![civ 2 test of time civ 2 test of time](https://i.imgur.com/hB3VoZs.png)
Now you have to cooperate with other races in order to get all the advances. That adds a really interesting element to the game. The only way to get at these advances is through trade or theft. There are many advances that you won't ever be able to research, no matter how hard you try. One neat addition is that several of the advances are now race specific. The tech trees have been rearranged a little bit, but the progressions are still pretty much the same. The kicker is that they're just versions of the regular Civ stuff with new names and icons. Each world features a "new" set of technologies, wonders and improvements. Each has a narrative that unfolds as you progress through the technology tree and I was surprised at how well developed these world stories were. Although it requires tremendous endurance to even get close to finishing the Extended game, it adds a neat twist, not to mention a sense of urgency, to the game.īut let's get on to the Sci-Fi and Fantasy games. The game isn't over until a civilization develops Transcendence-which, by the way, doesn't necessarily mean the same thing as it did in Alpha Centauri. They even have access to a few exclusive technologies and units. In a seven player game, there's a rival civilization that's been developing on Centaurus since the beginning. You progress through the regular Civ game until you're able to launch a spaceship to Centaurus. If you think the standard Civ game is long, you're in for a shock. The designers have also included an Extended Original Game that really lives up to its name. If you've played it before, you're not going to be surprised by anything. For the purists, there's a copy of the original Civ2 game. So let's talk a little bit about the worlds. It doesn't matter too much at the start of the game, but once you've got 30 settlers to manage, it can really tick you off. Although that glitch has been fixed, settler automation is still horrible. You're just minding your own business when, BAM, there's an enemy city right next to one of yours. If you've played the game for any length of time, you know what I'm talking about. One of the things that really used to cheese me off was the ability of enemy settler units to completely ignore your zones of control. They're much better at negotiations now and frequently initiate alliances and wars-not only with you, but also with each other. While there are still some obvious flaws-such as the AI's inability to use air units effectively-the enemy leaders in this game are pretty sharp. First of all, the AI in ToT is much stronger. I'm just sorry that more wasn't done to streamline the city management.Ī few things have improved though. But even so, this is Civilization, so the strengths of the original game are still here. Also missing are the neat datalinks that made Alpha Centauri a lot more manageable. While some players literally salivate over the prospect of so much micro-management, it eventually begins to irritate me.
![civ 2 test of time civ 2 test of time](https://i.ytimg.com/vi/rxdxyfSVDik/hqdefault.jpg)
![civ 2 test of time civ 2 test of time](http://users.tpg.com.au/jpwbeest/images/ToT_Rusted.jpg)
![civ 2 test of time civ 2 test of time](https://www.old-games.com/screenshot/8937-14-civilization-ii-test-of-time.jpg)
The addition of a production queue (one of the only improvements made by the disappointing Call to Power) would've been nice, but they're not here. City management still becomes an nearly impossible task later in the game. And that means that you'll have some of the same frustrations too. Test of Time allows you to get your Sci-Fi or Fantasy fix in a more traditional Civ-type game.įans of the previous games will be very familiar with the fundamentals of play here. There are those of us who didn't have the patience to us the icon editor in the second game and didn't care to play the Fantastic Worlds version of the game. You get three new versions of the Civ game and one new scenario. It's really more of an add-on than a new game in itself. In the meantime, Test of Time will have to do. I've wasted countless hours playing "just one more turn." Civilization II did a great job of updating the game in my opinion and I can't wait to see what happens when Civilization III comes out next year. So let's get something out of the way right now.