Best Version of Civ

[sarah_aus]

I love civ colonization. I know a lot of people don't, but there I'd something magical about it. Gives me the warm fuzzies

 

[James009]

Without a doubt Civ IV + Expansions followed closely by Civ III. You just can't compete with all the amazing Civ IV mods and core gameplay. In time, I hope that Civ V comes out on top in it's own right.

 

[bal_rob]

This isn't really a fair fight.

I got IV the day it was released and V the day it was released.

On release day, I'd say IV was better than V - the opening earth sequence and music alone gave the game an epic feel sadly missing (imo) from V...

With the expansions, IV just walks all over V at the moment in terms of features, atmosphere, game play etc etc... but then V expansions could massively improve the game, it definetly has all the raw functionality for a great game.

 

[Hybrisma]

1) Alpha Centauri

2) Civ II Test of Time

3) Civ IV with all expansions and heavily modded

 

[Kamino]

Civ IV + BTS + BUGGY !

SMAC was huge too.

 

[Gunship_Down]

CIV V, the new combat alone places it firmly on top. And it will only get better with time.

I liked Civ IV, especially with mods like Rhye's and Fall, but the stack of doom combat system was never fun.

 

[André Alfenaar]

I didn't vote yet. I think Civ V has the best interface. The developers really thought about giving civ a more fluent gameplay. The biggest improvement is less micromanagement while keeping and improving the fun.

But.. at the moment Civ V seems pretty easy. Maybe too easy. So improving the battle AI is high on my wishlist. But let's not forget that the battle AI in Civ IV needed BTS to get really good.

 

[bal_rob]

CIV V, the new combat alone places it firmly on top. And it will only get better with time.

I liked Civ IV, especially with mods like Rhye's and Fall, but the stack of doom combat system was never fun.

I definetly agree that the combat system in 5 is better, but not without its faults. Units littered around the map in peace time and also positioning armies in V is just horrible at the moment, but I agree that its better in terms of 1 unit per tile, ranged attacks etc and I much prefer the cities defensive systems. While I also disliked the stack of doom in IV. V also has the better interface imo.

But in terms of "epic feel" (other than V's opening video), game play, rewards, features - I can't agree that V is better than IV at the moment. If your a peace player, diplo, cultural, space wins, then I personally think IV wins hands down at the moment.

But I agree, V has a long way to go in terms of development both from Fireaxis and the modding community and ultimately I can see it ending up as a better game than IV, even with IV bolt ons.

 

[DeathReborn]

I'm an oldie so it has to be Civilization II: Ultimate Classic Collection, especially since it comes with a big fat manual, poster & a few smaller manuals for the exps.

 

[viper_1986_1986]

Civ4 with BTS/WL for sure, the only BAD thing was the fact you could put 9999 units in one tile.

A hybrid of civ4 and civ5 would be the best. a mix of the two combat systems and culture systems and replaced into civ4 would be the BEST civ game ever.

 

[Generals3]

I would definitely say Civ IV + BTS . I hope Civ V will have an even better expansion than BTS

 

[viper_1986_1986]

Also lacking in the poll is Civ: rev, from the xbox 360, which is VERY dumbed down version of CIV5 is what it is, actually i think civ5 is a ramped up version of civ:rev

And there is that aweome RPS civ game for cell phones
Whats it called? Civ towers?

 

[Thalassicus]

Sid Meier's Alpha Centauri!

• Excellent Storytelling
• Social/government combinations
• Compelling leaders with unique traits
• First with improved empire borders
• Brilliantly done terrain with moisture, rockiness, altitude
• Customizable units
• Landmarks
• The best tech race victory imaginable:

The Voice of Planet

I mean seriously, tossing together a few spaceship parts at the end cannot compare to the game-long buildup in story and gameplay to the Ascent to Transcendence.

Then you even got an epilogue to enjoy, telling the tale of how your civ faired afterwards, visiting a desolated Earth again before heading out into the cosmos as a transcended being. By the end you really had a sense of triumph. Winning a tech victory has never felt as epic and fun as it did in Alpha Centauri. In V it's just an OK box and you're done.

Oh, and this is quite possibly the most amusing wonder video in the history of Civ games:

The Longevity Vaccine

Over time the main Civ line has gradually incorporated some of SMAC's early, innovative features like improved borders, large selection of government policies to choose from, unique and charismatic leaders, landmarks, etc. It's also tried to draw on some of the better storytelling, so you feel a connection with each leader. By this point I doubt they'll ever do the great moisture/rockiness/altitude terrain though, which is disappointing. Creative talent has mostly moved off to reflex-games and RPG's.

 

[AySteve]

Voted civ4+exp BUT I think its very unfair to compare civ5 to 4 at this stage, there are still some pretty major bugs and balance issues that need to be sorted - then it will be awesome! Plus, who knows what fun stuff could be coming up in future expansions

 

[Lands]

Voted civ4+exp BUT I think its very unfair to compare civ5 to 4 at this stage, there are still some pretty major bugs and balance issues that need to be sorted - then it will be awesome! Plus, who knows what fun stuff could be coming up in future expansions

I keep seeing this brought up, but personally, I think a proper sequel should be able to stand on its own when it's released. As it is now, there are a few novelty features that will keep me playing for a little while like non-unit stacking and hexes, but to me the game feels lackluster in many, many more ways than not.

I'd rather not have to wait for expansions, patches, DLC and mods to come out before I can really enjoy a game, or at least be able to play it without the feeling that I should be playing its predecessor instead.

I'd vote Civ IV and expansions or Civ II. I loved Civ II back in the day but wasn't really able to get into it the last few times I tried playing it recently. Spoiled by the modern era I guess.

 

[fantsu]

civ 2
then civ 4
then civ 4 + expansions

what about civ - the board game?

 

[Ahriman]

Too soon to tell. We haven't even begun to explore the modding possibilities.

 

[MaximumPain]

If Civ V gets the support and modding it deserves it will be far better then the previous versions. Currently its as good if not better then IV (my next favorite version) at least in one humble war gamers opinion.

 

[craig123]

Civ5 for me. I think in a few months' time when it's properly patched and balanced, and we have got used to the changes, it will be most people's favourite.

Civ 2 by far, no other Civ game gave me the same sense of wonder, awe and power.

Agree with this though.

 

[Hogar313]

Civ IV + BtS + mods... Unrivalled. Period.