Civilization became a strategy classic virtually upon its release in 1991. It also became the game that everyone wanted to make "just one or two changes to" in order to make it perfect. After five years of listening to these nagging suggestions, MicroProse is preparing Sid Meier's Civilization II for release sometime in the spring. The basis of the game remains the same - you begin as the leader of a small tribe in 4000 BC, with a goal of either conquering the world or being the first to reach outer space. However, virtually every portion of the game has been tweaked, with the biggest changes coming in diplomacy, combat, and graphics.

	DIPLOMACY: I'm starting here because this is the area that I always felt needed improvement. Basically, you have more negotiating options, and you face more realistic consequences if you fail to live up to your word. In addition to peace treaties and military alliances, Civ II will allow you to reach a cooperative alliance with another tribe, set up territorial boundaries, declare temporary cease fires, and agree to enhanced trading with another civilization.

	In what has to rank as my favorite change, a computer tribe will no longer be able to reach a peace agreement with you, then fortify a military unit or three on your city squares. Tribes that are at peace with each other are not allowed to move a military unit within two spaces of the other's cities. The only time you'll be able to break an alliance is during the diplomacy phase. If you break your diplomatic word on a regular basis, your reputation will suffer and other tribes will be reluctant to deal with you.

	COMBAT: The good news for strategy gamers is that the combat system has been made a little more realistic (in other words, your plucky phalanx unit won't have a chance in hell of knocking out the enemy's armored car). The bad news for wargamers is that after careful consideration, the designers decided against going to a tactical combat system. The reason was simple: Civ II is a strategy game, and the game's AI didn't lend itself to a realistic way of implementing it.

	A number of units, such as spies, elephants, stealth fighters, alpine troops and freight trucks, have been added to fill in the military gaps as you work your way from the Bronze Age to the modern era. Each unit still has attack and defense strengths, but a firepower element has been added with hit points - basic units have 10 hit points, gunpowder units 20, armored units 30 and battleships 40. Units that lose hit points are damaged and have reduced movement rates. They can be repaired by returning them to cities that have barracks, ports or airports. You can also slowly regain lost strength by simply skipping a turn.

	GRAPHICS: The least important element of Civ for me - hey, if you want a great-looking game, join the rest of the nation and buy Myst - but Civ II is going to look better. There are hi-res graphics, a more realistic isometric view, and the unit icons and terrain squares have been redesigned. Additionally, there will be a multimedia feel to the game. Each of the Wonders of the World will have its own video clip, and you can consult with your video town council. Like real politicians, this group will argue with each other when you ask them for advice.

	OTHER STUFF: Experienced Civ players (you know, those people who would devote vacation weeks to playing) complained that it got too easy after a thousand games or so. This has been addressed in two ways: a sixth difficulty level (deity) has been added, and the gameplay should be more balanced. More balanced is a nice way of saying that your computer opponents will gang up on you if you're doing well, and they'll cut you some slack if you're struggling.

	Seven new Wonders of the World have been added, for a total of 28. In addition to the new military units, there are new city improvements, such as supermarkets, superhighways, and police stations. The technology tree has also been revamped, and 20 new technological advances have been added.

	At the beginning of a game, Civ II will be much more flexible than its predecessor. You'll also be able to play preset scenarios, such as World War II or Alexander the Great, or you can opt for an accelerated start, which will allow you begin in 2000 BC instead of 4000 BC. If you wish, you'll be able to modify some of the rules. A cheat mode will also be available, but using this will hurt your final Civilization score. A full-feature map editor will also be included. Unfortunately, the first version of Civ II will not include multi-player capability.

	From this corner, it looks as though MicroProse is sitting on a gold mine in Civ II. There are enough substantive changes to make it a game worth purchasing for Civ veterans, and there's a whole new crop of strategy gamers who haven't played the original that are likely to get the sequel. If you're still not convinced this is a game worth playing, show some patience - we'll probably see Civ III come out sometime around the turn of the century.