Sid Meier's Civilization IV: Colonization will be familiar to fans of
Civilization, of course, but with a different theme. As the title suggests, you'll be playing the part of a colony in the new world. As your colony becomes more successful and starts producing money, your monarch in Europe will start asking for higher taxes and more money. So you not only have to build a viable colony, but you also have to gear up for the inevitable revolution against your oppressive government.
As always, you have some basic choices to make. You can be a more aggressive, warring colony, or you can choose a more peaceful path of building up alliances with your neighbors. Either way, it's a bit of a juggling act between keeping your colony stable and expanding when you can. There's a decision to make at almost every turn, and plenty of potential planning to keep in mind as you progress. For example, recruiting new colonists is one of the game's biggest challenges, but you have many different ways to accomplish it. You can establish a mission to convert natives, pay for colonists to hurry over from Europe, or produce a surplus of food.
Civilization IV: Colonization has some nice multiplayer options. There are the usual LAN and Internet multiplayer options, but there is also the more "relaxed" email option. You can set up one of these games and then basically email the save file to a friend to let him make his move. Last, there is a Hot Seat option that allows you to take turns on the same PC.
