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Gaming megasite, GameSpot recently posted their impressions of Play the World, an upcoming expansion set for the popular strategy title Civilization III. The Play the World expansion will bring with it the much-wanted multiplayer aspect to Civilization III as well as a wealth of new features for gamers to enjoy.

For starters, the single-player campaign has been beefed up with eight new civilizations, including the Koreans, the Spanish, the Mongols, the Ottomans, and the Celts. Various balances, such as the ability to stack units, auto-bombardment, and the ability to transform swordsmen into guerilla fighters are also being added.

The multiplayer aspect is also shaping up to be quite promising. Developer, Firaxis, looking to cut down on the vast time a typical multiplayer turn-based title can take, has added some game modes that favor quick play:

There's a new mode called regicide, where the only objective is to kill an opposing player's king, so you don't have to worry about wiping out an entire civilization. There's another mode where the civilization with the first city to fall will lose the game. But perhaps the most drastic addition is that of victory points. Whenever you perform a certain type of action in the game, such as controlling a certain part of the map for a particular time period or some other similar action, you'll be allotted victory points. If you set the multiplayer match to a one-hour time limit, then the player with the most victory points at the end of that period is declared the winner.

The rest of the preview covers the play-by-email multiplayer feature, editor support, and more additions to the single-player campaign. Those interested can find the full read at GameSpot.

GameSpot - Civilization III: Play the World impressions

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