When comparing Super Mario 64 vs Civilization, the Slant community recommends Super Mario 64 for most people. In the question“What are the best and the most revolutionary games of all time?” Super Mario 64 is ranked 10th while Civilization is ranked 18th. The most important reason people chose Super Mario 64 is:
Super Mario 64, as a free-roaming, open-world game, was a precursor to later groundbreaking games such as Grand Theft Auto, and has been [cited by Peter Molyneux as one of the 5 most groundbreaking games of the last 20 years](http://thekartel.com/video-games/14067405-fable_creator_picks_his_top_5_most_revolutionary_games/) for this reason
Specs
Ranked in these QuestionsQuestion Ranking
Pros
Pro Free-roaming, open-world game
Super Mario 64, as a free-roaming, open-world game, was a precursor to later groundbreaking games such as Grand Theft Auto, and has been cited by Peter Molyneux as one of the 5 most groundbreaking games of the last 20 years for this reason
Pro Developed a proper camera and control scheme for 3D games
3D games prior to Mario 64 were somewhat all over the place with their control schemes, and game developers were still struggling to use the third dimension they now had access to. SM64 is a freeform game that makes the most of its 3rd dimension with fantastic control and camera orientation that we take for granted these days, but was highly innovative in its own time.
Pro Immersive, highly addictive
Once you start, you're committed for at least three hours.
Pro Defined a game genre
The original Civilization is responsible for bringing the 4X (eXplore, eXpand, eXploit, and eXterminate) genre to masses and defining certain characteristics that are now staples of the genre.
Because Civilzation was commercially highly successful other publishers tried to replicate Civ's success.
Cons
Con Big learning curve.
Managing everything from resources to armies to research is a delicate balance.
Con No multiplayer
The original version had no multiplayer.