Difficult to learn, Impossible to master.
This truly is the best stategy game i've ever played and still do.
Will you be a wealthy/Smart civ? A religious zealot? A Trader? A Cultralist? A Warmonger or Someone Everyone else hates a little bit less than your biggest rival?
PROS.
There is NO set stategy to win this game, and you have to be able to adapt to a developing world.
Soooo many choices of what to build, research, Influence, destroy.
CONS.
Other Human players (Either Suck at this game or don't understand it)
Spies were better in warlords.
City Govenor will prioritise scientists over other great people, Its really annoying.

War is NOT the only answer. i've won many cultrual, space, world/religious leader victories and never killed a single unit even with aggressive AI On Immortal. You bribe others to go to war for you!
Dont get me wrong i like a good war but if its not in your interests or you have nothing to gain avoid it.

People complain of broken deplomacy and stacks of doom.
On lower difficulties, deplomacy is Frustrating, as you'll be way in advance of the AI and it'll demand unreasonable trades and requests, that you WILL refuse, and as a result so and so declares WAR.
On higher difficulties the trades and demands are still weighted towards the AI but its NOT AS ridiculous and you're more inclined to take them.
You CHOOSE your friends. You CANNOT please Everyone.
As for 'stacks of doom' catapults rip them too pieces.

MULTIPLAYER
LAN = amazing, a real challenged if you opponent is good.
ONLINE = lots of issues.
Staging room is fairly vulgar due to the same few people.
Ragequits all too common.
Multiplayer is poor but Only due to the ameturism of your opponents, and i'm yet to actually see a winner of a game.
Nearly all of the players you come across are fairly weak and use the same stategy again and again.
Pick the Romans, get iron, build pretorians and go to war. its the same with any other race that gets an early unit that owns.
Nobody will allow tech trading as its "unfair" apparently, Truth is, that warmongor who set up the game doesn't want a challenge of facing longbows early.
Usually someone states they have infantry in x amount of turns and everyone else quits saying "good game, you win, i forfeit" even though i was 8 turns from a cultrual victory. Not that i'm bitter about it or nothing but it was only 1390ad and i was 8 turns away from Victory that no-one saw coming, and was then robbed of it. 2hrs of my time for nothing.

Difficult to learn, Impossible to master. This truly is the best stategy game i've ever played and still do. Will you be a wealthy/Smart civ? A religious zealot? A Trader? A Cultralist? A Warmonger or Someone Everyone else hates a little bit less than your biggest rival? PROS. There is NO set stategy to win this game, and you have to be able to adapt to a developing world. Soooo many choices of what to build, research, Influence, destroy. CONS. Other Human players (Either Suck at this game or don't understand it) Spies were better in warlords. City Govenor will prioritise scientists over other great people, Its really annoying. War is NOT the only answer. i've won many cultrual, space, world/religious leader victories and never killed a single unit even with aggressive AI On Immortal. You bribe others to go to war for you! Dont get me wrong i like a good war but if its not in your interests or you have nothing to gain avoid it. People complain of broken deplomacy and stacks of doom. On lower difficulties, deplomacy is Frustrating, as you'll be way in advance of the AI and it'll demand unreasonable trades and requests, that you WILL refuse, and as a result so and so declares WAR. On higher difficulties the trades and demands are still weighted towards the AI but its NOT AS ridiculous and you're more inclined to take them. You CHOOSE your friends. You CANNOT please Everyone. As for 'stacks of doom' catapults rip them too pieces. MULTIPLAYER LAN = amazing, a real challenged if you opponent is good. ONLINE = lots of issues. Staging room is fairly vulgar due to the same few people. Ragequits all too common. Multiplayer is poor but Only due to the ameturism of your opponents, and i'm yet to actually see a winner of a game. Nearly all of the players you come across are fairly weak and use the same stategy again and again. Pick the Romans, get iron, build pretorians and go to war. its the same with any other race that gets an early unit that owns. Nobody will allow tech trading as its "unfair" apparently, Truth is, that warmongor who set up the game doesn't want a challenge of facing longbows early. Usually someone states they have infantry in x amount of turns and everyone else quits saying "good game, you win, i forfeit" even though i was 8 turns from a cultrual victory. Not that i'm bitter about it or nothing but it was only 1390ad and i was 8 turns away from Victory that no-one saw coming, and was then robbed of it. 2hrs of my time for nothing.