I loveCivilization. Not the concept, the game. The concept hasn’t worked out extremely well. But as a game, Sid Meier’s Civilization scratches just about every dork itch I need outside of having sad characters talk about why they are so sad. It’s a series I’ve been playing since middle school and one that still makes me feel like I’ve got so much to learn.
I also stopped playing against my little brother because the dude has put thousands of hours intoCiv 6. He has a genuinely important full-time job, but I still see those Steam pop-ups at 11:00 am! Regardless,Civilization is a series that’s always growing, always changing, and always finding new ways to captivate players. Which is why they need to bring back the greatest thing the series has ever had:Civilization 2’s wonder videos.
What am I talking about? Let me show you. I’ll explain everything, but first I need to drop the Civilization 2 wonder video for the Great Library. Wet your beak a bit.
Ooooooo! Did anyone else get a little emotional? It’s got light piano music, sketches of old dead people, and somehow the videostillgoes hard. Not enough for you? Do you need something a little tougher? Let me throw you the Civilization 2 wonder video for the Manhattan Project.
What?!I love that at the end of the video, it tells you what this wonder unlocks - but here it’s so goddamn chilling. “The Manhattan Project. Allows construction of nuclear weapons.” It ain’t played like it’s good news! That might seem glib, but that video is so depressing, and so dark and haunting. The game definitely wants you to know you’re doing something pretty terrible.
Wonder, Wonder, Who Wrote The Book Of Civ
If you didn’t know already, by now you’ve probably figured out what the hell a wonder video is. Wonders in Civilization are special buildings that give your country some extra benefits. Every game has had them. They’re a big part of the whole shebang. But Civilization 2 rode that early wave of CD-ROM games that absolutelyneededvideo content to fill out the massive, unconquerable 700 megabytes of space. So when you constructed a wonder, you were met with a little clip that set the vibe of the achievement and then told you in plain language what it did.
They also had FMV advisors which were, uh, something!
But not every wonder video goes hard. Some are just fun, compact lessons on history. Even if some of those wonders have very bizarre bonuses in retrospect. Check out Women’s Suffrage, which is one of the most upbeat of the wonder videos while ending on the strangest possible powerup.
Learning About History Through Civilization 2
On the other hand, that was the first footage I saw of the women’s suffrage movement in my life. I admit that’s more of a failure of education than the success of a game, but it was still fascinating when I was 11. And the same goes for a lot of these videos. I didn’t just learn about history from Civilization, the wonder videos expanded on them and gave them the weight of reality. I’d argue that the wonder videos made constructing the buildingsthat much more special. I still build them in later versions of the game, but I only do it for utilitarian reasons. Civ 2 made constructing a wonder feel like a major event. I was constructing wonders for the sheer sake of having wonders.
And to be completely fair, noteveryvideo is perfect.The video for Shakespeare’s Theateris, uh, some very 1990s computer game FMV stuff. The guy in the video looks like he’s about to give you a mission in an Elizabethan real-time strategy game made by Westwood Studios (RIP).
But at the very least, the game is throwing you some Shakespearean acting in costume! The narrators in later Civilization games are insanely good - I mean, we got Leonard Nimoy and Sean Bean - but I still want a little cornball movie in there. And while Civilization 4 brought back the Wonder videos, they were a bit more standardized in form and lacked some of the historical touches that made the previous videos so compelling.
Wait. It’s been too long since I’ve put a video in here. Let’s go with… You know what? Let’s go with the fine, breezy jazz of Leonardo’s Workshop.
God, I love these videos. Cringey? Maybe! But I’m past a point in my life in which being cringey has any meaningful effect on my quality of life. What am I going to do? attempt to convince a teenager I’m cool? How? “You kids listen to that new Short n’ Sweet album?” I’d be in jail. There’s maybe five people in the world my age who could successfully impress children and I am not one of them. Bring on the cringe. Speaking of which:
USA! USA! USA!Do you believe in miracles?!
Civ 2’s Wonder Videos Made Them Feel Like Accomplishments
Look, I get that these videos have absolutely no impact on the gameplay of Civilization 2 and they would also have absolutely no impact on the gameplay of Civilization 7. But, lord, even in the corny videos there are old drawings, paintings, and archival footage.
Showingme the wonder in the real world makes it feel so much more actualized in the game itself. When I just see a wonder on screen and get a quote, it’s anticlimactic. I want celebrations! I want a parade! I also want Civilization 7 to bring back designing your own throne room like you could do in Civ 2.
Civilization 7 looks incredible. And, honestly, Civilization 2 does not play as well as it used to. It’s still fun, but it turns out in the last 28 years, game designers have made some progress. But those old wonder videos gave such a fantastic taste of history. Hell, I rewatch the videos more than I replay the game. As a kid, they connected me to the actual historical events that are being remixed on screen. Maybe it’s not as impressive to an adult, but Civilization 2 was both a game and an education for someone going to a school in Florida.
You know what? I’ve been giving you all these videos in individual, low-res slices. So I’m going to do you a huge favor and just put this video that has all the wonder movies upscaled. You’re getting all of human history in just 20 minutes (up to 1996).
And, you know even further what? Here’s a bonus since I’m already done with my argument that will not change anything. While later Civilization games got rid of or watered down their wonder videos, Sid Meier’s Alpha Centauri kept them - here called “Secret Projects” - mighty. Since it’s science fiction, the videos are a lot more bonkers and a lot less tethered to reality.
One, Alpha Centauri is an incredible game that you should play immediately. It remains one of my all-time favorites. Two, these videos are alsoverygood and absolute proof that this company could get back out there and give us some more goddamn wonder videos. That’s all I got and it’s all I want. Put back the wonder videos. Put ‘em back already. Just do it. Come on.
