I just got this game 2 days ago, and immediately stopped playing the internet
I love it. I love that the borders spread one hex at a time. I love all the small new features. I love how the combat works like in Pirates!, something I was really hoping Civ would be like. I love that the Earth map is now built in. I love the new tech trading (research pact) system, way better than just selling tech. I love the new simplicity, thought the last two were needlessly overcomplicated. And most of all, I love that it still runs without lagging well into the nuclear era.
I also like that it took a lot of pointers from those other games (like RFC) which strongly discouraged large/aggressive expansion. I think people who are used to playing Civ4 aggressively won't be suited to it, but since I like playing slow and diplomatically, it fits in perfectly for me. Diplomacy is way harsher, but in all the Civ games, the AI are bloody hypocrites diplomatically. I'd attack a distant city state nobody knows about on behalf of another city state and all of a sudden, they all hate me.
The social policy idea is not bad, IMO. I thought civics and governments from the previous Civ games suited the mood. Social policies are kinda... gamelike. They work, but Meritocracy, Mandate of Heaven, Communism should at least feel a bit better than that. A lot of people love Civ for the aesthetics, a bit disappointing there.
And I take back what I said about the game not being suited for hotseat. This one goes very smoothly right from the start, immediately feel like you have something to do, instead of ending 100 turns without doing anything. Then again, I'm still playing on Warlord difficulty.
Oh, and yeah, India is still a jerk. I played two games, and in both, everyone wanted a Pact of Secrecy against Gandhi right off the bat.