Back in the 1990s Microprose got me fired from a job and almost caused me to flunk out of college. The addictive nature of Civilization, X-COM and Pirates! meant that playing games became more important than going to work or attending class. But now, since playing games is work, I can safely confess that I've been totally captivated by Firaxis's remake of the old C64 classic. The new game adds a few new gameplay elements to the mix and updates the graphics but it still tightly adheres to the strengths that made the first game an all-consuming addiction for those of us who played it.