What is Sid Meier's Alien Crossfire?

A month after Alpha Centauri's February 1999 release, the Firaxis team began work on the expansion pack, Sid Meier's Alien Crossfire. Alien Crossfire features seven new factions (two that are non-human), new technologies, new facilities, new secret projects, new alien life forms, new unit special abilities, new victory conditions (including the new "Progenitor Victory") and several additional concepts and strategies.

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One of the marks of a great game is the immense amount of time you’ll lose while playing it. Blink — it’s morning. Blink — it’s sundown. Blink — it’s the next day, and you’ve lost your job. Alien Crossfire, the add-on pack for Sid Meier’s Alpha Centauri... has that sort of mind-numbing haze going for it in a big way.

In Alien Crossfire, as in its predecessor, you’re back on Planet Chiron, an Earth-like planet circling the multiple star system of Alpha Centauri. This time, though, five new human Factions and two new alien factions show up. The original inhabitants of Alpha Centauri, these two groups are engaged in a bloody civil war — hence the name of the game. Those who like the original balance of factions can customize the game to include a mix of the new additions, or even eliminate the new factions altogether.

Despite absolutely great gameplay, interesting new weapons, and new commerce technologies, Alien Crossfire has a couple of problems. First, the game quickly becomes indistinguishable from the original Alpha Centauri — and, truth be told, gameplay is largely the same. This won’t be a problem for fans of the original — the new factions and technologies mesh well — but those looking for a new game might be disappointed. The second minor problem is that the game doesn’t handle multiple monitor setups well — it confiises which monitor has control of scrolling and dialog boxes.

Still, our complaints are minor, and the price on Alien Crossfire is right. For about $20, you get several new factions, new technologies, new secret projects, new life forms, and a new way to achieve victory. And, as anyone who has ever played a Sid Meier game knows, this is enough to make you lose several days of your life — without having to endure the attendant hangover.

Reynolds, David. (September 2000). Alien Crossfire. MacAddict. (pg. 52).

Download Sid Meier's Alien Crossfire for Mac

Architecture

IBM PowerPC

System Requirements

From Mac OS 7.6

Compatibility notes

Minimum Requirements

• PPC603e @ 180 MHz
• 32 MB RAM
• 800 x 600, 8-bit color display
• 4X CD-ROM drive
• Mac OS 7.6
• Full Version of Alpha Centauri

Emulating this? It could probably run under: SheepShaver