--- product_id: 1710949 title: "Sid Meier's Alpha Centauri - PC" brand: "electronic arts" price: "₨43645" currency: LKR in_stock: true reviews_count: 8 url: https://www.desertcart.lk/products/1710949-sid-meiers-alpha-centauri-pc store_origin: LK region: Sri Lanka --- # Space Exploration Strategic Competition Empire Building Sid Meier's Alpha Centauri - PC **Brand:** electronic arts **Price:** ₨43645 **Availability:** ✅ In Stock ## Summary > 🌌 Conquer the Cosmos, One Strategy at a Time! ## Quick Answers - **What is this?** Sid Meier's Alpha Centauri - PC by electronic arts - **How much does it cost?** ₨43645 with free shipping - **Is it available?** Yes, in stock and ready to ship - **Where can I buy it?** [www.desertcart.lk](https://www.desertcart.lk/products/1710949-sid-meiers-alpha-centauri-pc) ## Best For - electronic arts enthusiasts ## Why This Product - Trusted electronic arts brand quality - Free international shipping included - Worldwide delivery with tracking - 15-day hassle-free returns ## Key Features - • **Build Your Galactic Empire:** Craft and expand your civilization across alien worlds. - • **Engage in Tactical Warfare:** Outsmart opponents with advanced strategies and technologies. - • **Experience Dynamic Gameplay:** Every decision shapes your destiny in this immersive universe. - • **Explore Uncharted Territories:** Discover new resources and alien life forms. - • **Unleash Your Inner Strategist:** Dive into a rich narrative of survival and competition. ## Overview Sid Meier's Alpha Centauri is a groundbreaking PC game that combines empire building, strategic competition, and survival in a richly detailed sci-fi universe. Players engage in deep narrative gameplay while exploring alien worlds and crafting their civilizations. ## Description Product description Land on an alien planet and create your own empire with advancing technologies. Basic game does not include Expansion pack. .com Fans of earlier Sid Meier games, such as Civilization and Railroad Tycoon, will love Sid Meier's Alpha Centauri, the strategy game where players lead a colony expedition on a new planet. This game employs the same rules and concepts as Civilization, but with a new, slicker interface. Within the game, you can now automate tasks that--in the earlier game--were repetitive and dull. The factions also have a better mix of leaders; three of the seven factions are headed by women. Players begin by assuming leadership of one of seven colony factions, establishing a base on the unexplored world. A balance of priorities is critical: conquering territory, developing technology, and expanding the faction's population are all crucial factors in your survival. If a faction's military output is low, it may be vulnerable to attacks by others or by dangerous mind worms that roam the landscape. On the other hand, building war machines at the expense of scientific research may result in trying to manage a massive but obsolete war machine or a rebellious population. This easy-to-learn and thoroughly absorbing game takes the best features of the original classic and sets them in an exciting new world. --Alyx Dellamonica P.when('A').execute(function(A) { A.on('a:expander:toggle_description:toggle:collapse', function(data) { window.scroll(0, data.expander.$expander[0].offsetTop-100); }); }); Review Ever have one of those conversations about those magic games you decided to boot up before dinner, just to get a look at it, and the next thing you knew was 4 a.m. and you were still hungry? Invariably, in such conversations, Sid Meier's Civilization is cited as one of the worst offenders in creating "bleary-eyed next day at work, but boy was it fun" syndrome. Well, be warned: Sid Meier's Alpha Centauri is another one of those games that can make hours pass like minutes, a game that makes you put a cooler full of sandwiches and sodas next to your computer desk so you don't have to get up all weekend. Created by Brian Reynolds and Sid Meier, the team that brought us Civilization II, Alpha Centauri is clearly the spiritual sequel to that game. Civ II ends with you leaving behind the conflicts of Earth to make a new life on Alpha Centauri. This game picks up with a colony ship reaching that system, but it turns out that moving to the stars doesn't change mankind's basic nature. Before the colony ship lands, the crew splits up into seven factions with different priorities for the new world. Each decides to land on its own and try to remake the planet in its own philosophical image. Thus, it turns out that life on the new planet is going to be much like the life man knew on Earth - exploring new territories, setting up colonies, and using diplomacy and war to deal with the other societies. To this effect, gamers will find that Alpha Centauri's gameplay looks and feels much like Civ II's. The map perspective is similar, the command interface is virtually identical, and there are nearly