So now we've reached the final PC exclusive on this list, and also one of the few titles on this list I make a point not to play very often, not because I'm over it, but because I have enough problems staying productive to not add this monstrous title into the mix.
For those who live under a rock and don't know what Civilization is, it's a classic Turn based strategy/sim game where you choose a culture and build their society over a few millennium. You can either win the game by world domination or building a space shuttle to send people to Alpha Centauri before anyone else. I usually send the ship and then spend the remaining time playing anti-christ as I see how quickly I can decimate the entire planet with my full nuclear arsenal.
Though there have been several sequels and spin-offs of the franchise, I've never really moved past the second installment, partly because of nostalgia, partly because playing the sequels would have involved buying them and installing them on my PC so I'm forever stuck with the temptation of playing it instead of you know... working.I know that sounds funny, but it's a real problem with this series. It may be one of the most addictive games for me on this list.
For me personally, I usually always shoot for getting as many of the Wonders of the Worlds as they are some of my favorite sequences in the game as you get really cool videos when you acquire one. I also adore the advisors which are all hilariously played by some actors who certainly had some fun with this job. Even cooler is how they change from toga wearing Greco-Roman knockoffs to Renaissance Italians, to bad U.S. knockoffs with one French woman. Despite all of this, Luxury plays his role forever as an Elvis knockoff. Thankfully, getting luxury on your side is a simple matter of raising the luxury tax by 10% and the guy will never bother you again. I don't think I've ever seen science mad at me either. Trade on the other hand...
I favored the English, Japanese, Russians and Babylonians in my playthroughs and I swear to god this game remembers stuff because I remember wiping the Aztecs out in one campaign and ever since, I almost always have them as an opponent and they make it a point to try and wipe me out specifically. I guess karma exists in gaming as well. Still I enjoy trying to balance out building functional cities that don't constantly rebel while also building my doomsday army to destroy my enemies. Sadly, I've never succeeded in conquering the world but I have achieved space colonization before everyone else.
While I'm sure the later entries are superior, I still have a soft spot for the entry my dad got me into. Even now, I'm still debating about putting it back on my PC and playing a few rounds.
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