Introduction

The latest Civilization games seem to follow the Star Trek movies, the odd ones are good, the even ones are not. Civilization III: Conquests (C3C) is a solid addition to the line that rises it above the lowly mark Play The World left in the series. 

As a note for those who eschewed Play The World, it is included in C3C, slightly stripped down of some units and scenarios.

General Game Play

C3C adds a number of game elements that from a general game play do add some value for the gamer.  Not enough to justify buying it for this reason only, but in addition to the conquests discussed later, C3C is worth picking up.  There are a number of new units that are both civilization specific and generic.  The generic units are a good mix of the late and mid game genres.  The civilization specific are a mixed bag, but there are some gems in there (specifically the Swiss mercenaries).

There are also a number of civilizations introduced into C3C along with a new type of civilization.  Seafaring is a great addition to the game as countries like England and Holland do better at sea and their cities fare better if on a coast.  The new civilizations in C3C’s generic game play include:  Netherlands, Byzantines, Portugal, Incans, Mayans and Sumerians.  The only one I was thrilled with were the Dutch, but they all are good additions to the game.

To go along with the civilizations are a couple of new government types to fill in some gaps.  Fascism and feudalism are good options to C3C as some of the original government types go through some changes.  Most noticeably republic is a lot tougher of a government to have, especially if the world is war torn.

There are a number of generic game play tweaks that are noticeable.  Some of the land graphics have been improved.  Also the setup screen for games has been improved and now the CPU aggression can be tweaked in addition to the difficulty level.

Conquests

With some good general game play additions to Civ3, comes nine professionally designed scenarios.  For the most part, these scenarios are well done and provide pleasure and challenge.  Had the conquests not been packaged with the generic game play improvements C3C would have been a waste.  Add the two together and you have a good game add-on. 

Each of the conquests has technology trees, units, resources and governments that are outside the norms of generic play.  Each game plays differently than a generic game as what might only be an hour or two in a complete generic game is extrapolated and focused to a more minute detail in the conquests.  The technology development is spread out well across a scenario, so there are always new improvements, units and such coming into play until nearly the end.

The conquests and comments on them are as follows:

Mesopotamia:  The crux of this scenario is to build the seven ancient wonders.  I thought it was okay, but not a scenario I would play more than once.

Rise of Rome:  My favorite conquest in C3C.  The goal is to become the dominant civilization in the ancient world and there is never a dull moment because those pesky Cartaginians, Macedonians and others are all going for the same prize.

Fall of Rome:  Another fun scenario where you and the other non-roman civilizations need to knock out the eastern and western Roman Empires.  This scenario can be very challenging depending on which civilization you take.

Middle Ages:  A challenging, but not terribly interesting scenario whose goal is to become the dominant civilization.  You can play a number of civilizations which makes it interesting.

Mesoamerica:  Battle it out for control of Mesoamerica before the coming of the Europeans.  There were a lot of interesting items in this conquest, but it was one I was not all that excited about.

Age of Discovery:  Discover the new world and loot it…or let someone else discover it and loot them.  I liked this conquest a lot as it gave a good feel for the discovery of the new world and provided a good challenge in the process.

Senkogu:  Another very neat scenario I liked a lot.  You battle with 15 plus factions for control over feudal Japan.

Napoleonic Europe:  I did not finish this scenario…it failed for me because I just have not interest in this era.  But this conquest is big and has a number of factions vying for control, so there is plenty to make it appealing.

World War II Pacific:  What I thought would be my favorite conquest and wound up being a bit of a let down.  It is fun to play the US, Brits, Dutch, Chinese or Japanese, especially because each side plays through the scenario differently.  It is especially tough going for the Japanese and fairly predictable if you are playing the US.

Summation

Civilization 3: Conquests delivers a good add-on to the now venerable Civ3 line of games.  The mix of generic game enhancements and well designed scenarios share equally in the quality of C3C. 

If either had been missing or sub par this product would have been as much off a bomb as Play The World had been.  That was not the case.  The generic gameplay gave a breath of fresh air to the standard mode of play.  The conquests provided a change of pace and a very focused challenges that most fans of the game should enjoy.

C3C was worth the bucks, especially as it comes with the last installment (Play the Word) for free.  If you enjoy Civ3 and have yet to pick this up, do so without reservation.