The Civilization series has spent the best part of a decade now chiselling it’s own individual place in gaming history; and influencing countless other strategy-based offerings in the process. Despite it’s now, less-than-fashionable, turn-based approach to progress through the game, Civilization still remains immensely popular due to the vision, scale and sheer brilliance of it's implementation. Now Civilization III is here to continue in the footsteps of a gaming tradition with four-million plus under its belt, and awaken a new generation of gamers to the joys of Civ. Join me then as we investigate Sid Meier’s latest offering…

First things first the general premise of the game has remained unchanged from previous incarnations; the idea being to take charge of a recognizable race, kicking-off in 4000BC, and guide them through discoveries, expansion and advancement until 2050AD, the overall aim being to develop your chosen society into the greatest on the planet. Throughout this epic and dramatic sweep of history you will guide advancements in culture, politics, war, trade, expansion and science, whilst interacting, albeit in commerce or war, with other rival civilizations. Each race is imbued from the outset with strengths traditional to that civilization, for example the British are capitalistic and empirical, whilst the Chinese are industrial and hard-working. You are given certain units to begin with, and from this starting point decade upon decade and century upon century of historically-minded progress commences, from discoveries of pottery and tools through to space-travel. As you can see this a game not short of ambition.