Sid Meier's Civilization IV: Beyond the Sword

If you’re a Civ addict, this is a no-brainer. You want, crave, need more Civ, with expanded technologies and new nations to conquer. Plus you get a slew of mods that amount to new games in and of themselves. If you’re not a Civ addict, the $35 price tag for a set of mods (some of which can be downloaded for free) and techs that are refinements of familiar ones might seem daunting. But then, I’ve never met anyone who played Civilization who wasn’t an addict.

The bottom line is that, if you enjoy Civilization IV on any level, then Beyond the Sword is well worth your time. The new mods alone, including space-based and mythological scenarios, are enough to keep a dedicated player occupied for days, and the new civilizations and systems introduce so many new layers to the gameplay that Civilization IV is practically a new game entirely.

Beyond the Sword is unquestionably one of the best expansion packs I've ever played and not just because the original release is so strong. The amount of content it adds and the quality of those additions, is top-notch. This kind of massive depth, smooth polish and unending replayability is what PC gaming is all about.

For $30 in an environment where many people were expecting to pay $50 or more, Civilization IV: Beyond the Sword represents a near must-buy for any owner of Civ IV. Between all the wrinkles in the main gameplay, all the scenarios which completely change or add to it, and the fact that this comes with little to no system requirement increases or, well, anything that doesn't add to the gameplay, Beyond the Sword is little more than another stop on Sid Meier's traditional formula but is so much fun precisely because of this. It makes an old but sweet game new again, far more so than the previous Warlords expansion did. Sid Meier is to PC strategy games (and piratical sims) what Shigeru Miyamoto was to console gaming in the '80s, and to say I'm looking forward to his next effort is an understatement. It isn't often that an expansion pack is worthy of being called an Editors' Choice, but Meier's has earned it.

Beyond the Sword doesn’t offer any graphical or presentation improvements and it doesn't do anything to change the deaf gamer friendliness of Civilization IV. However, in every other respect the expansion offers a whole host of new features that manage to improve every aspect of the game. The new civilizations, leaders, scenarios and mods are, for the most part, really good but it's the additional features, quite a few of which we haven't covered in this review, that make changes to the core Civilization IV experience that really make this expansion a must own for all those who enjoy playing Civilization IV. It's quite simply one of the best expansions you'll ever buy for a strategy game.

Während ich diese Zeilen schreibe, habe ich noch zwei Tage bis zu meinem Urlaub. Und dann muss ich tapfer sein, sehr tapfer. Muss meinen PC weiträumig umgehen. Denn das Addon tupft noch einen i-Punkt auf Civilization 4, das ja eh schon ein strategisches Leichtgewicht ist. Ha ha. Zwei Punkte finde ich schade: Das Kampfsystem ist immer noch zu simpel (trotz der wiederauferstanden Großen Generäle), und die meisten Neuerungen gibt’s erst ab der mittleren Spielphase – Beyond the Sword eben. Mein Tipp: Kaufen Sie sich anfangs ein Imperium zusammen, das spart mindestens einen Urlaubstag.

Big games deserve big expansions. Blizzard know this, and apparently so do Firaxis. Warlords brought new things to the table and refined the original formula. Beyond the Sword doesn’t settle with that. It delivers enough new content to dwarf stand alone games and makes some drastic changes to the way the game is played, making this more of a Civilization IV.5 than just an expansion. With months-worth of new scenarios, refinements done to the core gameplay and a ton of polished applied to the engine this expansion is just amazing. If you have Civ 4 you must buy it. If not, you must buy Civ 4 just so that you can buy the expansion as well!

