I’m the socially progressive Casimir III of Poland now and the last time we met I think I was a Roman. There isn’t even time to reminisce about the old days before he’s asking me to back away from his borders, all the while churning out unsustainable armies and crippling himself with debt just to intimidate me. By the time the bouncers push you into the takeaway reek of the night, the imprint of his shiny shoes will be etched onto your face. An hour later he’ll be chortling, lager-breathed, about ‘the good old days’. Like the time you encounter a wheezing banker in a nightclub and realise that he’s the evolved form of a red-faced kid who used to bully you at school, it’s tempting to hope for an ounce of maturity. Shaka is one of my oldest enemies and it’s good/horrible to see him back. I remember when you discovered gunpowder back in the original Civilization and then shot all of my warriors while they were still wearing pants made of rocks and waving clubs that were made of pants. The early game hasn’t changed a great deal, at least in principal, but there are new leaders to encounter and select, and even before I’d discovered trade, the first new Back of the Box Bullet Point feature, one addition had reared its ugly head.

I've spent a week uncovering its charms and chores, and here's wot I think. This latest expansion takes on the greatest challenge of all - injecting some meaningful activity into Civilization's end-game. The promise of a Brave New World was enough to bring me crashing back down to Earth though, and I've been making new friends, meeting old enemies and creating great works of art. I've founded religions, spied on my neighbours and sent a spaceship in search of a new home on a distant star.

A brave new world civ 5