| Civilization: Call to Power Reviewed by: Debbie St.Germain Review Date 3.30.00 Publisher: MacSoft MSRP: $49.99 |
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If you have ever had a secret wish to be a ruler and build your own civilization, guiding its development every step of the way, then Civilization: Call to Power may be the game for you. Civilization the newest game in the Civilization, turn based strategy games, far surpasses its earlier predecessors.
New Realms, unconventional warfare, enhanced diplomatic and trade options, and all new wonders are major changes in this newest version of Civ. series, developed for MacSoft by Westlake Interactive. The game is bought to life with animated, high resolution images, 16 bit graphics are a step up from
Civilization. II, giving the units and cities
the more realistic details that you expect in a Mac game.Being the highest scoring citizen after 7000 years or the first player to synthesize alien life from DNA are two new additions that add to the variety. Icons that appear to the left of your screen when trouble is brewing or when something new has been produced in a city, are another nice improvement that helps to keep you informed as you play. The pop-up menu gives easy access to all your cities and their status, making it easier to manage your cities.
From the moment you start up the program you can see the improvements as the introduction takes you through an elaborate production of the various stages of the game. CTP starts out in the same fashion as the previous version, but that is where the similarities end. Improved management makes it easier to handle your cities globally instead of individually; save game feature is great for getting back into a game where you left off, and being able to advance past the planet into sea and space adds a new dimension to this game. A new multi-functional Map Editor gives you the opportunity to create your own unique worlds. For the less technically inclined the ability to change the names of cities and leaders is a fun option.
The sound quality is dependent on the type of system you are running on, but listening to the crunching of boots across the terrain, a tank rumbling across the plains, boats pushing through the sea, and the whir of fighter engines, adds a bit of realism to the game. The various calls of the human units are fun at first, but after a few hundred moves, they can become quite annoying.
Beginners can start off with the tutorial which gives you the feel of the game, but playing the game against the computer is the best way to really learn strategies and game play. Lessons learned the hard way ( having my civilizations destroyed a few times ) are the ones that taught me the best tactics. Another mode of play is the Hotseat game, in which you can play with three or more players on your computer. I found the Hotseat game to be more of a ram hog then playing against the computer, though. Once you feel you've mastered enough of the game, you can play against fellow Mac and PC gamers on the Internet or by e-mail.
When it comes to realism, there are a few points that I thought could use some
improvements. For one thing, I have never known a submarine or battleship to barrel
over a city. Calvary and Toga wearing diplomats do not mix with marines and battleships,
as far as I know. Public works give users roads and railroads which make travel easier
and faster, but where are the bridges? I was forced to build a city on a small island
when I stumbled into some ruins, but I had no way to get back to the main land except
by boat. Granted you can build undersea tunnels later in the game, but I think it
would be a nice addition if units 
could move to islands or across lakes with bridges. All
in all, I found the fighting units to be the best defense to use, except in the case
of a cleric or spies; the other units, such as the cooperate branch were more a waste
of time and money in my experience.
Some of the new weapons and improvements are outright silly and useless; why anyone
wants a desk floating around the terrain is beyond me. I guess that could be a matter
of preference, as I prefer to see traditional fighting tools like battleships, subs,
and I have to admit; I get a kick out of dropping a few bombs over enemy cities.
Overall I feel this CTP surpasses earlier versions in the grand scheme of things.
The new improvements, interface, and menus make this version a must have for strategy
gamers. Whether you have played Civilization games before or are playing for the
first time, CTP is a game that stands on its own. With the variety of Civilizations,
strategies, and maps, the combinations of game play are limitless.
Tips:
*Buy your Wonders wisely, some last longer and give benefits to you civilization.
*Get a small notepad and write down advances, units etc. It makes it easier to keep
track of what you have and what is no longer viable. *Keep your cities well guarded,
Barbarians have a way of sneaking up when you least expect them or right after you
stumble onto a group of them in the ruins.
*You can change the settings of the Public Works. This comes in handy if you are
accumulating more Public Works points then you need at the time, reducing them adds
to your ready cash, which you need to build up your cities.
Rating: 9 out of 10
Aside from a few quirks CTP is totally entertaining and addictive!
Requirements:
Any Macintosh PowerPC 180MHz, 603e/150MHz, 604 or faster ( G3 ) MacOS 7.6 or higher
48MB RA. Monitor with support for thousands of colors at 640 x 480 pixels 300MB free
hard drive space
CD_ROM drive, ( 28.8k or faster required for Internet play )
Systems used:
Power Book G3 266 with 196MB of RAM: Only problems were with the Hotseat game Power
Tower 166/128MB of RAM: Not recommended G4 400mhz/192MB RAM: Improved sound quality
UPDATES:
CTP 1.2A Patch
Civilization II : Call to
Power 1.2b Update
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