Who is your favourite in the previous installment of the series? I'm a total India junkie in Civ 4, ever since playing the demo version. Faster Workers are the best special unit for me, and the ability to change civics without undergoing anarchy is a powerful boon. Vikings come close second, their bonuses for unit promotion and finances are very cool, but Berserker is not nearly as good as super workers.
Stalin has good bonus in Civ 4, but I don't think Cossack is much better than ordinary cavalry, and the Russian special building, while cool, comes too late in game for my taste. What's the advantage of having a potential access to a super-laboratory when you're still centuries before superconductor tech and being crushed by swordsmen, legions or else?
Well to be fair, you can't JUST pick one nation over and over again. It's going to get boring really fast, and you wouldn't be able to appreciate lots of parts of the game. For me, I would rather go with militaristic nations, instead of research or economy oriented ones. For me, a well anchored defense and an army that can be raised quickly is better at the start to mid game than being able to research faster, or having a stable economy.
@OursIsTheFury True, but we can choose which ones are the best or the most fun to play, right? Offensive militarism is good in the early to mid game, but later on, it's better to be playing an industrious or creative nation IMO, since otherwise you risk falling behind in technology - and if that happens, no military bonus can save you.
Toss up between the Germans and India, I love what Germany brings to the table and despite choosing them a lot when I start, I never get bored of them. They're fun!
Romans with Augustus. Allows me to push fast in early game, by putting a monopoly on useful wonders. I combine that with civic production and later army production to create an expansive Roman swarm. Love playing the game this way on XL-sized Earth with historically accurate distribution of civs. Frenchies always get ousted first. XD
@ Vladimir Shouldn't you target Carthaginians and Greeks first, for historical accuracy? Not that's a thign I aim for in my games, I prefer to create my own history, but if that's your thing, you should check the Rhye's And Fall of Civilizations mod (if you haven't already, that is).
I really liked playing with the Egyptians. I really liked the details of the buildings. I'm not too concerned with historical accuracy but am glad that it is there.
For some reason I also seemed to find the Germans to be really good to play with here, and I am not really sure why. I used to never play with them until IV and the later ones, but I guess that is how it goes sometimes.