The draw of Civilization and strategy games like it has always been a strong one. You're given the opportunity to build an entire empire and oversee its development into a major power. Along the way ...

This preview of Civilization V is incomplete. It takes more than nine Earth hours, you see, for the great Arabian empire — land of Mecca, Rio De Janeiro and Beijing — to assume dominance of the globe.

Veteran reporter and editor with over ten years of experience. Probably reading comic books. As with any addiction though, there's an amount of remorse associated with the time you've lost.