[TheObserver6955]

It's not like nothing mattered. e.g.: - How you evolved in Phase 1, decided if you get omnivore / carnivore / herbivore - How you acted in Phase 2 & 3, changed what you can do in Phase 4 & 5. So what super weapon you have in Phase 5 and if you are a religious, economic, military, ... nation. - Attacking nations, changes how they react to you in later stages of evolutions.

There would have been a lot more potential in that game, but it is not like it was complletly unplayable. In fact, I didn't know about the hype regarding the game as I was a kid and just stumbled across it. Therefore I didn't had these high expactations, and it got my favorite game for many years.

[setr]

you're not wrong, but it's really as minimal an impact as it possibly could be -- my main point is that the game is incredibly shallow, not that it was nonfunctional.