In the series you control a historical world civilization (Chinese, English, Mayan, etc.) from the dawn of man to the future. Along the way you expand your cities, research new technologies, and build armies so that you can wipe out your enemies. As opposed to, say the Total War or other RTS games, the Civ games are based on management skills and the leverage of cultural advantage. You go from controlling one fledgling encampment and one primitive military unit to controling a world-wide empire with a sprawling military rather quickly so organization and foresight is a must.
The Civilization series is well known for being addictive and beyond essentially every other game in the turn based strategy genre in terms of re-playability. Re-playability comes from the infinite number of ways the game world can be set up. The world can be random generated or preset. You can play against many or few other Civ's with varying presets to increase or decrease the game's inherent difficulty. The addiction comes from the "next turn button." Each turn of the game comes from you setting instructions over a set few game years. Build this, research that, etc. When you're done handing out instruction, that next turn button blinks at you, begging you to hit it to progress time a few years and process your inputs. The next turn button means progress on technological research, military production and city expansion. It's the payoff to all of your best laid plans, and is oh so damn enticing.
This current iteration of the series includes some interesting improvements over previous versions of the game. Initially, you will notice that the game looks astounding. The "sun" reflects of the water, the trees sway gently in the "breeze," and the grasslands transform convincingly into deserts in the equatorial regions. For a series that prides itself on world creation, the massively upgraded graphics help "set the illusion." This is combined with the new hexagonal game field layout. Your civilization now organically spreads over lush terrain, like an amoeba eating up food and gaining cells.
(This picture gives you a good look at the hex and the visuals.)
They've also tweaked the game-play. In previous installments, you would stack military units to create large roving military behemoths. In Civ 5 only one military unit is allowed per space, which means your military tactics are more akin to swarming and make you keenly aware of defensive positioning. Towns situated in valleys or on isthmuses are infinitely more difficult to capture from a determined defender, adding more strategy. Additionally, the onld tech-trees have been simplified and emphasized. Cultural and technological advancements have been separated, allowing you to focus on one or the other.
(Battle lines are actually drawn, rather than single stacks slamming against each other. Look! Flanks guarded by Calvary!)
Finally they've added city-states to the game. These city-states are a historical callback to the days of Constantinople and the Lombard League. They are self-serving city/civs who do not seek expansion. Instead they look to the larger, full-fledged civilizations to provide them with things. Meet their demands and they will share their wealth (be it gold, military units, or unique resources). Of course, you could always just conquer them to gain the advantages without the hassle of pleasing them, but they can be tough nuts to crack... The city-states act as a unique wild card, spicing up early game-play as pleasing them could be the difference between victory and defeat.
In the end this is a great update to the gold standard in turn based strategy. Civilization is a 20 year old franchise, and could be expected, even allowed, to show its age, but this new version is spectacular. It takes the history of the game, and tweaks it and changes it to create a whole new feel. Besides being addictive as hell, it can also be extremely challenging, and I'm sure it will provide many hundreds of hours of enjoyment. Great value for money, and a hell of a good time. If you've got the time, you'd be fool not to give it a try.
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