The end game of Civilization games (all of them) has always been their biggest weakness. From the ancient and classical era, when everyone is still exploring and expanding, to the medieval and renaissance era, when alliances, religions and border wars wax and wane, the first half of any Civilization...

While this second expansion for 2K Games' epic Civilization V is titled Brave New World , it has nothing to do with the novel by Aldous Huxley-or Shakespeare's play The Tempest , which is likely the origin of the phrase in popular culture.

Adds cultural victories to Civ V ; plus more wonders; nine new playable powers; plus a new Scramble for Africa scenario

Reuses old art in a bad way

Gods and Kings adds a lot to Civ 5: religion; espionage; proper naval combat; new civs, units & buildings; a redesigned tech tree (and, to a lesser extent, the social policy tree); and improved AI.

Improves everything; Religion works very well; Loads of new stuff

AI is still a bit dense; Espionage is flimsy

The bottom line is that if you've ever been into a Civilization game, or you could see yourself getting into a deliberately paced, strategic game of epic proportions, Civilization V will grab hold of your attention and not let go.

An excellent refinement of the classic Civ formula; beautiful graphics

A few odd omissions from multiplayer; some AI issues

I am a big fan of Sid Meier and turn-base strategy (TBS). This game has good graphics and is great for road trips. Storyline is solid, with good mechanics and solid multiplayer. I do have four warnings, though.

Normal 0 false false false EN-US X-NONE X-NONE MicrosoftInternetExplorer4 As a first time Civilizations player I was completely blown away by the depth and strategy involved and after logging over 35 hours have played one game.

Divide and conquer in this new installment of the Civilization franchise. Divide and conquer with a massive army, use cunning diplomacy and negotiations to woe foes to allies, or dazzle and confuse enemies with your technology; these are some of the ways you can dominate the world.

Amazing graphics; detailed game play and information; clear and clean menus; balanced and improved combat system

Late game turns take a while

There aren't many game franchises that have reached twenty years of age. There are even less that have kept up their quality. Mario hit 25 a few months ago, still going strong after rescuing the princess countless times, and the Prince of Persia is in good health – although maybe that's due to his...

Greatly improved combat; City states add are an excellent addition; Slick interface.

Frequent but isolated crash problem

I have to be honest; I was never huge into the Civilization games before this game for a few reasons. One, I never had the patience to sit down and learn all the intricacies to be a truly great leader (and player), and two, all the micromanaging was never my forte.

Editor's note: the Mac version of Civilization V is due out on 23 November. Strategy fanatics have lost hundreds of hours of their lives to Sid Meier's beguiling creations over the years, and they should prepare to lose hundreds more.

Hours of addictive turn-based glee; Fantastic new tactical-combat system; Excellent interface makes it easy to keep track of every aspect of the game; Great automation features allow you to focus on the big picture; Lovely visuals and classical soundtrack

Inconsistent; overly aggressive AI; Scattered annoyances; particularly in multiplayer