The game is being published by Aspyr Media, in partnership with 2K Games.

“The Civilization franchise is a fan favorite and one of the best-selling Mac games ever. We are thrilled to be able to participate in this newest version and bring Mac gamers this native experience so close to the PC launch,” said Ted Staloch, Aspyr’s Executive Vice President.

The features are identical to the PC version’s – hexagonal tiles, ranged fighting, animated leaders speaking their native languages…everything that had fans in a tizzy.

No clue which part of the “holiday season” they’re talking about, but for fans of the series, sooner is better than later (unless sooner means a bad port, in which case – take your time).

Included in the $99.99 edition:

• 5 metal figurines based on units from Civilization V, manufactured by Reaper Miniatures
• 2-disc CD soundtrack of game score selections
• DVD “Behind-the-Scenes at Firaxis on Civilization V”
• 176-page hardcover art book

Will you be picking this one up? Or have the Special Editions gone too far?

PC versions of Civilization V will be powered by Valve’s Steam. A special Digital Deluxe Edition will be available through Steam, and if you pre-order a regular or Digital Deluxe edition via Steam, you’ll get a free Cradle of Civilization Map Pack (Mesopotamia), along with the game later this year. This map pack will include the Fertile Crescent and all terrains, cultures and conquests that come with it.

Sid Meier’s Civilization V will also have many of the Steamworks benefits such as achievements, downloadable content, multiplayer matchmaking, auto-updates and even more to make your PC experience better than ever before.

The Digital Deluxe Edition will make it easier to expand your empire by using Babylonian Bowmen under the rule of Nebuchadnezzar II in the Babylonian civilization. It will also include the soundtrack and a video feature titles “Behind the Scenes at Firaxix [Games] with Civilization V.”

If you just can’t wait to conquer the world, 2K is also offering a Steam-wide sale on all Civilization titles, starting today.

Pirates! allows you to be a buccaneer and fight in pirate ship battles (in one of 27 fully customizable ships), have sword fights and woo the ladies, all in an attempt to save your family from the Marquis de la Montalban. Quests include finding secret treasures and other missions.

The Wii version will include a couple of extra minigames (Bombardment and Lock Picking) as well as some exclusive customization options.

2K Games is taking it a little farther with a new game mode in Civilization V (called “extreme diplomacy,” of course). Just in case your normal diplomacy isn’t cutting it, entering EXTREME mode allows two world leaders to enter a death match and fight to the finish with special attacks and finishing moves. The winner obtains full control of the challenger’s empire. Two enter, one leaves. Yada yada yada.

A special “Uber” Edition of the game will include an eight-button joystick to make pulling off those classic fighter moves just a little easier during EXTREME DIPLOMACY. Each world leader has their own signature move, including:

• George Washington’s Uncle Slam Attack
• Oda Nobunaga’s Tsunami Train Attack
• Otto von Bismarck’s Hurricane Helmet Spike Attack
• Ramesses II’s Phalanx of the Leopard Army
• Montezuma’s Revenge of the Aztec Army
• Napoleon’s Complex Military Strike

This could be the best way to take over the world yet. Or at least the best way to get me to play Civilization.

(Happy April 1st from 2K. Unfortunately.)

If you actually go, you can attend hundreds of sessions (over 400!) that include lectures, demos, roundtables, and even the Game Developers Choice Awards. Pretty much every aspect of the industry is covered, from mobile phone games to AI and game localization.

This year’s keynote will be delivered on Friday by Sid Meier, who will speak on the psychology of game design.

We do have a contact at GDC, and I’ll be doing my best to keep GamingAngels readers as up-to-date as possible on news that happens both in and out of the Moscone Center.

Can’t wait to see what the rest of the week has in store! (I hope you’ll follow along with me, as well.)

