ivilization is pretty much the quintessential thinking man’s PC game. It has been since 1991, in fact. Conquests does a lot to add on to the already-great Civilization III through an improved interface, new content, and the Conquests.

The new content is simply amazing. Not only has a ton of stuff as far as units/cultures/tech been added, the old ones have been rebalanced. This really improves every facet of play. The added Sid difficulty level (yes, it’s higher than Deity) promises an almost infinite amount of challenge for the dedicated. All of these things integrate incredibly well into the core game, and expand this hugely deep title to ridiculous proportions.

The historical Conquests are a riot to play. The best part about them is that they can be conquered from multiple points of view. World War II in the Pacific, for example, can be played as the U.S., U.K., China, or Japan. The replay value inherent in this, combined with the eight levels of difficulty, is immense. Of course, there’s the excellent random map generator as well.

Possibly the thing that most amazes me about this title is the fact that rather than unbalance the original, as expansions are infamous for doing, it levels the playing field. Civilization III is a totally rejuvenated game with Conquests installed.  

MATTHEW KATO   9 If you were to take half a look at this game, you’d swear it was not an expansion pack. Conquests not only jams in seven new civilizations and nine new scenarios to play through, but developer Firaxis has even gone through and added things like a fascist government and civ traits. The result is a game that has been totally renewed and re-balanced for long-time players – of which I am not one. Still, I loved that Conquests’ scenarios put you in the heart of World War II’s Pacific campaign (thereby cutting to the chase), but also gave a variety of goals to reach in these historical segments, making them relatively easy to digest, depending on your mood. Similarly, this format also gives enough situations for warmongers and alliance-builders alike to dive into. Needless to say, the depth here is amazing, as it always has been – but it’s this expansion’s refinement that makes it more worth getting.