Sid Meier's Civilization III

Sid Meier's Civilization III

PC

Release Date: October 31, 2001

Strategy, economic, turn-based, 4X, sandbox, war strategy, singleplayer

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The third full-fledged installment of the popular series of turn-based strategy games. The Firaxis Games studio, founded by Sid Meier after leaving Microprose, is responsible for its creation. As in the previous iterations of the cycle, in Civilization III we take the wheel as the leader of a selected civilization, and our task is to guide it through the subsequent eras of development, from 4000 BC to the present day. Our duties include e.g.

Sid Meier's Civilization III is the third fully-fledged edition of the popular series of turn-based strategy games for the PC, the first two parts were published between 1991 and 1995 by the Microprose studio. The Firaxis Games studio is responsible for the release of the newest Civilization game, it has been founded by Sid Meier after leaving Microprose. Sid Meier himself worked only as a creative director, while the main designers of the third Civilization title were Jeff Briggs and Soren Johnson. 

Mechanics

As in the previous versions of the cycle, in Civilization III we lead a selected civilization, and it is our task to guide it through the subsequent eras of development, from 4,000 BC to the present day. Our duties include: the systematic expansion of our territory, settling and developing cities, training military units and settlers, the development of new technologies and waging war or establishing diplomatic relations with other nations. In order to succeed in the game you are required to appropriately balance your actions, including economic, military and technological development. Depending on the player's preference, victory can be reached in several different ways. In Sid Meier's Civilization III we have 16 playable civilizations at our disposal, all of them with a with a unique and distinctive playstyle. Each civilization has two skills, that the other nations have not invented yet at the beginning of the game, as well as a unique unit - its proper use can turn the tide in our favour. In terms of mechanics, the title is based on exactly the same principles as its predecessor. However, the game does feature several notable novelties. The interface in Civilization III has been changed - it is now much more intuitive and the amount of information about cities available from the main map was increased. The two most important changes are: the introduction of army commanders, who accumulate experience over the course of the game, and the new strategic resources, which appear only in certain locations and are used for the production of specific weapons and technologies. 

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Last updated on August 14, 2015

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Game Series

Sid Meier's Civilization Series

A series of turn-based 4X strategies, considered one of the milestones in the development of the genre. The series was created by the MicroProse studio, but over time the development team of Firaxis Games took over, while the intellectual property rights were owned by the Take-Two Interactive publishing concern.

14 video games

Sid Meier's Civilization Game Series

Sid Meier's Civilization III Summary

Platforms:

PC / Windows

PC / Windows

Developer: Firaxis Games

Publisher: Atari / Infogrames

Age restrictions: none

Sid Meier's Civilization III System Requirements

PC / Windows

PC / Windows

Recommended: Pentium II 300MHz, 128MB RAM

Sid Meier Doubts He'd Play Civilization if it Came Out Today

Sid Meier gave an interview in which he advertises his autobiography and shares his thoughts on the game world. He also confessed that today he probaly wouldn't have created Civilization.

video games

Aleksandra Dziwinska

September 9, 2020

Sid Meier Doubts He'd Play Civilization if it Came Out Today