Jo tällaisenaan Beyond the Sword olisi todella runsas paketti, mutta lisää riittää. Myös Warlordsissa oli mukana useita emopelin skenaarioita ja modeja, mutta uusi lisälevy pistää paremmaksi. Mukana on kaikkiaan 12 huolella tehtyä ja kiitettävän erilaista skenaariota ja modia emopelistä vähän suurempaa vaihtelua hakeville. Osa näistä on Firaxisin omaa tuotantoa ja muutama heidän valitsemiensa pelaajien itse tekemää. Maininnan arvoisia ovat pelin avaruuteen vievä Final Frontier, realismiin ja historiallisuuteen panostava Rhye's and Fall of Civilization, tulevaisuuden aikakautta laajentava Next War sekä omalaatuinen, mutta vähiten onnistunut taktinen taistelupeli Afterworld.

Apart from a few quibbles (large maps still load at a glacial pace and the A.I. still builds cities right on top of yours), BTS takes a strong game with some serious flaws and turns it into a fantastic game with a couple of minor flaws. No small feat, that.

In the end such complaints are far, far outweighed by the sheer amount of awesome content available in Beyond the Sword. It's easy to imagine a "gilding the lily" scenario where just throwing random additions into the game threw off one of the most elegant strategic titles currently available today. That the Civilization IV team didn't do this and instead gave us some great new additions to the game is remarkable in itself. That these additions make the experience deeper and richer and way more fun can be considered nothing less than a "Wonder."

Sid Meier's Civilization IV has already enjoyed one solid expansion pack, but this week's release of Beyond the Sword brings so much new stuff to the table that it nearly qualifies as a sequel. Adding in a comprehensive new espionage system, a political element to religion, new options for colonies and corporate competition, the expansion energizes an already lively strategy game. Add in improved AI, more combat options, and nearly a dozen scenarios and mods and you've got an expansion that you won't be able to put down for months.

Mal wieder ein lohnenswertes AddOn für die Civilization-Gemeinde. Ein schönes Paket dank der neuen Konzepte Spionage und Kapitalgesellschaften, interessanter Mods und allerlei neuem Götter-Spielzeug. Bemerkenswert der Versuch ein fast perfektes Spiel noch perfekter zu machen. Mehr Komplexität heißt allerdings auch, für Neulinge längere Einarbeitungszeiten.

Some of the clutter may still seem intimidating to beginners, but this expansion isn't necessarily for people who have never played Civ. And if you have, you shouldn't have many problems picking up the nuances of the interface, and you'll probably be too busy trying out all the new gameplay features that fundamentally change, and in some cases, revitalize, an already-classic game. Though not all of the additions in the expansion are perfect, there's plenty of new stuff in Beyond the Sword for Civ fans to play with, and plenty of reasons to dive back into the game and start taking "just one more turn" all over again.

Naturally, if you’ve played Civilization IV already you know what the game looks and sounds like. By 2007’s standards its surely sub-par from what any hardcore PC gamer would be used to, but obviously it’s not about that for Civilization fans, it’s about the gameplay. This great expansion pack adds a lot of wonderful content that will re-hook a lot of fans and gives them an excuse to go back and play one of the best games around. For Civ IV fans, Beyond the Sword is a must-own game.

Civilization IV: Beyond The Sword is een schoolvoorbeeld van een expansiepack: het bevat nieuwe en uitgebreidere features en een heleboel nieuwe content, het voegt enkele nieuwe gameopties toe en het is nog meer naar je eigen wensen aan te passen. Daarenboven is het nog steeds erg verslavend, maar wij zijn nu eenmaal gamejunkies.

Civilization IV: Beyond the Sword is a great expansion pack and very much a welcome addition to the Civilization IV universe. The addition of new units and other things is not so great but the new ways to start out your game and change the style and tempo create a whole new interest to the core game. Sadly, Firaxis didn't improve the graphics or sound that much in this latest expansion and they should have, at least for some of it.

Now all of that is said and done, the question remains. Is Beyond the Sword a worth addition to the Civilization franchise? After playing, you'll probably end up saying "yes." Civilization IV: Beyond the Sword adds loads of new content, with new areas of gameplay, entirely reworked universes to play in, random events, and plenty of mods to choose from, it easily delivers enough to make it worth the $35 to anyone who enjoys the series.

