Well...no. Having played the demo through twice: It's no Civilization IV. That isn't to say that it's a bad game. It seems like it may be fun. But it isn't the real thing. It is Civilization lite. It is Civilization dumbed down. It is Civilization for people who want to blow through a game in a couple hours.

In fairness, the demo only goes up to 1250 AD, and always gives you the same world, so there's a lot I haven't tried. But really, it is Civilization with lots removed. No workers. 1/3rd of the tech tree. No unhappiness. City boundaries are one square, not two. With no workers, no square improvement at all.

If I had a DS, I'd buy it for that, because even a dumbed-down Civ that you can take with you would rock. But as a sit-down game, I'm not so sure. I'll probably buy it. But unless there's something I'm totally missing, it'll be a pleasant diversion, not the addicting obsession that the real thing can be. Though on the other hand, I might do more multiplayer if the games are faster. (I never finished a multiplayer game of Civ IV. I started a few, but the time commitment prevented a full game.)

I am a bit annoyed that they felt the need to do this. There's no reason it had to be simplified so much. The controls are quite good and much of the original's complexity would just require more options in the menus.