[edited]
My Beta review was unhappy with the difficulty and combat of the game, however upon replaying it after launch, I find no glaring issues with either anymore.
The game brings in fresh, fun features for turn-based strategies, but lacks a big community to discuss and mod the game, which Civ benefits from greatly.
While it can't stand up against a title like Civ 5, it can stand taller than the trashbin that is Beyond Earth (though you should play Pandora First Contact if you want a REAL remake of Alpha Centauri).
The mission systems are a great improvement from Endless Space, making the mid and late games more interesting instead of just the endturn-fests that plenty of other turn based games become. (Like Endless Space)

[edited] My Beta review was unhappy with the difficulty and combat of the game, however upon replaying it after launch, I find no glaring issues with either anymore. The game brings in fresh, fun features for turn-based strategies, but lacks a big community to discuss and mod the game, which Civ benefits from greatly. While it can't stand up against a title like Civ 5, it can stand taller than the trashbin that is Beyond Earth (though you should play Pandora First Contact if you want a REAL remake of Alpha Centauri). The mission systems are a great improvement from Endless Space, making the mid and late games more interesting instead of just the endturn-fests that plenty of other turn based games become. (Like Endless Space)