Sid Meier's Alien Crossfire

The Good
Well, I'm a big fan of Alpha Centauri and I recently bought the Planetary Pack so I've got both Alpha Centauri and Alien Crossfire.

After playing several and more hours on Alpha Centauri (which oddly was filled with so many dang bugs - one would think the idiots would get rid of them by now before re-selling them in 2004?), I took a chance with Alien Crossfire.

Nice intro cutscene, although couldn't tell which alien was which (probably had the same mama). Everything is pratically the same, more factions, technologies, units, unique worms, but practically same old, same old. Probably better in this sense.

Unfortunately I haven't really started playing this game really long because I'm currently stuck "restarting" the game...I'll tell you why in the BAD STUFF section.

The Bad
I am currently taking a break from my routine of restarting this !@#!@%$!@ game and still am very pissed, so pissed that this review is my only outlet source.

So when I started Alien Crossfire, I usually like to make my own custom map, since the "Huge Map" is kinda small for my tastes. So, I'm making it 30-50% ocean cover, since I hate too much water in my maps, others standard.

I finish the map, start playing, after several minutes I realize I'm stuck on a remote island that barely can fit 3 cities. Depressed, I restart. Again, stuck on a small island.

Curious, I do it several times again but to no avail, and out of desperation I activate the scenario editor, which automatically shows the whole map. The whole freaking map is just a chain of small islands! Now each time I restart, I always activate the scenario editor: same result. Stuck on a remote island, if I'm lucky there's a medium sized mainland near. But that's not enough.

What's the problem?

I'VE RESTARTING THE GAME FOR MORE THAN !@#!$!!%@ 40 TIMES and I'm still stuck on a freaking island. Does anyone know what 30%-50% means? And why do you always have to be stuck on a tiny island?

The thing is, this problem doesn't occur on Alpha Centauri. When they say 30%-50% ocean cover, they give you that AND your on the mainland or at least a really big island. Some people really have the nerve for being morons...

The Bottom Line
I'll update this review when I find me a nice big continent on the map...if that's possible. Currently I have a 0.5% chance of finding one. It's been 40 times I restarted the game and still stuck on a remote island. Are these idiots intentionally trying to piss the gamers off or what?

The Good
Since SMACX is an expansion, gameplay suffers little or no changes: the same empire-building as ever, so all good and bad points of SMAC apply here.

Good? Well, new techs, equipment and projects were expected; it's the minimum to find in an expansion pack! The idea of aliens is the best, perhaps: I think the story of the Manifolds is a great addition to the plot, although it's a matter of tastes. Playing alien factions, with all their special features (automatic vengeance, "energy grid" instead of trade, Singularity Beacon victory) can be interesting, but ultimately not that different.

The Bad
Apart from that, SMACX has nothing more to offer: the new human factions may appeal to some, but ultimately aren't necessary (an empire of hackers? Sounds a bit strange to me). The faction editor? New factions can be created also in SMAC by editing text archives. And the editor sure has more bugs than the whole game itself, uncorrected to date as far as I know!

The Bottom Line
Nice to have for fans and collectors, but... a must have? Hell, no!