I play Guild Wars 2 at the moment, and have played it since launch. I grew tired of World of Warcraft around Cataclysm when they took a piece of spiked rebar and shoved it up the lore's ass. With regards to GW2, it's buy to play so you can't go wrong there, updates every 2 weeks, WvW (3 server warfare on massive maps to control keeps, towers, etc.) is pretty great, and the sPvP is okay. Haven't touched that aspect much tbh. Well worth the $60 though, and should at least entertain you for several hundred hours if you understand that there's no stat progression, only visual progression.
If you're looking for NEW games, maybe Age of Empires 2 HD could be up your ally? It's not grand strategy like Civ; it's an RTS, so it's faster paced but it's still one of the best RTS's I've played in my life.
Storywise, you obviously have the Bioware games, ranging from Baldur's Gate (if you can get past the archaic game mechanics) to Mass Effect; whatever floats your boat. You also have Deus Ex, which is still bar-none one of the better franchises in gaming, or the shock games (System Shock, Bioshock, etc.) if you're looking for some investment there.
There's also PAYDAY 2, which, if you have some friends to play it with, is one of the best multiplayer games I have played in recent memory, and is still damn good if you play it using hot joins or randoms to fill in the spots.
Then you have the MOBA's: LoL, SMITE, DOTA 2, etc. Ultra-competetive and a huge learning curve, but once you're in you're typically hooked. So if you're looking for that type of investment, be my guest.
Either way, hope you find what you're looking for.
If you're looking for NEW games, maybe Age of Empires 2 HD could be up your ally? It's not grand strategy like Civ; it's an RTS, so it's faster paced but it's still one of the best RTS's I've played in my life.
Storywise, you obviously have the Bioware games, ranging from Baldur's Gate (if you can get past the archaic game mechanics) to Mass Effect; whatever floats your boat. You also have Deus Ex, which is still bar-none one of the better franchises in gaming, or the shock games (System Shock, Bioshock, etc.) if you're looking for some investment there.
There's also PAYDAY 2, which, if you have some friends to play it with, is one of the best multiplayer games I have played in recent memory, and is still damn good if you play it using hot joins or randoms to fill in the spots.
Then you have the MOBA's: LoL, SMITE, DOTA 2, etc. Ultra-competetive and a huge learning curve, but once you're in you're typically hooked. So if you're looking for that type of investment, be my guest.
Either way, hope you find what you're looking for.