Colonization to return
Man, it wasn't too long ago that we talked about Colonization in some other thread... and there ya go. 
2K Games Announces Sid Meier's Civilization IV: Colonization™ for Games for Windows®
Sid Meier's Classic Colonization is recreated as a new stand-alone title in the Civilization IV® universeNew York, NY – June 9, 2008 – 2K Games, a publishing label of Take-Two Interactive Software, Inc. (NASDAQ: TTWO), announced today that Sid Meier's Civilization IV: Colonization™, the next offering in the award-winning Civilization IV® universe, is currently in development at 2K's world-renowned Firaxis Games development studio. Conceived from the ground up to take advantage of the Civilization IV engine, Colonization will be available fall 2008 exclusively for Games for Windows®.
"We've received many requests from fans over the years to bring back Colonization and now seemed to be the perfect time to do that," said Sid Meier, director of creative development at Firaxis Games. "The Civilization IV engine provided a fantastic foundation for a new Colonization experience and allowed us to create something great for both new players and long time fans of the game."
In Colonization, players lead one of four European nations on a quest to conquer and rule the New World. Players will be challenged to guide their people from the oppressive motherland, discover the New World, and negotiate, trade and fight with both the natives and other nations as they acquire power and fight for freedom and independence.
As a complete reimagining of the 1994 classic, Colonization is a total conversion of Civilization IV that combines Civilization's addictive "just one more turn" gameplay with all-new graphics and features that add more depth to the franchise. New features, such as a brand-new interface, improved diplomacy options and the included modding tools ensure that Colonization will be the next great title from gaming's premier strategy game developer.
Sid Meier's Civilization IV: Colonization for Games for Windows will be available fall 2008 and has not yet been rated by the ESRB. For more information, please visit www.civilization.com
Sweet! I loved Colonization!
Quintin_Stone wrote:
Oh, that'll be fun.
Now we need to start talking about Sword of the Samurai, and Covert Action. 
Extremism in the defense of liberty *is* a vice. It has been since the first Crown Loyalist was tarred, feathered and set afire, and it's no better now. It corrupts first the individual, then ultimately the institution it defends.
I never got around to playing Colonization and always wished I had. Guess I'll finally get a second chance. Yeah!
---Todd
The Nut and the Feisty Weasel: A place where a deranged Ohio State Buckeye and a rabid Michigan Wolverine fan come together... and air grievances.
Hooray! I hope they keep the straightforward gameplay intact, Colonization's strength was its simplicity.
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What is the difference between Civ and Colonization?
I was wondering the same thing.
Fedaykin98 wrote:
Isn't that a misnomer?
Seriously though, i'm with Q on this one.What's colonisation? I guess it's not something to do with bowel movements...
Of - power - insessantly
Plagued - by - malefisense
Doomed - to - insidious -
Death - is - he - who - breaks
this - monument - i - prophesy
It's basically CivLite. You sail to the New World as a European nation, each of which has a racial benefit or two. You make landfall, meet with the natives, and build settlements. The focus is on harvesting, processing, and selling the various natural resources, and is less expansion-focused than Civ is. You don't have to conquer other civilizations; the end goal is to successfully gain independence by fighting off the invaders from your host country once you decide to initiate the endgame. Research is greatly reduced, it comes in the form of recruiting various founding fathers who give you special benefits.
There's actually a free, open source version floating around, but I'm not going to link it, because you shouldn't play it, because they stripped out everything that made the game charming and fun. I only bring it up here so that you know to avoid it.
XBLive: Ruckus
I bet a lot of my nostalgia for Colonization comes from remembering when strategy games weren't overwhelming timesinks of complexity (not that they ever truly weren't). Still, I think I like commodities trading games. Is that some sort of inherited Chicago thing?
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You know, this reminds me, I hate it when they call something a "stand-alone expansion." If it can "stand alone," then it's not freaking expanding on anything, is it?!
"I'm absolutely retarded. Not 100% sure why." - atom
"Dhelor + intarwebs = Great ideas." - wordsmythe
"Do I what I do: hate everyone." - Quintin_Stone
The fact that this stand-alone expansion is a remake of a stand-alone game makes it even stranger...
You can't take the sky from me.
The biggest problem with that is that they usually require you to have the original game installed sucking up space. I look at you "Wrath of Kane".
Anyway, sounds good to me, I love Civ4 and it's engine, throw in some colonization loving and you get awesomesauce.
I don't watch, I interact!
No doubt. If they release it on Steam, which I imagine is likely, then it's a day 1 buy, hands down.
