Is there any DRM in these games? I used to play the heck out of Civlizations II, but not much since the late 90's. I never played III, and never played IV, nor V. I've kept track of the series of years but never took myself to dive in. While I know older ones such as I, II, and III probably don't have any DRM, what about IV and V?

III & IV uses SecuROM & V uses steam

Personally I would recommend skipping 3, it is (in my opinion) the weakest part of the series. If DRM worries you, then Alpha Centauri is an excellent replacement (I for one prefer it).

Civilization IV Complete Edition is DRM-free. (Not sure about the one that comes through Steam, mine's on CD.)

And I disagree about #3. :)

My copy, which is identical to this one, is DRM FREE, just as advertised.

ninja'd

The one that you get from GG or Amazon uses SecuRom, and my boxed copy uses some kind of disc check.

From the link that MadalinStroe posted:
"DRM Free: The complete Civ IV experience with no Digital Rights Management limitations."

This only applies to Civ 4 Complete. Despite what the GG page says, I believe that Civ 4 Complete has always been DRM-free.

They might have patched out the DRM in other versions. I see something about patch 3.17 getting rid of DRM, but I can't confirm.

It will be a great day when and if GOG get's the Civilization series, all of them for that matter. Not sure when that will be though. If 1 through 3 are pretty much DRM free and IV's a Complete edition (which GOG prefers complete packs anyways and that specifically is DRM-free), it would make sense to get at least the first 4 entries...

Just a matter of time? Who knows!

Aw heck, I should just buy the complete edition retail :D. Just hope it works fine on Windows 8

IV? I think that's a CD-key check. V? Steamworks due to achievements/workshop. Aka no way civ V will show up here for a long time. There is a greater chance however for III and IV to show up

I bought a DVD once with Civ 3 Complete and Civ 4 Complete (Colonization included).
I can play without the DVD so I guess it hasn't got any DRM.

Civilization 3 is the best in the series, but from 1 to 5 (and to Alpha Centauri) they are all excellent but in different ways. As far as I remember most versions of Civ 4 on disc with both expansion packs comes with Securom. There was a DRM free version released later but I'm not sure if it was only released for the American market?

Got it! Backlogged =) Hope to get to it soon. Got it in the summer sale.

What? According to Amazon the downloadble one is DRM free.

"Now the complete Civilization IV experience is available, DRM (Digital Rights Management) free in Civilization IV: The Complete Edition."

I believe Civ IV Complete can be purchased DRM Free from Amazon. I haven't installed this version yet, only bought it because it was free with a promotional credit that I would have not used otherwise. I'll try to verify.

I was keeping an eye on the Amazon.com copy as well. From what I've read and answers here I can assume it's DRM free, as well as no copy protection, but I'll be awaiting your answer in that regard.