Is civ 5 dumbed down from civ 4?

So after lots of mixed reviews from a game I think is the best in the series. I wanted to make a simple poll for people that have played both Civ 4 and Civ 5.

Do you think Civ 5 is "dumbed down" compared to its predecessor Civ 4?

No its not dumbed down.

I think "streamlined" is a better term for it; the game definately appears to hold your hand a bit more than the previous game, but not at the expense of depth.

The balance is vastly improved, no longer to old units with axes beat gunpowder units, etc.

I think it's just more accessible and streamlined (the interface especially which is just awesome), but the actual depth is there.

It is not dumbed down as much as lacking some features compared to Civ 4, but of course, Civ 4 had a lot more time to have the metagame blooming up and 2 expansions in addition to several updates. Removal of religion was a great thing though, but I don't feel the same about civics and corporations (which I hope will be readded as soon as possible).

I personally prefer civ 4 and gave civ 5 a 6.5 but I can see the game blooming up into something awesome if we give it more time. First of all make the AI smarter, I have conquered several nations without losing a single unit, using the same tactics that got me single tactics star out of 5 in some strategy rpgs.

Lets see... My issues with CIV 5:

To have a challenge you need to play on err what ever its called... D something :D... The only reason why its a challenge there is because the AI CHEAT. By the time you have 3 things researched there are computers are 15+. The AI dont get better or anything it just cheat :(...

There are to few civ's and they are not very unique and the abilties they have are either super bad. Or overpowered like hell.

Then there seem to be a preformance issue due to bad coding... My computer can handle the game just fine but a while into the game it will start to lag and the loading time will be so long... I have played larger and more complicated games then this with many more AI's and the games there dont lag or take long time to load.

Then i know its not very "Civ" gameish... But i would have loved to see them add "events"...

While the game is "stream lined" to make it easier to play... There is something missing and i just cant put my finger on what it is... But its most likely a combination of lack of civ's, lack of unique stuff and lack of events...

It plays different, and is not necessarily dumbed down. It's less of an economic squeeze and relies more on tactics.KHAndAnime

its dumbed down. 1 UPT is interesting (but more tedious); squares or hexes: whatever; "rushing" or "gold buying" in civ 5 is way too easy, generic, and requires less thought; research agreements oversimplify "tech trading" (in quotes because tech trading doesn't exist anymore in civ 5); great scientists bulb entire techs no matter the beaker cost; most tile imporvements and resources are worthless; lack of many features from previous games; almost all wonders and buildings are essentially worthless; balance between large cities and ICS (infinite city sprawl - found as many cities as possible with NO REGARD for strategy of land or anything) heavily favors ICS; the list goes on... I do not find myself making many decisions.

it wouldn't matter so much if so many aspects of the game weren't broken. city states broken, diplomacy broken (really hurts the role playing aspect of civ), ai even more broken that previous games (also the ai has NO IDEA how to actually win the game...), buggy, lack of many features/extras (DLC and expansions obviously in the future = $$). i get the feeling the designers didn't even play the game.

just to be clear: it's dumbed down not because a lot of the math and stuff is "hidden" but because the strategy has been oversimplified.

i was really looking forward to civ 5, but i have put it on the shelf hoping that patches and stuff will fix the problems in the future, and for now have new found appreciation for civ 4.

It isn't dumbed down, the interface is just a little more streamlined. Many of the complex elements are still in place, though, and some like combat have actually been given more depth.