direct corollaries between some of the historical and science fiction elements of each game. Sure, mindworms may take the place of barbarians, and you may create Planetary Datalinks instead of the Great Library, but gameplay will feel instantly familiar to any Civ II player. However, this is true in the same way that Starcraft will feel familiar to any Warcraft II player. While Alpha Centauri shamelessly borrows the elements that made its predecessor magic, the game here is much richer, more sophisticated, and better tailored to individual styles of playing than Civ II. A big concern with moving to a science fiction realm is accessibility. After all, even those of us burdened with a typical American public school education are familiar with the basics of historical civilizations and the progress of technology throughout the centuries. But xenofungus, cyberethics, and polymorphic encryption are new concepts to everyone. To keep from overwhelming you or requiring you to memorize the manual beforehand, Firaxis has created a well-done interactive tutorial which can walk you through each interface window the first time it pops up, and warn you if you're neglecting important game elements. In addition, there's a well-done Datalink help system with detailed information on all the game's controls, technologies, and units. The help system is thorough enough that you may not even need to crack the game's 250-page manual. You should, though, as it includes excellent background information, as well as a number of handy charts. Gameplay is the familiar exploration/discovery/building/conquest model. You'll establish cities, explore the area around it, and build both military and research infrastructures. As in Civ II, you can build farms and roads to make your economy more useful and productive. Be aware, though, that this is an alien planet, and the ecosystem may not react kindly to manipulation. In fact, the planet is in many ways another player to compete with. Handle it properly and it can be an ally, allowing you to tame the dangerous mindworms that roam its surface and use them against your human enemies. Alpha Centauri takes automation to a new height, with features that will be welcome to gamers who don't enjoy management and to anyone who has dozens of units and cities in the latter stages of a game. You can put governors in charge of cities, with a priority to explore, discover, build, or conquer. The governor will then choose which units and improvements to produce (of course, you can jump in at any time and alter the production queue). Similarly, units can be put on autopilot, allowing formers to automatically terraform, scouts to explore on their own, and so on. Those who enjoy micromanagement can leave everything in manual mode and manage every aspect of their society. The game features a very rich technology tree. While almost all technologies are available to all players, the varying strategies used by each faction helps keep everyone from having the identical endgame forces. Particularly cool is the design workshop, which lets you create custom vehicles using available armor, weapon, power, and chassis combinations. The ability to upgrade units (at a cost) keeps you from being saddled with outdated forces. Further, the scenario and map editors, as well as modifiable "rule" text files, will allow you to create a wide variety of custom scenarios. Alpha Centauri's most impressive aspect, though, is the faction AI. The seven factions have very different priorities - economy, religion, peace, environment, knowledge, survivalism, and authoritarianism. These philosophies not only come through in each faction's play styles, but also in how they react to what you do in the game. Warlike behavior won't endear you to the UN, and the Believers aren't thrilled about high technology. Commit atrocities such as nerve stapling to keep your population orderly and nobody will like you. As in real life, though, if you get powerful enough, everyone will want to be your friend. Winning the game can be done in a number of ways. Conquer all the other factions (alone or with allies), win a diplomatic victory by being elected supreme ruler, corner the global energy market to gain economic victory, or go for the gusto and complete the Ascent to Transcendence secret project. (From the description of this, though, it sounds frighteningly like donning your Nikes and going off to ride a comet.)There are few nits to pick with the game. Some minor bugs exist, such as free armor on air vehicles, but many were fixed with the 2.0 patch and more will be zapped in 3.0. Diplomacy can be annoying at times - you may wonder how Sister Miriam can suddenly break your alliance and join with Colonel Santiago to attack you, when just 30 turns back Santiago was eating into Miriam's territory. However, such inexplicable choices do occasionally happen in real life, and overall diplomacy is better