Civilization V introduces hexagon tiles (as seen to the left) allowing for deeper strategy and more realistic gameplay. The brand new engine brings players closer to the Civ experience than ever, with fully animated leaders interacting with players from a screen-filling diplomatic scene and speaking in their native language for the first time. Combat is more exciting than ever before. Ranged bombardment allows players to fire weapons from behind the front lines, challenging players to develop new strategies to guarantee victory. In addition to the new gameplay features debuting in Civilization V, an extensive suite of community, modding and multiplayer elements are also present to take your Civ experience beyond your desktop.

In addition to Civilization V, Firaxis Games is also developing the next thing to take over your News Feed, Sid Meier’s Civilization Network for Facebook. Civilization Network will offer yet another option for world domination to both the casual gamer and the biggest fans of the series.

For more information on Sid Meier’s Civilization V, please visit www.civilization.com. To find out more about Sid Meier’s Civilization Network visit www.facebook.com/civnetwork.

GDC organizers have also lined up more topics and lectures, detailed below.

- Ubisoft Montreal lead designer Patrick Plourde will speak on ‘Designing Assassin’s Creed 2′, discussing how “the design team faced the challenges of an enormous scope, one of the biggest development teams ever assembled and a limited time frame” for the critically acclaimed, Renaissance Italy-set action game.

- In a lecture entitled ‘Get Your Game Out Of My Movie! Interactive Storytelling in Mass Effect 2′, BioWare’s  Armando Troisi “will focus on the narrative design fundamentals used at BioWare and how they evolved for Mass Effect 2, explaining components of the just-debuted game’s story design, problems encountered during implementation, and design choices made for the long-awaited franchise sequel.

- The always popular Game Design Challenge returns this year with a unique theme – the designers “must conceive a game that somehow incorporates the actual death of a real person.” The contestants for the ‘Real-World Permadeath’ challenge, MC-ed by Eric Zimmerman, are last year’s Challenge winners Heather Kelley (Kokoromi) and Erin Robinson (Puzzle Bots), facing off against Thatgamecompany co-founder Jenova Chen (Flow, Flower) and Airtight Games’ Kim Swift (Portal).

Sid Meier is setting out to takeover Facebook with the free-to-play Civilization Network some time next year.

CivFanatics forum, Firaxis’ director Sid Meier stated:

“Ever since we finished Civilization Revolution last year, I’ve been looking at ways of expanding the Civ gameplay experience to include solo, competitive and cooperative play to take advantage of the uniqueness of social networks. We’re calling this project Civilization Network and the full game will be available next year on Facebook.

“Civilization Network will allow you to join together with your friends to create the world’s most powerful, richest, smartest, or just plain coolest civilization. You can coordinate your strategy to win great battles, share your technology to jump ahead of your rivals, lobby your family and friends to form your own government and win vital elections, manage and grow your cities to maximize production and happiness, spy on your enemies, and work with your friends to create the great Wonders of the World.

“The game will offer everything you enjoy in Civ in a fully persistent environment – you can play as much as you like, whenever you like, and it’ll be free to play.”

GermiNation

At Austin GDC, Intel announced the winners of their Level Up Game Demo Challenge. Sitting on the judges’ panel were Will Wright, Sid Meier and Brad Wardell. Awards were handed out to the top three games in each category, as well as an honourary Judge’s Award.

Best Game on Intel® Graphics

First place: I Know Your Deeds by Yakov

Second place: Spin Tires by Pavel Zagrebelnyy

Third place: Inferus by Kevin Gadd, Ian Maclean, and Troupe Gammage IV

Best Game-on-the-Go

First place: Inferus by Kevin Gadd, Ian Maclean, and Troupe Gammage IV

Second place: GermiNation by Bradley Wesson

Third place: Rise of Pirates by Stefans Keiss

Best Threaded Game

First place: Spin Tires by Pavel Aleksandrovich Zagrebelnyy

Second place: I Know Your Deeds by Yakov

Third place: The Ray Trace Game by Klyuchnikov Eugene

Judge’s Choice Award:

Rise of Flight: The First Great Air War by Albert Zhiltsov

You can check out the winning demos on the official Intel Level Up Contest page.