Sid Meier’s Alpha Centauri is, without a doubt, the best strategy game I have ever played. I have many fond memories playing it into the early morning hours while I was in college.
I just bought it for $2.99. What have I done??
The last time I played this game, it quite literally consumed my life. I eventually had to delete it from my computer just to keep up with my schoolwork.
But wow, it’s so good. And the best part, in my opinion, is the story. Unlike other 4x strategy games, where everything is basically up in the air, Alpha Centauri has a very distinct storyline full of interesting twists and turns.
It starts out with a colony mission to (where else?) Alpha Centauri that fractures into seven factions, based not on ethnicity or nationality, but on ideology. These are: the scientists, the religious fundamentalists, the communists, the free-market capitalists, the diplomatists, the militarists, and the environmentalists.
The last faction is my favorite, because the planet itself is a character in this story. As you settle and explore new territory, you come across giant patches of fungus and swarms of hostile mind-worms. The more the game progresses, however, the more you realize that the fungus is part of a giant neural network, and that it’s trying to communicate with you. When you finally learn to communicate back–THAT’S when things get interesting.
Oh man, I love this game. It’s a science fiction classic, reminiscent of Orson Scott Card and Arthur C. Clarke. I just hope I can exercise some self-restraint this time–but hey, if I can moderate how much time I spend on Minecraft, surely I can do the same with Alpha Centauri.
Famous last words…
It’s a good thing that you remember your last AC experience. So what has changed, that AC won’t have the same (or worse?) effect?
SMAC is awesome, but it’s old and I’ve beaten it before. I played a quick game over the last couple of days, and I think it’s mostly out of my system. So far, it hasn’t really hurt my writing much, so I think I’m in good shape.