GameGossip: What is new in Civilization III: Conquests? What are some of the conquests gamers will be able to play?

Jesse Smith: Our #1 goal has been to give more Civ to all of the Civ III owners out there! Civilization Conquests is a great addition to Civ3 because it allows fans to experience Civilization in a more realistic historical context. We have recreated some of the most exciting and critical moments in the history of mankind. Nine new conquests are included, beginning with Mesopotamia and leading all the way up to World War II. Each Conquest is fully customized to their historical setting including new tech trees, civilizations, map features, wonders and units, and provides players with new Civ gameplay challenges and surprises � you�ll find locked alliances in the World War II Conquest, volcanoes, rain forests and special abilities like stealth attack and ritual sacrifice in the Mesoamerica Conquest and the Enkidu Warrior and the Three-Man Chariot in the Mesopotamia Conquest. These conquests offer a faster-paced Civ experience and challenge players to employ new strategies and tactics. In addition to these conquests we have also added a lot to the core game with 7 new civs, 2 new civ types, new wonders, more government types, and even two new difficulty levels. So essentially, there�s something for every Civ fan in this expansion!

JS: When it comes to new features, there's always room for more. Especially when you're talking about something as huge as Civilization!! With Conquests, we decided that going deeper into individual periods in history would be an interesting and fun way to present Civilization.

JS: Multiplayer has been a big focus for us. We are including with the game a variety of civ-matches along with the Conquests, that will allow players to prove their skills with games lasting between 2-5 hours � much easier to play a game within that time frame than to play an �epic� game that can last 20-30 hours. This has allowed us to focus on creating Multiplayer experiences that will have players coming back to the battlefield in no time. Take Locked Alliances as an example. We�ve created 2v2v2v2 or 3vs3 or 2vs2 maps so that players can fight it out as a team.

JS: We have updated the map editor to include more control over the rules of the game and have given players the tools to create their own Conquests. Specifically, some of the items that have been added are Disasters, Locked Alliances, More Victory Point options, a Fog of War tool, new abilities, and so on. The new functionality is highlighted within the Conquests.

JS: The biggest reason to buy Civ III:Conquests is that this extensive expansion will deliver more than 50 additional hours of top-notch gameplay to Civ owners around the world! Civilization has always been about playing a huge expansive game through time. The random map created a fresh and new experience that challenged players to create new strategies for victory each time they played. With Civ III:Conquests, the more you play, the more you learn the map and the tech tree � so then it�s a race against yourself to tech faster, expand quicker, go for that stone and iron deposit sooner, or perform an early assault on your neighbor. Now it�s not only �just one more turn�, it�s also �what if I tried this instead�! With Conquests games lasting between 2 and 5 hours it is easy to get sucked into playing another match� and that�s what makes Civ III: Conquests so much fun!

Thanks for your time Jesse, glad to see you aboard at Firaxis. For those of you that want to learn more about Civ Conquests you can visit the Official Site. Or ask someone who knows about the game, but please for the love of god, stop consulting the EB sales clerks. They scare me.