I have loved all of the Civilizations games that I have played (Alpha Centauri being my favorite). I but I have never played Colonization or Civilization IV: Colonization. Are either of these games fun? and if you were to recommend me to buy one which would you recommend and why?

Thanks!

Go for Pro and only play Civ II.

Civ 2 Test of Time is where it is at but I like a little variety too.

Basically the games are nice variations on the Civ concept, and worth having a look, but they don't reach the regular Civ games' level.

Have you tried FreeCol? It's basically an open-source version of Colonization.

If I like FreeCol should I spring for Civilization IV: Colonization or would I be just getting the same game with newer graphics?

Basically:

The original Colonization = Civ II
The new Colonization = Civ IV
FreeCol = FreeCiv

Pick whichever of those you liked the most, and you'll probably like the equivalent Colonization the most.

I prefer the new Colonization, but FreeCol is good to get an idea of what it is. It mostly comes down to just a few tweaks and graphics.

as a huge civilization fan myself , i hated civ 4 still do , it kinda went way over. i still prefer civ 3 and civ 2 , of course 5 is good for the newcomers but i was never able to like civ 4 .

I played the hell out of original colonization on Amiga. Definitely more than both first civilzations.

But after the years a coudn't go back to it. For one - the PC version sucks badly - graphics on TV seemed much better, but the key factor was music - Amiga's *.mod is massively supporior to PC's midi.
That or it just aged badly.


Didn't liked The new Colonization, still to check out FreeCol.

By the way. I like strategy games but i didn't have a chance to start Civ until today. I would like to start from first Civilization . Which games do you suggest to start and where can i buy them?(DRM and Steam free).

There's really no reason to start with the first one. The second game is basically the same thing, just more refined.

I don't know where you can buy Civ II, but there's always its free (and open-source) clone FreeCiv. And once you get tired of that, buy Alpha Centauri off GOG. Hours upon hours of rock-solid entertainment for very little money.

Civ III is available (SecuRomed) on Gamersgate, don't know if a DRM free version exists. The same goes for Civ IV. The fifth game is a Steam exclusive, AFAIK.

Thanks, to avoid DRM i will only play FreeCiv(if it is good as original Civ2) and Alpha Centauri.

It's pretty much the same thing, it just looks different. If I recall correctly, there's a setting somewhere in FreeCiv which turns off all the additional features and makes the game for all intents and purposes identical with Civ II.

EDIT: See here.

Colonization is indeed a nice expanded scenario using the civ-engine.I liked playing it, but it has not the addictiveness like the civ games. The procedure is more strict than in the Civ games where you have different ways to win. But again, it's also a classic and worth a look.

Edit: Btw, it was a fair move to sell Civ4:Colonization not full price at release, because while the colonization games are good they are really more like expanded scenarios for me.