Sid Meier's Civilization IV: Beyond the Sword

Sid Meier's Civilization IV: Beyond the Sword

released on Jul 18, 2007

Sid Meier's Civilization IV: Beyond the Sword

released on Jul 18, 2007

An expansion for Sid Meier's Civilization IV

Sid Meier's Civilization IV: Beyond the Sword is the second expansion pack for Civilization IV - the 2005 PC Game of the Year that has become a worldwide hit. The expansion focuses on the time periods after the invention of gunpowder and delivers 11 unique and challenging scenarios created by the development team at Firaxis as well as esteemed members of the Civ Community. Civ IV: Beyond the Sword also includes ten new civilizations, sixteen new leaders, five new wonders, and a variety of new units that offer even more fun and exciting ways for players to expand their civilization's power as they strive for world domination. Expanded Epic Game: Adds a massive increase of new units, buildings, and technologies to the epic game with a tremendous amount of effort focused on the late game. New Game Scenarios: 11 new scenarios custom-designed by the team at Firaxis and some members of the Civ Fan Community. New Civilizations: 10 new civilizations, such as Portugal, Babylonians, and Netherlands and their associated unique units and buildings. More Civilization Leaders: Sixteen new leaders, both for the new civilizations as well as additional leaders for existing civilizations, including Hammurabi of the Babylonians, Abraham Lincoln of the United States, and Sitting Bull of the Native Americans. Corporations: A new game feature similar to religion allows players to found companies and spread them throughout the world. Each corporation provides benefits in exchange for certain resources. Espionage: Now available earlier in the game, this feature offers players many new ways to spy on opponents, stir citizen unrest and defend government secrets. Events: New random events - such as natural disasters and pleas for help or demands from their citizens - challenge players with obstacles that must be overcome for their civilization to prosper. New Wonders: Five new wonders await discovery, including the Statue of Zeus, Cristo Redentor, the Shwedagon Paya, and the Mausoleum of Maussollos. Expanded Space Victory: Winning the race to Alpha Centauri will now require more strategic planning and tactical decision making. Apostolic Palace: The United Nations is available earlier in the game, providing a way to win a diplomatic victory earlier. In addition, new resolutions expand the available diplomatic options. Advanced Starts: A major fan request, this new feature enables players to 'buy' components of a custom-tailored empire and begin play in the later part of the game, allowing one to experience many of the new features of the expansion in a shorter amount of time. Advanced AI: The greatly-enhanced AI now relies more on smart play and less on handicap bonuses to remain competitive, providing a more consistent challenge throughout the course of the game, both economically and militarily. The ways in which the AI attempt to achieve victory have also been expanded.


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I never grew up playing this video game myself, but decided to play it out of curiosity after learning about it through my AP World History teacher in high school.

This game is phenomenal. I don't think Sid Meier will ever craft a better Civilization game.

Rich in both history and strategy, every game of Civilization IV offers a new experience. I'm always eager to try out different approaches to the game and see how I can win with each civilization. Despite being so rich in strategy, it's also very accessible to someone who's never played a strategy game before. This is partly due to the course of the game itself - the "start" of history is very simple but as the game progresses you have more things to manage, but by then you have a better idea of how to run the game. I still remember playing my first ever game, having zero clue what to do at first except build villages and protect them with Archers, and by the end I had this intricate plan of how I could amass an army to have the highest score in the game (Joao ultimately beat me, but boy was that game fun).

The expansion pack in particular, Beyond the Sword, expands on the original game's strengths. Not only does it improve the AI, but it creates new features for the game such as Espionage and much more complex victory conditions. Furthermore, it adds more civilizations to the game such as the Khmer and new leaders for older ones, souch as Boudica representing the Celts. The expansion thus deepens the game's addictive value in addition to creating a more diverse, educational experience for the player.

If I had to pick one gripe I had with the game, I do wish some of the character portraits were a bit more historically accurate. Catherine the Great and Hatshepsut immediately come to mind for this, but I'm grateful that they are even an option in the first place as they are among my favorite historical figures.

The game's strengths, however, are endless. Whether you're a history buff, someone looking to get into strategy games, or just someone who wants to have a good time, Civilization IV is the game for you.

Base game is really fun, mods REALLY extended it (Caveman 2 cosmos). Come back to this multiple times every year.

Difficulty Played: Emperor

Jogo incrível, bem desenvolvido, nenhuma partida é igual a outra. Me diverti muito.

Played every single civilization, beat all scenarios.

One of my most played games ever, I figure. There are several jokes from playthroughs of this game that still effect me in weird ways and still reverborate through all other strategy games I play. This is also, I figure, the largest example of "the civ aint good until the second expansion pack."