Eines ist klar: Wer bislang kein Freund dieses Klassikers war, wird es mit dieser Erweiterung auch nicht, denn am eigentlichen Spielprinzip ändert sich nichts. Die neuen Szenarien sorgen aber für kurzweiligen Spielspaß, im Gegensatz zu den doch recht langwierigen kompletten Partien. Wie eigentlich immer in dieser Reihe sind die Änderungen allesamt sinnvoll und gut eingebaut und bedeuten für Fans neue Herausforderungen - aber auch neue Möglichkeiten. Gerade die Spionage kann Würze ins Spiel bringen und auch die neuen Völker dürften Liebhaber finden. Dennoch gibt es auch Kritikpunkte: Die Grafik hätte eine Überarbeitung verdient gehabt und der Schwierigkeitsgrad ist noch immer ganz schön happig.

Some of Beyond the Sword's scenarios essentially add new graphics to the basic Civ IV rules. But others make drastic changes. You'll flounder a little, digging through everything without a comprehensive guide, but you'll find new favorites too.

Beyond the Sword veredelt die Neuauflage des Rundenstrategieklassikers mit sinnvollen Neuerungen. Doch warum kann ich die wesentlichen Änderungen an einer Hand abzählen? Warum hat Firaxis nicht die teils abstrusen Kampfergebnisse (Ritter mit Lanze besiegt Panzer) behoben? Warum gibt es die neuen Szenarien nicht als kostenlosen Download? 30 Euro sind ein stolzer Preis, zumal das Hauptprogramm inklusive beider Addons für 55 Euro zu haben ist.

Et on les comprend, car cela permet ainsi au joueur d'avoir l'opportunité de développer les nouvelles technologies et de contrôler des robots futuristes. Ainsi, vous ne gagnez plus la partie lorsque vous avez construit votre premier vaisseau, mais lorsque vous atteignez Alpha du Centaure (l'étoile la plus proche du soleil). D'autres modifications de gameplay interviennent, mais elles ont un peu moins d'influence sur le jeu : c'est le cas de l'espionnage qui a été légèrement modifié pour apparaître plus tôt dans la partie. Bref, sans révolutionner foncièrement le déjà très bon Civilization 4, Beyond the Sword lui apporte un contenu supplémentaire plutôt consistant et se révèle un investissement judicieux pour les amateurs du célèbre jeu de stratégie en tour par tour, surtout pour moins de 20 euros.

The sleek and smooth implementation of Civilization IV: Beyond the Sword blends in extremely well with the original game. So well in fact, that a lot of the time you will find yourself, as I did, believing that new elements of the gameplay have been there ever since the original Civilization IV.

Beyond the Sword is een knoert van een uitbreiding die ook nu weer fans aan het scherm zal kluisteren, maar eigenlijk ook gratis kon!

Overall, Civilization IV: Beyond the Sword is an enjoyable expansion pack and should definitely be on your shopping list if you've played the original Civ IV. Of course, the only thing that worries me in the end is whether or not the title justifies its $30 price-tag. In some ways it does, since it delivers a fair amount of content and new elements. Still, many of these elements seem like an experiment gone bad, as opposed to a decent new addition to the gameplay. As a result sometimes it seems you'd be better off just playing the original.

Overall, Civilization 4: Beyond the Sword presents a lot of additions to what was already a great game. It's a good expansion, and capitalizes a great deal on fixing some of the weaknesses of the original. That said, the expansion doesn't do anything that will make someone who did not already enjoy Civilization games dance for joy. The expansion is absolutely great for those of us who willingly waste our lives away on turn based strategy games... then again, I used to have a girlfriend before this game caused me to neglect her. Blast!

Fans of the Civilization series appreciate how rich and rewarding a world simulator Sid Meier has created. Beyond the Sword gives you more of the same, but that’s not necessarily a bad thing. The game could use some tweaks to various gameplay elements but the overall experience is something that you can’t help but want to get lost in. The new wrinkles and folds that Meier has introduced into his maze-like world only makes immersion that much easier.