Ordinary
The new AI was supposed to be much better but the only difference in the diplomatic aspect is the points. You get negative points for rejecting deals and positive for helping them out. Will they help you out by maybe lowering the asking price for tech? no. In fact i dont really see much of a change.
The new things about civ 4 are good but could be alot better. Thing such as religion, they are all excactly the same and have no personality. It would be much better if they offered more of a difference besides names icons and temples. It would be much better if say different religions offered different things, such as culture or different units such as a crusader for the Christians. You should be able to have the ability to make holidays for religions and put an amount of money into publicsing them to become something massive like Christmas which would make your people happy and give you a massive income benifet. But religion only offers money for the person that discovers it and makes it their state religion.
Some of the things that have gone are the build up your palace option or leaders getting dressed in different clothing for different eras. It wouldve been fun to see Roosevelt as a tribesman or Gengis Khan as a business man. Or being able to have a view of your city with all the buildings. It was these small but fun things that made the game just that much better.
Although there are good things about civ 4 such as better graphics and upgrades for units there are many things gone and many things done but not well. Basically someone new to the civ series will love it but the gamers that have played the original or 2,3 and the other ones will find that it is very alike to the others. To those people i say leave it for a year or so and come back when you have forgotten about it and it will seem relitively new to you.