Sid Meier's Alpha Centauri™ Planetary Pack

When I want to play a Civ game, I play either this or Civ 4. Given that this came out 13 years ago or so, that's saying something. I'll assume that you've played Civ's before if your considering buying this game and answer the primary question - what does this game have that others don't? Character and Story. The setting, factions and leaders have their own individual traits. There's an actual story as well that progresses as you discover more about Planet. Plus, the way the factions interact and how they operate starts similarly, but can go to weird places. By the end of the game, there's a high degree of transumanism and possibly horror, depending on your lifestyle and tech choices. The wonders also bear special mention - this game got them down better than any Civ before or since. Each one is very useful, and has its own read quote and little movie attached. Together, this, the story snippets and the quotes with each tech paint a wonderful picture of what each faction stands for and the story that is being told. Since you also have a lot of personal options for your civ, there tends to be a lot more impact within the game as well. Trust me, if you decide to nuke someone in this game, you'll know. The victory screens are a heck of a lot better then any Civ game since, with a much more personalized ending. In short, I wish Firaxis or someone else would do something like this again - not the exact same game, but simply apply good storytelling techniques to a 4X style game that gave players a high degree of freedom as to what kind of society they were going to create.

I still play this after all these years as no one has ever made a better civ game. Haven't checked, but if you don't have Crossfire on GoG you should totally add that too.

This game is amazing, but I found that the alieness of the landscape, people, units and plot was very bleak and had me feeling moon mad after a few hours, which is just enough to figure out the basics of how this game works. I've played it a few times with the same results, I think its really wel put together but the bleakness of the world puts me off comming back to it.

This game stole MANY hours of my life. I can't say how fun and totally addictive this game is. If my Win 7 played the old game better, I'd probably play it more today. The graphics are OLD! (1999) But It doesn't need it. Kids give it a try. It's well worth it, but make sure you delve deep into the tech trees. It makes a difference. Great game Sid.

I remember when I first got Alpha Centauri. Back then I had no idea who Sid Meier's was or his games. But after playing Alpha Centauri I knew I had too try more of his games. Alpha Centauri is a gorgeous TBS game with gorgeous art and amazing game play from city management, exploration, terraforming, etc. If you are new to video games or to Sid Meier's style of games. Then I highly recommend you play Alpha Centauri and its expansion. It is a wonderful classic for all gamers young and old, casual and hard core.