It was a slow news morning… up until Take-Two Interactive announced the return of maaaaybe the best strategy game of all time:

Along with the all the visual upgrades you’d expect from a brand new iteration, Civilization V will introduce hexagonal tiles, more “organic” landscapes, full-screen diplomacy, ranged bombardment, and massive armies. Here’s series creator Sid Meier doing a little marketing:

“Each new version of Civilization presents exciting challenges for our team,” said Sid Meier, director of creative development at Firaxis Games. “Thankfully, ideas on how to bring new and fun experiences to Civ players never seem to stop flowing. From fully animated leaders and realistic landscapes, new combat tactics, expanded diplomacy and shared mods, we’re excited for players to see the new vision our team at Firaxis has brought to the series.”

It’s not entirely clear what “organic landscapes” are, but hopefully it means a more realistic empire design. Civilization IV is incredible, but by the end of every game, the landscapes always look like the same sprawling, ticky-tacky grid plots. Head over to Joystiq for some very pretty screens.

Take one turn too many when Civilization V arrives this fall.