Sid Meier's Alpha Centauri (aka SMAC) remains one of the most critically-praised turn based strategy games to this day. PC Gamer gave SMAC its highest ever score (98%), even higher than Civilization II's 97% score. Although the magazine's current editors occasionally express regret at the score, the reviewer to this day stands by that 98%, and so do I. Generally, the game follows the same strategy as Civ 2, but with a focus on a sci-fi setting, an interesting story, forward-thinking techs, and most-importantly, amazingly distinct and fleshed-out factions that each present a legitimate rationale why their philosophy should guide the development of humanity on the planet. The graphics and sound have held up remarkably well. In addition, the hard-science approach to future technological development remains outstanding. Although I can't address the other branches of science, as a PhD in Molecular Biology, I can confirm that several of the ideas and philosophies considered new technologies have been discussed to various degrees by biological futurists and xenobiologists. Also, don't miss the excellent manual and bibliography - this truly sets the standard for a comprehensive manual that avoids being too unweildy to be useful. My only minor complaints about this game are typical with most Civ strategy games: (1) As your Civ grows, the game gets bogged down in the micromanagement of multiple cities. (2) Once you are clearly ahead, the endgame can drag a bit. (3) The expansion -Alien Crossfire- is not included with this game. Although the expansion's new human factions and the 2 opposing alien factions are slightly bland and generic overall, the expansion and new techs really do a great job enhancing the SMAC experience. Regardless, SMAC is a complete game and strategy experience even without the Alien Crossfire expansion, and should not impact your decision to purchase the game. Overall, this is an absolute must-buy for any CIv fan, strategy fan, and sci-fi nut. Sid, your fans are still waiting for SMAC2.Just, please don't let it turn into Master of Orion 3.
