Map size. They are tiny. Even on a large map I only had room to build nine cities and the globe was mapped out in no time at all.
I had som twenty cities on the old continent in my last game. New continent had more of course but I didnt bother to take them. Map size was "normal terra" and there is two more (large and huge?) + map types that have less of water.
Game length. Finished in just a few hours. Hardly any time to appreciate some of the periods it passes through.
With the epic speed and normal terra it took me atleast 5-6 hours. Allthough towards the end I did a lot of quick turns to massbuild my armies for the last liberation campaign. Difficulty was prince.
Graphics. Very poor. Gave me a headache too. The map is now square on which means with the zoom you end up with an overhead map which is just wierd. I thought the graphics of CivIII were much more crisp and better presented overall. And the new borders shading has to be seen to be believed.
I like the graphics. Perhaps its not for everyones liking but I think they are great. The "overhead map" (scroll far away) is a planet that you can roll to different directions. Its pretty neat.
The game also includes scenarios like north african campaing. And more is to follow imagine when the building tools are released.
