Sernaton

I have played both as well. Both are great games. For some subjective reasons I tend to prefer civ4. The first reason is purely subjective: I prefer historical settings rather than scifi. I somehow feel that the "play through the ages" of civ4 is the core of the gameplay, and that is lacking in galciv2. The other main reason I prefer civ4 is also subjective, or rather, of personal nature: I can (and do) play civ4 with my friends. On the other hand galciv2 has an excellent a

multiplayer is definitely my biggest wish, the rest are just "nice to have"

It is strange how this discussion got somehow "religious". I am the only of my buddies playing this game so far, and I also have a strange feeling playing solely against the AI. It is a bit like playing chess against a machine, just not the same thing. I could bring some of my friends into the game if MP was there.