Reviews / previews
Overpriced and underwhelming sums up Civilization 2: Test of Time from Hasbro Interactive. It's not that there isn't solid gameplay here--it has the Civ 2 pedigree, after all, and Hasbro hasn't exactly sired a dog with five legs and two heads. It's just that there's not enough value or difference in this game to warrant the $40 street price if you already have Civilization 2.
What's new? The graphics are marginally improved, though nowhere near as pretty as those found in Activision's Call to Power civilization game. The interface has been streamlined. And finally, the ability to play on multiple planes has been added.
This multiple plane feature is probably the most noteworthy; it means you can play a game of Civ 2 and then continue your game on Alpha Centauri, managing both your burgeoning civilization on that alien planet (while you compete with alien races) and your long-established civilization on earth. Unfortunately, the often oppressive micromanagement issues that plague Civ 2 in its endgame are still there, amplified now when you're managing civilizations on more than one plane.
Test of Time also includes a science-fiction game and a fantasy game. While the SF game is lackluster, I enjoyed the fantasy game. The fantasy game makes good use of planes, letting you start as one of six fantasy civilizations located on one of four planes--underworld, sea, land, and air. Included with the fantasy game is a clever Midgard scenario that is probably the best thing about this game.
To round out the offerings, all multiplayer options found in Civ 2: Gold are also available in Test of Time, including play on Microsoft's Gaming Zone.
Civ 2 fans should wait for the price to drop before grabbing this game. If you don't have Civ and have always wanted to give it a whirl, this is not a bad choice, although Civ 2: Gold can be had for quite a bit less and with quite a few more scenarios to play. (This is actually a rather large strike against Test of Time--all of the scenarios made for previous versions of Civ 2 do not work with Test of Time.) For a bigger leap ahead in Civ-style gameplay, run straight to Sid Meier's Alpha Centauri.-- Mark Asher / GamePro
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