Civilization V - Gods and Kings
 

The first expansion for Civ V - Gods and Kings - is being released on Steam tomorrow in the US (well the 20th), and will be available to us in the antipodes on the 22nd (so the 23rd).

The expansion ads in a couple of of things that have been missing from this version of Civ, mainly religion and espionage. It also adds in some new playable civs and includes some back-end enhancements that apparently allow you to play a full game beyond the Renaissance without your system attempting to replicate a x386. There is also an alterative history mode called Empire of the Smokey Skies that is very steampunkish.

No idea on the cost but I understand it will be around $35.

There are a couple of good reviews up already so you can read them at your leisure:

Wot I Think: Civ V ? Gods And Kings | Rock, Paper, Shotgun

Civilization V: Gods & Kings hands-on preview MyGaming News and Reviews

Still cheaper to get Civ IV and the Beyond the Sword expansion and get a better game :P

I find it hard to go back to IV tbh, was never a fan of stacking and squares over hexes.

I do like the hexes, but Civ V just doesn't draw me in like Civ IV. And Civ V effectly swaps the Stack of Doom out with the Carpet of Doom.

Good summary here - What Went Wrong?

I thought most civ games after the original were pretty much the same thing with a few slight changes here and there. At least that's how things felt form I to IV. Haven't bothered with 5 for that reason, it looked different, but I'm guessing the underlying city/research/development mechanics are pretty much the same no?

If that's the case, I'm happy playing the original.

You are correct Drac, the Civ series are broadly the same. However thats the same as saying that Quake 1 is broadly the same as the DayZ mod :)

Civ IV has alot more depth and an interesting maintenance model for constraining the growth of your empire. Civ IV with the Beyond The Sword expansion is a really sweet package. If they had taken this package, added swish new graphics, hexes, and called it Civ V, Civ fans would have died and gone to heaven :D