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Try it out for sure, can't say for the earlier ones, but the last one is an absolute marvel.

I've played 1, 2, call to power (not sid miers), 3, missed 4 and 5, and have been playing 6 lately. 2 and 3 were my favorites so far. 6 just has WAY too much going on for my liking with all the culture and religion warfare aspects. So far, my MO has stayed the same- build as many cities as you can early on and then start concentrating on economic and military techs. Crank out a bunch of units, overwhelm the enemy and then just keep upgrading those units. I've had game plays on lower levels where I don't ever lose a single unit. You just march across the world with the same 15-20 units and crush the enemy. Once you get the jet bombers in 6, it's over for your rivals.

I haven't actually even played the 6th one but, i guess I should just to see how it's like, since i have a few friends that have a similar (to your) opinion on the latest one. But I've always found myself really fascinated by witty and somewhat tedious gamplay elements.