Civilization V drops into your download streams and local brick and mortar stores next week – unless you’ve pre-loaded of course. I’ve got my copy preordered, and am very anxious to get my hands on it. I’ve got this nifty schedule now that allows me an hour of free time when I get home, and then an hour or more at night after the kids are in bed. It works out great because I can play single player games when I’m home alone, and then sit down with my MMO of choice at night during prime time. Now that Starcraft 2, Mass Effect 2, and Red Dead Redemption are all out of the way, I’m looking forward to using that hour playing Civ V.

But here’s the funny part; I’ve never been a big fan of the series. I was even out with my buddy a couple weeks ago and told him that I had the game preordered. His response was, “do you even like Civ?” My answer, “NOPE!”

I love all sorts of games; I’ve even been a big fan of turn based games in the past. I was one of those people who scratched their head at the removal of a turn based system in Fallout 3, and actually liked Alpha Centauri (which is weird, I know!). But something about Civilization just never clicked with me. I think it’s because I like a concrete atmosphere. The fact that time would change over the course of hundreds of years in a single game was just strange to me.

But then, to quote the header, why am I buying Civ V?

Hype, bitches!

People are going ape-shit about this game. I can’t throw virtual stone without hitting someone nerding out on the internet about it. It really got me looking at the game more seriously, and I honestly liked what I saw. I’m hip to the idea of a massive strategy game right now, especially after just coming off of Starcraft 2. It’s like playing Team Fortress 2 and then Battlefield: Bad Company 2, going from one genre extreme to the other.

Will this one connect with me when the previous iterations couldn’t? We’ll have to see.