handled here than in any prior strategy game. Alpha Centauri's multiplayer support is well done, with simultaneous movement that keeps you from having to sit around while other players make their moves. Particularly nice is built-in voice chat, very handy for gloating to enemies when you take one of their cities. Of course, turn-based strategy games require a fair time commitment, and getting players together for multiplayer sessions can be difficult. Firaxis has a free matchmaking service at www.alphahq.net. The first patch added play-by-email support, so when a game runs long you can save it at the end of a turn and continue it via email at your leisure, and then pick it up again "live" later. Although it may feel a lot like Civ II on the surface, Alpha Centauri is a much more refined game. As has been the case more often than not, Sid Meier's name in the title signifies quality. With its top-notch diplomacy, civilization building, and wargame elements, Alpha Centauri is the new pinnacle of turn-based strategy games. --Denny Atkin--Copyright ©1998 GameSpot Inc. All rights reserved. Reproduction in whole or in part in any form or medium without express written permission of GameSpot is prohibited. -- GameSpot Review See more ## Features - Space Game - Technology - Empire Building - Competition - Survival ## Images ![Sid Meier's Alpha Centauri - PC - Image 1](https://m.media-amazon.com/images/I/81pq4wH-AaL.jpg) ![Sid Meier's Alpha Centauri - PC - Image 2](https://m.media-amazon.com/images/I/81p28-8Q3JL.jpg) ![Sid Meier's Alpha Centauri - PC - Image 3](https://m.media-amazon.com/images/I/813IfKGIiYL.jpg) ## Customer Reviews ### ⭐⭐⭐⭐ 4.0 out of 5 stars The game is great, the seller was as well *by N***N on Reviewed in the United States on February 17, 2015* I wanted to give this game a -1 star. not bc the seller, or the game. The game is great, the seller was as well. The game will not operate on windows 8 unless you have a PhD is computer software and 150 years on your hands. I thought I could make it work, and I was terribly wrong. Hair-pulling, desk-tossing, dog-kicking wrong. Do not buy this game for an operating system which it was not designed to work, even under compatibility mode, or you are well and truly screwed. ### ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ 5.0 out of 5 stars The game that wouldn't die! (and that's a good thing) *by E***N on Reviewed in the United States on December 30, 2004* Released in the late 1990's, Sid Meier's Alpha Centauri, now resting only inches away from the abandonware bin, cannot even hope to compete with newer strategy games in terms of graphics, though the ingenious and well-thought out storyline, which is told through futuristic "historical accounts" and quotes coupled with the ever-present pop-up notifications of newly researched or, in some cases, stolen technologies, still has something to offer for the "modern" gamer.An intensely cerebral, and strangely addictive title, Alpha Centauri casts you as the leader of your choice of one of eight separate factions, all with their own unique abilities and all desperately trying to lay claim to the newfound planet of Alpha Centauri. Play starts simply, a single base, (your headquarters, which, as with all your future bases in Alpha Centauri, supports a custom name,) a single scouting unit, supplied to protect your HQ from falling victim to Alpha Centauri's vicious native life forms, the Mindworms, and a single technological upgrade that differs between factions. From there, game play elevates to steadily higher levels of strategy, from signing and breaking treaties or truces, to forming Pacts of Brotherhood (or Sisterhood) with other faction members, you soon find yourself wrapped up in the storyline. Technological breakthroughs lead to better units and a steadily more refined means of pulling minerals, nutrients, and energy resources out of Alpha Centauri's surface or even from space itself. Learn to guide your researchers, change your social structure, or even complete secret projects before your rivals to provide yourself with the ability to build superior units and influence, manipulate, or even conquer your fellow faction leaders.But the gameplay goes deeper than just second-guessing the easy-to-predict, if not primitive A.I. of the game; in Alpha Centauri, one must learn not only to tame his/her rivals, friends, and Pact Brothers, but also the planet itself. A primitive neural network held together by the rampantly growing clusters of Xenofungus, Voice, as it is called, contacts you in event-triggered interludes, growing steadily more wary (and dangerous) as it studies the human race and it's seemingly inherent need to destroy the ecosystem of planets they colonize. As time passes in the game, Alpha Centauri's natural defenses are steadily increased, the Mindworms, evolve into both aquatic and airborne monsters, allowing "Planet" to hit you (and