Sid Meier's Civilization V: Gods & Kings

This is a useful and enjoyable expansion to a game that's still one of the great time-stealers of this generation. To put it succinctly: it is more Civilization V to add to your copy of Civilization V. If you still have even a flicker of a desire to play more Civilzation V, that news should be all you need to justify picking up Gods & Kings.

The sum is an expansion that adds a lot of little things that make the game feel a bit nicer and shinier, but culminate into the same overall experience. It simply isn’t enough to warrant its price tag unless you’re a hardcore fan looking for some extras to chew on.

Gods & Kings feels like what Civilization V wanted to be all along. It doesn't so much "expand" the game as evolve it. Strategic combat finally feels strategic, and the diplomatic game, enhanced by religion, espionage and a few new tweaks, finally matters. Managing sprawling armies is still a chore, and the end game still gets bogged down in micro-managing city improvements, but the new mechanics combine in a way that feels simultaneously new and rapturously familiar.