MaximumPC 2008 11

I

n contrast to the broad scope of past
Civilization games, this beautiful remake of
1994’s Sid Meier’s Colonization focuses on
a specifi c period of time in a specifi c part of the
globe—namely the Colonial era (1492-1796) in
the New World. As the leader of a European na-
tion’s colonization eff ort, you must battle other
European countries and Native Americans
for control of the continent’s resources, build
a trade empire, and eventually wage a war of
independence against your home country to
found a new nation.
The anemic combat and diplomacy
systems are secondary to the economic game,
in which you harvest resources such as cotton
and tobacco, refi ne them into trade goods, and
sell them to fund your expansion. Early in the
game the challenge comes from micromanag-
ing specialist colonists to effi ciently produce
goods; this task would become a nightmare as
your trade empire expands if not for the excel-
lent automation tools, which make the whole
operation a breeze.

Combat presents a

problem in that dragoons

seem to win nine out of

10 battles, regardless of

how many heavy forti-

fi cations you lay down.

This isn’t so bad in the

early game, but when

you tire of your European

overlord’s insatiable demands for tax hikes

and tribute and declare your independence,

defending your colonies from the massive

onslaught of troops and warships becomes an

extreme challenge.

There’s a ton of replay potential here, with

four playable European nations and eight

leaders, each with unique bonuses that can

dramatically aff ect strategy, combined with a

random map generator. Colonization doesn’t

have much in common with the Civ games,

but it defi nitely evokes a “just one more turn!”

feeling that keeps us playing into the dawn’s

early light. –D A N S T A P L E T O N

Sid Meier’s Civilization

IV: Colonization

It’s the economy, stupid

VERDICT

$40, http://www.civilization.com, ESRB: E 10+

8

Highly addictive

gameplay, lush

graphics, good auto-

mation features.

Unbalanced combat,

unforgiving end-

game.

GEORGE WASHINGTON

SID MEIER’S CIVILIZATION IV: COLONIZATION

GEORGE III

The ridiculous number of European troops you

face during your war of independence makes

you appreciate the efforts of our founding

fathers all the more.