For all the Civilization fans out there, should you buy this? Heck yeah! The core gameplay remains the same, combat is more interesting than ever before, culture provides a large number of major new options, and it's easily the best Civilization release to date. Even if you're not a fan of the series, it offers a wide variety of gameplay choices from even an early stage, and can be played how you wish. Want to kill everyone? Build an army! Want to awe the world with your well-developed culture? Build wonders! Want to terrify China with your space program? Build Apollo! But build something, because your civilization won't wait.

I was hesitant to purchase this given some reports of bad performance or bugs, but I have found I can max all the graphics without a problem on my new 27" iMac. No DRM issues either, as long as you have a stable net connection, it won't bother you. (I am always online anyway, so it works.)

The game itself is also very fun. An amazing recreation of renaissance Italy. Gorgeous graphics, fantastic voice work and music, and the fun of being an assassin. Its hard to ask for much else. Check it out.