Sid Meier's Alpha Centauri™ Planetary Pack

The update with Alien Crossfire (one of the rarest expansion packs ever), was worth 10 games for me (and spent for 10 other games to show my appreciation).

Before this the only 4x strategy game I had ever played was Civilization V. Now I've seen how well diplomacy can be put into a game combined with warfare and industry. A must have for any 4X fan.

To be fair this DID work on one of my laptops. However I bought it because it did not work on another. I have the original SMAC, so I didn't need to purchase this. But I was told it would work on Windows 7 and the second laptop simply would not run the original SMAC. I thought this re-release would be different, though its not different than original SMAC with patches available online. When I told GOG about my trouble post-purchase, a refund was apparently impossible. Waste of 7 bucks.

Honestly, one of the single best strategy games to date. The one drawback that I could see turning people away is the dark scheme of the GUI. Other than that, perfect game, even for today.

One of the best PC games ever. Period. Probably one of the deepest story lines in PC gaming history to accompany some of the best gameplay ever devised. The possibilities with strategy are unrivaled. Don't feel like building a navy for that game ending invasion? Fine. Terraform a land bridge instead! Probably no other strategy game takes this much time to incorporate terrain, topography and climate into your strategy. Multiple paths to victory and deep diplomacy round out the perfect PC game that will still stand the test of time twenty years from now. This is the definitive 4X game.