Others say...

"Should I buy this game?"
For the Civ fans: definitely. CivIV has way too many annoying features and bugs in my opinion. That's why when my CivIII CD was crushed, I went again for the same version.

For the concerned parent: I love Civ. But I am way above my teens. The first "part" of the game is all about building cities, culture, doing research and keeping your population happy. At some point though (about after 1/3 to 1/2 of the game) your main occupation is fighting wars with your neighbours. Even the most determined player that wants to make a serious effort achieving only cultural victories will have to build weapons and fight a war or two. However, deaths are not graphic, there are no dead bodies lying around or blood splashed over the screen or anything disturbing. So if you are fine with the notion of war, then this is probably the best way for children you can have a war in a game. The game can be fully customised, but there are no parental locks that will force somebody go for the cultural victory rather than world domination. Over all, personally I would not be too concerned for people in their late teens; however, I do believe in the right of an informed parent.

"LOVE THIS GAME"
Quite possibly the best RTS of all time. There are so many options and ways to win this game, the replayability is almost endless. I am not a big fan of how fast the beginning passage of time is however. In the beginning, every move made allows for many decades/centuries to go by, which puts pressure on you to build and develop immediately. Overall this game is awesome though. I have never played any of the previous versions of Civ, nor have I played Civ IV. I recommend this game to any RTS/strategy fan. You will not be disappointed.

I recently re-purchased this game due to nostalgia. I have subsequently forgotten to shower, eat, or go to work. This remains one of the best games in the history of gaming. I am currently playing the Romans, and I have practically destroyed the Greeks and am working on the Carthaginians. When playing this game, it is helpful to remember that the AI is stupid but it cheats. The AI knows where the resources are before you do, so in order to somewhat counter this, you must do as Rome does: build a massive military and lay siege on your computer foe. By constantly attacking his cities, he will spend gobs of gold in trying to rebuild them while you can get ahead by NOT having to rebuild your cities (just make sure you have at least 2-3 spearmen/pikemen etc. guarding each town). Overall, this game is just as much fun now as it was 3 years ago.

"Best game I've ever played"
This game is so addictive that you should be prepared to give up hours of your day each day for time indefinite. I never get tired of this game. Like it much better than IV.

"I curse the day I ever got this game!"
The latest research suggests that video games can be psychologically addictive and Civ 3 is no exception. I have spent weeks at a time playing this game, and have had to wean myself away just so I can get anything done in the real world.

Civ3 complete is much better than just the original and is very low in price. Save your money by buying this rather than Civ4, I found Civ4 to be boring and over the top in options and possible methods for victory.

The complete version has plenty more wonders, tribes, governments and units in case you were starting to get bored with the original civ3.

In short, if you like strategy games, buy at your own peril.

"Addictive!"
This game is by far one of the best strategy games I have played in a LONG time! I have spent HOURS playing and can't wait to play more. It's like sims meets risk, they really did a great job on this game. If you like strategy, turn based games, you will love this title.