Late last week, Frictionless Insight (FI) posted a preview of Civilization: Revolution by Kyle Ackerman who has been writing electronic gaming articles for more than six years. He's labeling CivRev a "[k]indler, [g]entler" approach in the sixteen-year-old series where "everything is positive and streamlined".
Ackerman notes an Economic victory being added to the possibilities, but no details are available. What is known is that the "religion and culture features present in recent PC Civ games" are out, and "an amalgam of happiness and culture" are in. On the graphics front, the previewer spends a few moments touching upon warfare specifically.
In the concluding paragraphs, Ackerman observes that developer Firaxis Games is "taking [multiplayer] lessons" from their experiences with CivIII and CivIV on the PC to make online engagements "simpler to start and much faster to finish". Thanks to FI's Editor for the news tip.
One turn at a time, your civilization expands, conquering the globe or ultimately launching an interplanetary ship. But that doesn't mean that everything in Revolution is the same as [CivIV] and its predecessors.
[I]t looks dramatically different than past [Civ] games. That's because individual units have limited A[rtifical] I[ntelligence] that causes them to choose their targets dynamically, and rag-doll physics has been added to ensure that each death looks different. Each battle should appear different, so you won't just tune out the combat animations. Also, when units upgrade... they get a complete visual makeover.