will appear to accept trades of technology, only to say they have no interest once you initiate the trade, which just seems like a bug to me. I'm sure I'm not the only one who would love to see this get a real makeover, with improved graphics, user interface, and references to current events. I heard Civ Beyond Earth wasn't anything amazing, so I guess not. This will do!

A lot of other reviews focus on gameplay or service but where this game really shines and is the crazy story and experience of the whole journey. This is the best sci-fi experience I ever had. I'd rank the experience above any of the classic books too because this game is inspired by them but gives you an open world to explore it in. The story they crafted is awesome and there are actually multiple futures you can lead mankind to-- some terrifying depressing. No other game I have ever played has had so much thought blended into its story and immersive environment. In addition they blended real life thinkers, philosophy, science and politics into this fictional world so well its almost as if the writers were creating prophecy.

It's a very good game, The factions are somewhat interesting with their own personalities. I don't remember AI misbehaving too bad Exploring the map and finding resources and alien pods always fun. Being able to customize any and all units based on what tech you've learned was really well done and can be pretty fun. It provides default blueprints for those who don't want to bother and spend the time. The best thing about this game compared to other Civilization games is how it handles the aliens. See alien worms appear out of the fungus and attack you. The worms don't have a tech level or att/def to speak of, instead they have experience level. Your own troops can also gain experience and get stronger. But the key thing is, against the alien worms tech level is irrelevant. Experience is the only thing used in battles against the worms. So it doesn't matter much if you've blasted ahead in the tech tree or are lagging behind, the worms can still give you a run for your money. These random danger encounters are pertinent for much of the game till you can terraform away the fungus. But battling the worms can also be a way to train your troops. Also there is alien tech you can learn to get more from fungus, but you can simply replant it then. Troops can even get in helicopters and fly to the enemy from what I recall. This game has lots of big and little details that make it fun. But there are also some drawbacks. At it's base it's a old Civ game and suffers from the problematic Civ mechanics that were especially prevalent back then. I always hated how in Civ food turns into people. SMAC has that issue alot. Furthermore as your city grows, its growth dramatically slows. And there is no attempt at mechanics to punish you for having too many cities. So essentially the winning strategy is to simply spam cities with a few guards and focus on spots with a bit of food. Even if it means cramming them in. And of course lots of cities means lots of stuff to manage.

I have the original game discs and the GOG version, and checked using the same method that gives you the secret Firaxian faction (with Sid as the leader - you get fusion reactors from Turn 1). The source of the GOG's copy were altered so that any difficulty beyond the two lowest are set to the impossible difficulty (transcendent). At the 3rd difficulty level on up, any enemy faction can build two units at once per city in one turn. So be advised. Its still the same game with no other changes however. So if you want to relax, and enjoy the classic feel? Play them, just that you'll easily stomp them. If you want a challenge? Well, it jumps straight to 'computer is a cheating b@st@rd' mode. Its that or alter the game files back to the original settings.

With Alpha Centauri Sid Meier and his team managed to do the impossible. They took a game that was already a classic in its own right (Civilization) and made it even more classic. A few highlights: - The game benefits from an interesting universe and backstory (which was later fleshed out in a trilogy of novels, a graphic novel and 2 stories freely available online). -The 7 (14 with Alien Crossfire) factions all act and behave differently from one another. You will grow to like some leaders and hate others. - The unit design workshop allows to design units from numerous parts for any possible task. Want flying colony pods? (this games version of the settler unit) You bet! - Like in Civilization there are many ways to win from conquering the world to transcendence (technological singularity) to economic victory (if you have enough energy you can buy out everyone else). - Many other touches that round off the experience include some great ambient music that will put you in the right mood to the very well made secret project (wonder) movies that can be either enlightening or hilarious. Alpha Centauri is a game that I've played over and over ever since it originally came out way back in 1999. Even the original on its own is great but the Alien Crossfire expansion rounds out the experience with many little improvments and additions. If you're looking for something similar to Civilization or something in the 4X genre and you've not got it already then SMAC is a must have.