( CNN ) -- Creating your own religion in the real world can result in weird looks , unusual friends and sometimes , visits from law enforcement officials . Creating your own religion in the soon-to-be-released expansion for `` Civilization V '' results in bonuses and benefits on your way to world domination . The new `` Civilization V : Gods and Kings '' expansion pack offers players two revamped elements to the iconic real-time strategy game -- faith and spies . Neither is entirely new to the franchise , but each has been redone to make it more interesting and rewarding to use . Faith is a new resource , like gold or science . Civilizations can accumulate faith by building shrines , temples and mosques . Acquire enough faith and your fledging country can discover its own pantheon of dieties . Pantheons reward players with bonuses based the way the player has played the rest of the game . As such , the player can decide what sort of beliefs the gods represent about their civilization . Bring enough followers to your cause and eventually you can create a fully formed religion ( I called mine `` The Force '' ) . You will also get additional bonuses to your civilization as a whole , and specific additions to city abilities . Later , you can enhance your religion and gain more benefits . There are a limited number of religions that can be created and not every country will get to create their own . This puts a premium on developing faith early in the game so you can acquire the bonuses best suited to your playing style . Religion was introduced in `` Civilization IV , '' but this expansion to `` Civ V '' boosts its abilities to offer benefits to the entire civilization . For instance , there was no condition for a religious victory in the preview build of the game . Religion passively crosses borders and spreads to neighboring civilizations , but active missionary work can only occur in friendly cities and city-states . The developers at Firaxis really tried to make religion something unique for each player and playing style . There are plenty of choices for beliefs and some new leaders players can control offer additional faith benefits . The preview build of `` Civ V '' ended in the year 1290 ( 189 turns ) so it will be interesting to find out how religion plays out in the later stages of the game when it will have to compete with more technology-based units and goals . The second `` new '' unit is the Spy , but unlike its predecessor in other versions in the franchise , it is n't a specific unit to move around on the battlefield . The `` Gods and Kings '' expansion pack comes with a steampunk scenario called `` Empires of the Smokey Skies '' and offers a good opportunity to use the spies . The scenario starts out in the Steam Age and offers steampunkish new abilities and units , like the Land Leviathan and the Sky Fortress . The civilization leaders are decked out in top hats , wielding goggles and other trinkets you 'd expect in a steampunk adventure . The goals of the scenario are also different from the traditional game . Become the leader in five different categories and you win . Spies play a big role here and help players keep an eye on their rivals . You can assign them to steal technology , find out information or kill enemy spies . They also will slant local voting in your favor to give you a better reputation in the city where they 're working . In past `` Civilization '' iterations , spies would have to sneak their way to an enemy city , do one mission and hopefully escape with their lives . In `` Gods and Kings , '' spies stick around in the cities where they are assigned for as long as they want ( provided they are n't discovered ) . This allows players to concentrate on other aspects of the game while still getting intelligence reports on their neighbors . Spies can be reassigned , but do you really want to risk an information black hole in the city you 're leaving vacant ? The `` Smokey Skies '' scenario was short , but offered the best chance to see the spies in action . I only recruited one spy in normal game play in turn 187 and that happened spontaneously . Will there be something in the later stages that helps players recruit more agents or train them better ? `` Civilization V : Gods and Kings '' will offer more units , buildings , Wonders of the World and new civilizations to try out . Revamping the religious and spy elements will make the game even more thoughtful ( if that 's possible ) and challenging for new and experienced players alike . `` One more turn '' just got a whole lot harder to avoid .
`` Civilization '' expansion revamps religion and spies . `` Civilization V : Gods and Kings '' updates the iconic strategy game . * Spies are more flexible in the new version .