I've played almost everything Sid has put out and have enjoyed them all, but this putrid piece of crap feels like Civ lite. I'm a micro managing maniac, which is not everyone's cup of tea I realize, but CIV V plays like its on auto pilot. I would recommend Civ IV over V any day of the week.
Yeah, but not everyone has all the free time in the world. Civ games already eat up way too much time, but if you also have to micro everything like crazy, this game probably pretty much becomes your life. At least I cannot see how to avoid that short of not playing at all.
So I'm kinda glad certain things are on autopilot. but then again, unlike you I didn't really put too much time or effort into any Civ game, so what the heck do I know...
I played both Civ III and IV but only for a few weeks.
like someone said, its a paid beta test and DLC marketplace
Care to explain the comparison to a beta test? The game plays well and there are no bugs. As for a DLC marketplace, that's how it is with many games now. Face it, that crap is here to stay.
On the other hand, most DLC packs are usually non essential for the full game experience, and only add bragging rights or some cool looking unit or map or item, none of which will ever give you overwhelming odds over the enemy be it single or multi-player.