The most frustrating part of the U.N.'s existence is that they never actually do anything. It's all talk, talk, talk. They haven't done anything decisive since Russia walked out on the Security Council in the early '50s.
In Firaxis' new game Alpha Centauri, you can choose to be one of seven different groups, among them, the Peacekeepers, a descendent of that same United Nations. So naturally, I chose them and set out to remedy decades of inaction. Under my guidance, the "Peacekeepers" were soon stealing from their friends and plundering their enemies-all in the name of "humanitarianism."
And that was only my first venture into the world of Sid Meier's Alpha Centauri. The game is set an undisclosed number of years in the near future after the people of earth have sent off the spaceship Unity toward a planet orbiting its nearest neighbor star, Alpha Centauri. Because the trip is no short drive to Florida, the traditional "are we there yet" quickly got old and became replaced with far more sinister debates over ideology. In fact, by the time they reached the planet, the colonists had broken up into factions, each embracing a vastly different world view.
As the leader of one of these factions, your goal is to vie for power, develop superior technology and advance human civilization while battling the elements of a foreign world. Each culture has its strengths and weaknesses.
For example, the Morganites-a civilization dedicated to economic freedom-achieve superior efficiency and wealth but must deal with civil discontent and ecological destruction. My favorite faction, the Peacekeepers, establish political clout at the expense of military expertise (but as my anecdote proves, I did not let that stop me).
The technical features of the game are underwhelming: The graphics are rather bland and unpronounced, and the sound and music is uninspired and monotonous. But for some inexplicable reason, I could not pull myself away from the game.
A look at the past, however, provides some clues. Brian Reynolds and the good folks at Firaxis have a long and distinguished history of producing seminal games, most notably Civilization and Civilization II. Alpha Centauri takes some of the best elements of those games and incorporates a host of new features.
The games all require macro-management of individual colonies. The level of detail is sophisticated enough to be engaging but not so complicated as to overwhelm the player. The management of military affairs, diplomacy and land development is similar in detail and difficulty. And those monotonous tasks that still required attention in the old Civilization and Civilization II have been replaced with automatic, albeit unintelligent, maintenance and management features in Alpha Centauri.
The game's integration of world exploration, city development and technological advancement make it exceptionally addictive. Turns pass as you wait in anticipation for scientists to make a major breakthrough or the military to exploit a major conquest. The game is just fun.
The story advances slowly, but it is far from the driving force behind the success of the game. Instead, the careful balance of game aspects contributes to its charm. And it is the ability to develop the United Nations' Peacekeepers into a fearsome instrument of wanton destruction that assured this game a high place in my collection for years to come.
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