Psychotic Foreign Teenage Chicks are so hot. - Legion
I find it ironic anytime a healthy vaccinated person bitches about science...on the internet. - MaverickDago
But in that case, it's not "stand-alone," no matter what they say.
"I'm absolutely retarded. Not 100% sure why." - atom
"Dhelor + intarwebs = Great ideas." - wordsmythe
"Do I what I do: hate everyone." - Quintin_Stone
"Stand-alone expansion" conveys that new stuff has been put on top of an existing engine, and you don't need the original game installed in order to play this one. More specifically, it's generally used as a justification for charging 30 or 40 dollars for a game. They don't have enough that's new in order to justify a 50 dollar price point, but they want to charge more than the typical 20-25 dollars that expansions cost, so they let you install the thing by itself and thus can charge you a little more.
XBLive: Ruckus
Glad they didn't forgot about this classic. I was so crazy about it that I started a Civ4 mod to recreate it, and left it as too difficult... I can't wait for it.
Looking forward to this! I loved me some Colonization back in the day. All I need is an Alpha Centauri re-make to make life complete.
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I got hooked on turn based strategy through AC, but nothing has topped it yet. Combat in most any other game feels very meh.
Xbox Live: StaatsM
AC with about 10x the components for weapons/vehicles/etc would be fantastic. Give us enough of a spread that there won't be easy optimizations, and that will greatly increase replayability.
Extremism in the defense of liberty *is* a vice. It has been since the first Crown Loyalist was tarred, feathered and set afire, and it's no better now. It corrupts first the individual, then ultimately the institution it defends.
A sure buy. Love this kinda news!!!
'Those who would give up Essential Liberty to purchase a little Temporary Safety, deserve neither Liberty nor Safety.'
Benjamin Franklin
I've only actually played FreeCol, and I've enjoyed it. What would you say is missing from it that the original Colonization had? I might have to fire up an emulator...
I gobble up anything Civ but how much different will this actually be than the current Civ gameplay?
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It'll have a heck of a lot more tobacconists, I wager.
The democratization of the web ... has installed an illusion of a digital first amendment that protects speech no matter how poorly spelled or stupid. - Elysium
Wordsmythe is my hero. - rabbit
XBL: E Munnie
On one of my plays through Colonization I must have got really lucky with resources or something. I declared independence in about 1580, with just two settlements. Luckily, one of them was a fortress bristling with cannon, and at this point in the game the King's Expeditionary Force was pretty much a guy with a sharp stick on the back of a donkey. Win!
Pistols for two and coffee for one.
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Great, now someone has decided that Colonization is evil and shouldn't be remade.
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You could make the same arguments he makes against Civ4 or any of the Civ games. Sure you can win through diplomacy, but I rarely do. The fun is crushing your opposing nations.
Fedaykin98 wrote:
Sigh....let's ignore the nasty bits of history so that we'll forget the lessons and do it again. Oh wait, we've run out of new lands to do it to. I guess we'll have to declare games where we might think about colonizing another planet are evil too.
In other news, hurrah for Colonization! Now can they port it to the iphone too please?
*Legion* wrote:
What a lame article. Maybe he should also be offended that you can play as a German in every WWII MP game or that Doom uses hell as a theme. Doesn't he know what has been going on down there? As another point, he is a bit late to be offended about this, because there have been a lot of settlers game already, which are also about colonization.
Anyway, still looking forward to this game.
I don't watch, I interact!
Oh yes. All people in real life love, cherish and respect each other unlimitedly, so lets just play games, read books and watch movies without any conflicts in them while fingerpainting rainbows. *sigh*
Damn hippie.
I personally am looking forward again to stuff like selling rum to natives. One of the best ways how to make money despite rum being embargoed in Europe. And if they come and steal my horses and rifles (becoming mounted braves), well, they have to prepare for retribution. In fact, I think I'll start up DOSBox during weekend just to replay Colonization again.
You can't take the sky from me.
I find his comparison to the Confederacy to be important. I know plenty of folks prefer to play the Union, but insisting that Civil War games deny the option of playing as the South seems silly.
The original Colonization was a great learning tool and did a lot to help explain the various competing interests involved in that age. It can certainly be played (as can all games) with detachment to the point of learning and conquering a set of rules. It can be played carelessly, as in an FPS where some players enjoy shooting their teammates for fun. On the other hand, it can be played consciously and often is, and I think that's a benefit to the player to a higher degree than it is a detriment to play in a "silly" or detached manner.
The democratization of the web ... has installed an illusion of a digital first amendment that protects speech no matter how poorly spelled or stupid. - Elysium
Wordsmythe is my hero. - rabbit
XBL: E Munnie