Civ 3 rocks. I was also a big fan of Civ 2, but the computer that's on is in a dusty old box in the basement. A friend of mine had installed it onto our PC some time ago, and then I didn't understand it or play it very well, but I was addicted to it all the same. Generally, I think Civ 3 is an improvement, and the differences between civilizations are more nuanced, though there are some features of Civ 2 I like better. I had to play as India in order to have war elephants, for instance.
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"And lo, the beast looked upon the face of beauty. And beauty stayed his hand. And from that day on, he was as one dead."