the other factions) with a three-pronged attack of increasingly more numerous (and deadly) specimens.In the spirit of Human tenacity and the need to tame this new planet, terraforming has also been built into the game, allowing you to build steadily better terrain modifications that can cut down the movement costs of your units, feed your bases, provide cover for your troops, or even pull water from an otherwise ungenerous sky.Alpha Centauri is by no means a graphically superior game; rather the opposite, actually. The maps, units, even buildings give a rough illusion of three dimensionality, but in truth, the entire game, much like other, older strategy titles, such as "StarCraft," is composed of the harsh, two dimensional graphics we have come to expect from classic games. That's not to say that Alpha Centauri's two dimensional graphics are not good. It's art is very well done, and it's smoothness carries a sort of dignity and artistic quality that is lacking in the polygon-rich environs of today's strategy games.A lot of Alpha Centauri's sounds are stock- that is to say, common, cheap, and obvious. The sound used for weapons fire is the same sound I've heard countless times in several dozen other applications, such as car commercials, and low-budget films. But it does have an extensive library of ambient beats, simple little files that play in the background, giving the game an eerie, alien feel that changes as the gameplay progresses, picking up during "high stress situations," and slowing during calm sessions of planning, plotting, and research.Featuring multiplayer and map-creation functions, Alpha Centauri's capabilites don't end at the singleplayer level. Play online with your friends, (that is, if you know anyone who still plays this game,) or make new maps to be tamed, not just by your faction, but by the seven other computer controlled factions as well.All things considered, Alpha Centauri's gameplay and storyline more than make up for it's inferiorities in graphics and A.I. I definitely recommend this title, that is, if you're willing to spend time fully immersed in an ocean of hard-core strategy that has the wonderful capacity to be utterly different everytime it is played; if not, it's still worth a try, who knows, maybe you'll end up enjoying it as much as I do. ### ⭐ 1.0 out of 5 stars This Game Sucks *by B***Y on Reviewed in the United States on October 28, 2011* I hate all of you non-gamer's that rated this a good game. I was looking for a game that was comparable to MOO2 and this is what you guys suggested!? I don't want to dog the game too much but I found nothing good or exciting about this game. You have a grid with stupid icons that roam about with what seems to be no direction and they do not seem to follow your commands at all. These icons in the shape of astronauts, dune buggies, and cargo carriers roam about searching a small area over and over finding absolutely nothing and never registering how many turns they are using and they all seem to get in each others way. You keep building more and they seem to go wherever they want and when you don't move them the interface asks if you are sure...as if they actually accomplish anything when they roam about except for running into some exploding fungus that seems to arbitrarily pop up whenever and where-ever. This game lacks direction and purpose. The colony base you are working out of is too complicated for what it is trying to accomplish. Also, you never get to see what you are building in a way that is practical. There is no practical organization thus it is understood why the designers of this game had to put pop-ups over and over and everywhere to explain what you should do and why you are doing it. You build a colony truck because it tells you to and you move it to a square on the grid of your choice and it tells you you shouldn't or cannot, and you build it to serve and accomplish what? To build more? This game just doesn't do it for me. I guess I'm spoiled by Master of Orion II and shame on me for thinking there is a game out there that could complete with such a masterpiece. Thumbs down for me...I'll try something else, don't waste your money. --- ## Why Shop on Desertcart? - 🛒 **Trusted by 1.3+ Million Shoppers** — Serving international shoppers since 2016 - 🌍 **Shop Globally** — Access 737+ million products across 21 categories - 💰 **No Hidden Fees** — All customs, duties, and taxes included in the price - 🔄 **15-Day Free Returns** — Hassle-free returns (30 days for PRO members) - 🔒 **Secure Payments** — Trusted payment options with buyer protection - ⭐ **TrustPilot Rated 4.5/5** — Based on 8,000+ happy customer reviews **Shop now:** [https://www.desertcart.lk/products/1710949-sid-meiers-alpha-centauri-pc](https://www.desertcart.lk/products/1710949-sid-meiers-alpha-centauri-pc) --- *Product available on Desertcart Sri Lanka* *Store origin: LK* *Last updated: 2026-05-25*