Tempus, a game of island development and civilization growth, challenges players to balance a nice variety of competing interests. For example, if you're first to move forward on the technology track, you win special powers that the other players won't have. But you won't always be able to use that special power to earn victory points -- which are what you need to win the game.
I played twice and came away very impressed. Designer Martin Wallace has an impressive track record with games like Age of Steam and Liberte, and Tempus deserves acclaim as well.