It's too early to say whether Sid Meier's latest creation is in the Masterpiece League or not, but it's not too early to say it's a cracker. Alpha Centauri's a logical progression from the Civilization series, both in terms of plot and gameplay. Now, as one of the seven available political factions, you must populate the planets of the Alpha Centauri star system with the ultimate goal of excluding all the other coalitions.

The game's interface has been overhauled and updated and is very simple to use. A lot of the game's more nit-picking decisions have been handed to advisors who actually appear to be quite smart (though you can take that privilege away should you so desire). This makes Alpha Centauri an involving experience, with great depth while it still remains accessible. Future Gamer have been having a whale of a time dealing with the mind worms and can heartily recommend you go and do the same.