Eurogamer: When Civilization IV came out - and I'm using the z spelling with the same counter-intuitive courtesy that allows me to refer to drag acts using "she" - it was difficult to say, "Hey! Everyone! This is the big new thing that makes Civ IV the one game in the series that'll make you guff up your lungs, in a way none of the others previously did!"
There was religion, but Civ's a balanced and even-handed affair, so religions were slotted neatly into the tech tree. Moreover, like political systems, each one was a viable gameplay option. And not, as a petty-minded athiest like me was hoping for, an inexorable mental journey from storm-worship to rocket-fuelled godlessness.
Civilization V continues to be one of the most popular grand-strategy games you can play on Steam, for about three years.
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Philip Boyes:
When I was a kid, I played a lot of Civilization 2. I played a lot of strategy games in general, but having a deep love of both history and sci-fi, the epic sweep of Civ 2 from prehistory to the stars held a particular appeal. I loved taking my little people from their huts and ziggurats to the world of science and advanced space-flight.
Can't wait!! I'm glad we're finally moving to hexagons, and the stack-blocking and limited resource changes just make the game smarter.
Still pisses me off when my gunship gets taken down by spearmen...