Exploring - and Conquering - the New World

Title: Civilization IV: Colonization
Platform: PC
Publisher: 2K Games
Developer: Firaxis
ESRB Rating: E10+ for Everyone over 10

I would expect these days that a significant number of gamers may have never heard of Colonization prior to the latest edition's announcement by 2K Games. I believe because Colonization entered into the gaming world in 1994 before even Windows 95 hit the mainstream, and it never earned the attention or sequels that Civilization did. Civilization went on to prosper and Alpha Centauri was followed with a great expansion pack, but Colonization became the forgotten child of Sid Meier.

It wasn't that Colonization was a bad game - actually it was quite well received and was also a lot of fun. Colonization was all about the exploration of the New World and the resulting struggle to become self-reliant, which leads to revolt against the great king overseas. To history buffs, Colonization the game was a godsend, much like Civilization. To the mainstream, Colonization added completely new layers of depth that some had trouble adapting to, especially if they were expecting a Civilization-like experience. There was also the subject matter to consider as well.

Anyone that has taken a little bit of American history knows that the exploration of the new world and struggles to settle and thrive in the Americas also went hand in hand with genocide and slavery. As such, making a game set in the era that also involves colonization of inhabited lands is bound to be tricky. So how was Sid Meier able to make Colonization without including such horribly controversial aspects of history? Well, most of controversial aspects of the era were minimally involved in the game, if at all.

Civilization 4: Colonization leaves most of the bad times to history, and does its best to focus on making a fun game much like the original. At the core, Colonization is both a macro and micro simulation of production, trade, taxation and diplomacy. However, this is not to say that it is without combat, as the threat of battle always looms between your people and the Indian tribes out there, as well as the other colonies themselves. Additionally, the King is always keeping tabs on the rebel uprising within the new world. As sentiment rises in the new world, he adds waves of new recruits to his forces in the event that the colonies decide to declare independence. As a result, it is necessary to maintain a military force from the very beginning of the game onward, although it is also possible to play through Colonization without directly causing any bloodshed, at least until independence is declared.

Civilization fans without prior experience with the original Colonization may be in for a bit of shock during their first play through, as most aspects of the game are completely different from Civilization itself. Civilization players simply had to worry about worker management when it came to their accessible resources and abilities to earn income. In Civilization 4: Colonization, the game will never automatically provide a reliable income stream without user interaction. Plots around a colony still offer various resources, but the resources themselves must be traded for cash or other goods before they offer any sort of value to a player. Colonization presents several layers of complexity that have a steep learning curve but are immensely rewarding once mastered.

Additionally, resources can be processed even further to add to their value, something which Civilization did not allow. Resources like tobacco can be turned into cigars and curs into coats. The payoff is typically huge for processing resources, although the efficiency of the colony's population comes into play. Efficiency of harvesting or processing any resource is completely reliant on who is actually doing the work. Indentured servants and criminals typically perform poorly compared to their standard colonist counterparts unless they are educated. Experts in harvesting a certain resource, like an expert fisherman or silver miner, will run circles around standard colonists when placed on a plot in which he or she specializes. The same goes for the processing of resources like tobacco into cigars, where an Expert tobacconist churns out cigars at nearly double the speed of a standard colonist, and even more than double compared to an uneducated criminal. Experts come at a price when purchased from the homeland, but the game allows players to accumulate them via other means.

Civilization 4: Colonization brings back the "Docks" from the original game. The docks always provide three random colonist and expert types at any given time who are especially influenced by religious "Crosses." Colonies within the new world with churches that are housed by priests will find the docks populating with new free colonists and experts at a much faster rate than those without. Each time a new tier of Crosses is broken, one of the three available dock workers becomes free without sparing a dime. However, those without good Cross production via churches may influence those at the Docks with money.

In the early game, the cost of buying people from the docks is initially cheap because of the low number of crosses needed, but as the game progresses, the prices end up exceeding the cost of simply hiring experts from the homeland. This creates one of the many tactical options when it comes to populating your colonies with fresh new people, some of whom may be experts.

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