Finished at last! (Call to Power 2 (PC))

Member Name: John Rickard

Product:	Call to Power 2 (PC)
Date:	04/02/01 (25 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Much better than CtP I, feels actually finished!

Disadvantages: Still not quite as playable as Civ II

When Call to Power I appeared, I was, like most Civilization fans, very pleased to see a new entry in the genre. Sadly, once I had installed the game I was rapidly disappointed. The controls were rough, maps limited, scenario and map play none-existent, and the entire game felt like it was totaly unfinished.

Thankfully, that is no longer the case. Call to Power II is very very similar to it's predecessor in many ways - comparing the two posters of governments, units and terrain you will notice very few apparent changes, and even some obmissions. However, that is misleading. The whole structure of the game feels more professional now. It is now possible to build your civilisations on pregenerated worlds, with the real world included in the basic set, and some slowly appearing on line, and a map and scenario editor built in. The controls are now easy to use, reports on your cities far better, the map more usable (but not perfect), and the must play one more turn feel that meant Civ II sessions tend to go on till three in the morning back again.

It's still not quite perfect. While there is a nice city screen where you can look at the basic stats of all of your cities at once, there is no easy way to get from that screen to the individual city management screens, and there is no way to zoom in on your map of the world, but these are minor quibbles. This is a very good entry in the Civ. series, and will serve well in the the gap before Civ III finally appears.

Summary: