“Okay guys, it’s been about an hour …”

What? Had it really been an hour since I had started building my empire at the dawn of civilization, rashly throwing warriors into battle while trying to make my capital city one of the world’s super powers? No, that couldn’t be right, it definitely didn’t feel like an hour. I looked around me; none of the other journalists were making any move to get up, their hands firmly attached to mice, eyes planted on computer screens. I even heard a few of them mumble, “Just one more turn.”

If you could sum up the entire Civilization series in four words, they would be “Just one more turn”. In a single turn, warriors can march closer to their next battle, the capital city can produce more gold, settlers can explore previously unseen areas of land, and technology can advance just a little bit, bringing your civilization closer to boats, airplanes, rocket ships. However, no civilization can be built in a day, which is what makes the Civilization games so addictive. Each turn might take only seconds, but before you know it, hours have passed and you have advanced from the prehistoric era to the dawn of space travel. With the franchise already very popular on PCs and consoles (thanks to 2008’s Civilization Revolution), developer Firaxis didn’t have an easy task ahead when they set out to make the deepest, most addictive Civilization yet, but after being given an hour to play the game, I think they may have pulled it off.

Before delving into the gameplay, there are visual improvements to Civilization V that longtime players will notice right away. First of all, the game is gorgeous. Everything looks beautiful, and when I played the game in late June, I would have believed that it was ready for release, not months away from being complete. Land and sea are wonderfully rendered, with cities and individual units looking cleaner and more detailed than ever before. Graphical capabilities of video games have come a long way since Civ IV was released in 2005, and this is reflected with the stunning presentation of Civ V. Additionally, fans are sure to notice that the square tiles have been replaced with hexagonal ones, a change that was made to eliminate confusion and make the strategic gameplay run more smoothly.

An hour isn’t nearly enough time to explore all of the intricacies of Civilization V, but it did allow me to get a general idea of the core gameplay. Just like the rest of the series, the basic idea of Civilization V is to lead the country of your choosing from the prehistoric era to modern times, hopefully taking over the world in the process. There are a handful of ways to “win” the game, but each of those can be accomplished in a number of different ways, meaning that there are many diverse paths to victory. This has always been a selling point of Civ: every playthrough is different from the one before it, meaning it has nearly infinite replay value. If you think that’s overstating it, you should talk to the many gamers still playing Civilization IV on a regular basis five years after its release. To eliminate some confusion and frustration from previous games, the developers have included a Technology Tree, which outlines the steps that need to be taken to accomplish whatever goal you’re aiming for. Want to take over the world by force? You’ll need to build up your country’s military quicker than other civilizations. Would you prefer to dominate by winning the space race, sending a shuttle to the moon? The Technology Tree acts as a guide, so that you don’t waste precious turns and gold on something you don’t actually need. In addition to streamlining the gameplay, this should also make it more accessible to newcomers, something the developers learned from Civilization Revolution.

Though I didn’t get very far in an hour (throwing warriors rashly into battle with barbarians isn’t a great plan for long-term prosperity), I got a glimpse at some other elements that I can’t wait to fully experience. No matter which famous leader you’re embodying on your quest for domination, you will have the option at certain points to adapt the social policies of other countries, such as piety, tradition, or liberty. When meeting another leader for the first time, players can barter, become allies, or just start an all-out war. City-states scattered throughout the world won’t expand, but befriending or defeating them may present unique advantages. No longer can multiple battle units be stacked on the same tile, but to compensate, ranged weapons like cannons can now be fired across multiple tiles. When things get overwhelming or confusing, the Civlopedia offers guidance with an in-depth help system and advice from political advisors.

In only an hour, I was able to get an idea of just how far this series has come since its last PC installment, and I was reminded of how very addictive the franchise is. Those sixty minutes flew by, and I probably could have sat there for hours if 2K would have let me. Firaxis has done an impressive job improving a prolific series, which still hasn’t gotten stale after almost twenty years. This has already been a great year for the PC, but PC gamers should have one more thing to be happy about on September 21.

Sid Meier's Civilization V will be out on September 21 in North America and September 25 worldwide for the PC.