This is nothing compared to what I would describe the Civilizations that I know. To simply begin the presentation of the cities and units is way less intricate then the more modern versions. To accommodate this simplicity, I chose to use the keyboard controls while playing this game. With this too, I needed a manual open to help understand how to play this retro game. Not knowing the basics of the controls it took away from the experience of the game play, and making it more frustrating to play.

This game is one my favorites, because it allows someone to step into the shoes of another civilization and help design it as please. This occurs in many ways via the focuses of production, research, and the monuments built. While, each civilization still embodies characteristics/traits that are unique to that particular group. The most common example of such each nation will have a military unit that can only be found in a certain nation.

In this first hour too, the game kept crashing so I could never get a true sense of a full game play. I would always get into the game for about 20 minutes and then it would all crash and I would have to start over again. It allowed me three different times to play the game, and change the initial settings of how many nations I wanted to play with, and what nation I would be too. Something that struck me initially, when selecting a nation the picture was the same for the Americans all the way to the Chinese. In the newer versions avatars are created to represent a great leader who once reigned within the nations given. For instance, America would have George Washington, or India would have Gandhi.