Unexpected
I am a fan of the series, but not a huge one. I liked all the previous, but like with Quake 4 i was worried it wouldn't live up to it. Thank god it proved me wrong. I love this game. It's stopped me playing battlefield 2 for 2 months. It certainly has the best multiplayer. It's very deep and allows you to determin a lot of aspects of your empire.
It is turn/based, but the funny thing is you love it that way. It makes you chat with a lot of people and plan strategies with your allies against your enemies. This game will make you think about what resources you've got to have. The lands you need to have. What alliances to pick.
this game makes you think, i personally like games like that. For people who don't like games where you have to think this will probably also enjoy you, but only to a certain degree.