Sid Meier Takes the Civilization Series Beyond Earth

Firaxis had been teasing fans that we would be seeing them unveil a new AAA title at PAX East last weekend, and for those of you who had SMAC on your bingo card... I owe you a coke. Beyond Earth is a spiritual follow up to Sid Meier's classic Alpha Centauri that he developed for Electronic Arts back in 1999. Using the brand recognition of Civilization (and not having to fight EA for the SMAC rights) they can take the same great faction based gameplay... but without all that boring history stuff.

Seed the Adventure: Players will establish a cultural identity, select a leader and sponsor an expedition by assembling the spacecraft, cargo and colonists through a series of choices that directly impact starting conditions when arriving on the new alien planet.
Alien World: Exploring the benefits and dangers of a new planet filled with dangerous terrain, mystical resources and hostile lifeforms unlike those of Earth, players will build outposts, unearth ancient alien relics, tame new forms of life, develop flourishing cities and establish trade routes to create prosperity for their people.
New Technology Web: Reflecting forward progress in an uncertain future, technology advancement will occur through a series of nonlinear choices that affect the development of mankind. The tech web is organized around three broad themes, each with a distinct victory condition.
New Quest System: Quests are infused with fiction about the planet, and will help guide players through a series of side missions that will aid in the collection of resources, upgrading units, and advancing through the game.
New Orbital Layer: Players will build and deploy advanced military, economic and scientific satellites that provide strategic offensive, defensive and support capabilities from orbit.

Civilization Beyond Earth will be releasing later this year on PC and will be one of the first games to take advantage of AMD's new Mantle graphics API. Check out the launch trailer below-