The Civilization series is, in my opinion, conceptually flawed. Nearly every civilization plays almost exactly the same. Let's look at the Aztecs for example, and compare them to the Aztecs in Age of Empires II. (Note: AoE II and Civ V are very different games, and this is not intended to compare the two games as a whole, merely to highlight a specific issue I have with Civ).

Age of Empires II is another game where civilizations tend to be more similar than not, but it handled the Aztecs differently, in that they could not train any cavalry units. There were no horses in the Pre-Columbian Americas, and even once Europeans arrived, the Aztecs didn't really use them.

But in Civilization V, every civilization has the exact same tech tree and unit roster. Every civ has a unique unit or two, but they do not ever have any techs or units actually removed from their options. Instead, whether or not you can build cavalry units is determined by whether or not there are any wild horses on the map near your cities.

In theory, this concept is fine. But if there's so little about your civilization that's distinctly Aztec, why even call them the Aztecs? Civilization is stuck in an awkward midpoint between clinging to history and having a sandboxy environmentally driven experience.

Civilization needs to change directions, and either make the civs more asymmetric, to add more flavor and accuracy to them, or to go the other direction and remove the ability to start as a distinct civilization entirely. Instead, you would start as a relatively indistinct neolithic faction, and as the game progresses, your civilization would gain its own identity determined by the surrounding environment, available resources, and interactions with other civilizations.

... But to the best of my knowledge, no such game exists, or I would recommend that instead.

If you'd rather go for a more asymmetric 4X game, I strongly recommend Endless Legend. It has nearly everything Civilization has, except with a non-traditional fantasy/sci-fi setting, and civilizations that actually feel unique.

But if none of my rant concerns you, then sure, go ahead and grab Civ V. Make sure to grab the complete edition, and grab it while it's on sale.