I liked it
Civ III is good, but the problem I have with it is the turn-taking on a single player game. It takes FOREVER for the computer to take it's turn even on high speed. Seeing as how it's the computer, it should just be able to take a small moment to move and skip to the end of it... But I have to sit there and watch the whole thing play out. And I'd much rather be playing the game considering that I'm sitting here for hours at a time.
The other issue I have with it is the fact that the game seems to want to do what IT wants. I can't seem to set each individual city's production to a default like "wealth", so after it's completed one item in the production list, it decides itself what it wants to produce, and usually, it's something I don't want at all. I have been able to only slightly customize this. There are a few other minor issues I have, but it would take too long to type them all here.
BUT... in spite of the drawn out turn-taking and the other minor issues I have with it, the game is interesting to say the least. It was hard to put it down and go do something else like dishes or something. I was enjoying the game, that is until I found an even better game.
Considering that it's not a 3D game it's not important to have stunnning graphics, but they are good.
The sound is a different story... while the city sounds are okay, the music is awful and repetitive. I turn the sounds off and listen to my iPod or something else. It's much better that way.
I played for a month practically all day - every day. When I stopped I was still learning new things about the game, so the learning curve is a big one.