Remember how Alpha Centauri melded a fantastic sci-fi plot into the complex TBS paradigm of Civilization and advertised (rightfully) tens of thousands of possible different units, thanks to its unique (to this day) breakdown of Civ-style units into six different parts (Chassis, Equipment, Shielding, Reactor, and two Special Abilities)? Well get ready for the game that tries to not be Alpha Centauri (due to intellectual property issues) and succeeds in every possible way you never hoped for.
Civilization: Beyond Earth drops you onto a hextile grid much in the 'Planetfall'-style of Alpha Centauri, and the similarities pretty much end there. If you're looking to capture native lifeforms and, in time, breed them to unleash psionic genocide on your enemies, sorry - you're out of luck. As in SMAC, the barbarians of Civilization have been replaced with alien lifeforms native to the planet on which your 'sponsor'-backed pioneers have landed. Unlike both Civilization and SMAC, these aliens don't seem to progress in strength along with you, instead presenting a serious obstacle in the early-game (where you will struggle to overcome them) and serve little-to-no purpose in the late-game aside from annoying you. Unlike SMAC, the units that you can create (via the 'Harmony' affinity) that don the 'xeno' prefix have little-if-any relationship (aesthetic or tactical) to the native life of the planet. In the late-game, 'unique' units become available to players depending on their affinity, and remind me of the Battlecruiser, Leviathan, and Carrier from StarCraft. However, unlike those ships, the unique units in Beyond Earth are overpowered, generally requiring another unique unit to take them down. Additionally, unlike the other two, the 'Harmony' affinity unique unit is the only one with melee combat, meaning it is the only one of the three capable of capturing cities.
The game retains the strategic resource aspect of earlier Civ games, requiring players to choose carefully the kinds of units and buildings they construct, given that some of these consume said precious resources. SMAC players accustomed to hoarding massive amounts of (normal) resources and units in the late game via satellites providing energy (i.e. gold in Civilization), minerals (now production units), and nutrients (now food) may be disappointed to find that satellites now provide bonuses over a limited range of tiles adjacent to their location (visible from the 'Orbital View'), and cannot be launched so as to overlap existing satellites area-of-effect. Whereas the limited range of satellites is a welcome change requiring the player to choose carefully where satellites are deployed, the inability to overlap their areas-of-effect makes them next-to-useless.
Your opponents in the game are unmemorable, as not only do they hail from various geographic regions of Earth (not various ideologies), but their affinity preferences (AFAIK) are randomly determined at the start of each game. Yes, the AI is skillful when playing on the harder difficulty levels (now named after various space programmes) and makes for a formidable opponent, but fans of Beyond Earth will never find themselves arguing (as SMAC fans did) over which faction is their favourite or their most hated. The game introduces a much-needed 'favours' system in which giving resources to opponents for nothing in return (that in previous games was simply an appeasement) now gains you favours which you can (potentially) call in during a later turn. Otherwise, the diplomatic options available are similar to those of Civ 5.
Beyond Earth also introduces a new affinities system, in which various technological developments increase your affinity level in one of three categories: Harmony, Purity, or Supremacy. Unlike the deep social engineering system of SMAC (analogous to the civics system of earlier Civ games) consisting of several different choices in each of four categories, the affinity system feels cumbersome and shallow. You will gain or lose favour with opponents based on the affinity you prefer, but unlike civics in previous Civ games, your ability to change your affinity is highly restricted due to the fact that you need to (primarily) research specific technologies in order to increase the level of any given affinity. Furthermore, the fact that many buildings and units require you to have a minimum level in a specific affinity in order to build them gives you little motiviation (or, for that matter, capacity) to choose your affinity in order to appease your opponents, and a good reason to simply stick to the affinity that best suits your style in every game.
I could go on (there are many more aspects to Beyond Earth), but I think that the following three lists summarize how I feel about Beyond Earth. Here's what I wanted to see added to Alpha Centauri (were it to have a sequel) that was introduced in Civilization V and/or Beyond Earth:
- Hextile grid
- Non-stackable units
- Favours in diplomatic exchanges
- Orbital View (and limited-range satellites, although minus the inability to overlap their AoEs)
- Technology web (instead of a tree)
- Better graphics
Here's what I think Alpha Centauri had that Beyond Earth lacks:
- Engaging plotline
- Memorable, ideology-based factions/opponents
- Sea bases (i.e. cities built on ocean tiles)
- Highly customizable units
- Engaging interaction with native life (e.g. native life capture and breeding)
- Unbased air units
- Aesthetically pleasing wonder/secret project cutscenes
- Missiles
- Psionic weaponry
- Social Engineering/Civics
- End game replay
- Drone riots/civil unrest (although perhaps scaled back a bit)
and here's what I think are interesting additions in Civilization V and/or Beyond Earth, but I feel are of debatable value to overall gameplay:
- Trading (i.e. via trade convoys and vessels)
- City Intrigue (which determines the actions available to spies)
- Unique units
- City-states (Civ 5) or stations (Beyond Earth)
Overall, I give Beyond Earth a 6/10. On the plus side, it has some interesting ideas, and like all the games in the series makes me want to play it for hours on end. However, where Alpha Centauri managed to capture the essence of Civilization gameplay while still being a world apart (excuse the pun) from Civilization II, Beyond Earth feels more like a mod or expansion pack to Civilization V than a whole new game. Given that the Alpha Centauri Planetary Pack (which includes the Alien Crossfire expansion) is $6 USD on GOG.com, I have to conclude that it's a better investment than the $50 I dropped for Beyond Earth.