I think the genius of the Civilization games is the innate humor it carries in its gameplay. I love when Ghandi goes to war, or the Japanese build Broadway.
Civ Rev has also cracked me up with the naming of geography. "Crossing the Rubicon" takes on such a differant meaning in these games when the "Rubicon" is a Desert or Mountain instead of river lol.
Great thinking when they do these kinda things in the game, it brings a wonderful synergy and humor that goes great with the deep thought process when playing.