bit-tech Shopping: Take 2 Interactive Sid Meier's Civilization IV: Beyond the Sword (PC)

• Microsoft Windows 2000 Professional
• Microsoft Windows XP

• AMD Athlon
• Intel Pentium 4

Rating: 8

Time with product: 3 Months

Strengths: lots of new content and scenarios

Weaknesses: None

Summary: I have been a Civilization fan since Civ 1... I love the series, so when Civ 4 came out, I bought it... When the first Civ 4 expansion pack (Warlords) came out, I bought it. When the second Civ 4 expansion pack came out (Beyond the Sword), I bought it too. With Warlords, the expansion was mostly about the creative new scenarios... with Beyond the Sword, there is a nice balance between lots of new content and new scenarios.They have added a very robust espionage system... you can direct a portion of your income to spying (espionage points). You can choose to direct your espionage against a single civilization or against multiple civilizations in differing weights. Then you can perform espionage missions against other civs... the cost being determined by your amount of points against that civ versus the amount they have directed against you.The other major change is Corporations. This is said to be the late game equivalent of Religion. There are 7 Corporation that you can found and then spread. But where I found Religion necessary to make money, build multiple temples and convert opponent cities to my religion so I could keep an eye on them with very little down side, I find corporations to have a huge downside. I lose a ton of money when I spread corporations. I haven't gotten the knack of corporations yet... I'm pretty sure I'm just using them wrong, like the first time I played Civ 4 and ignored religion.There are new units (the paratrooper is back!), new technologies, new buildings, new 10 Civilizations, new Civ leaders, new Civ leader traits and new wonders.Back from the early version of CIV are random events... good or bad events can occur that can impact any civilization including your own.I you own Civ 4, then you have to get Civ 4 Beyond the Sword!

Rating: 10

Time with product: 2

Strengths: Adds a whole new dimension to the Civ world with espionage and corporations. Has some new technologies and scenarios that are quite interesting.

Weaknesses: Corporation implementation seems awkward and forced at times. And it doesnt make much sense in the context of the real world.

Summary: First of all, if youre reading this review, you are obviously interested in Civ 4. If you are, just stop reading this and buy the expansion pack. For less than $30, you get something that is more like an additional game than an expansion pack. It adds so much new content that you wonder how you even played the game without it before. Highly recommended.

Rating: 10

Time with product: 1 Week

Strengths: graphics and storyline.

Weaknesses: None so far.

Summary: I am new to this paticular game, but have enjoyed other strategy games. I of course had to purchase the Civ IV Gold Edition to be able to play the expansion in the first place. I really enjoy the graphics and the in-depth storylines. I am satisfied with this game so far and reading other reviews of this expansion, everyone seems to agree. I would recommend this expansion pack to anyone who wants to play a great strategy game!

Rating: 10

Time with product: 3 Weeks

Strengths: A near perfect expansion.

Weaknesses: Complicated

Summary: beyond the Sword is as near perfect an expansion can get. it's not just that it adds new units and civ's. It has fantastic new scenarios. New concepts to gameplay. It's abosultely fnatastic and adds soemthign on every level. The one complaint I have is that now Civ is getting so complex it needs a better wy to explain and teach the systems than the civiopedia whatever the ingame hwlp is called. There's Not just basics like gold, research, culture, religion, etc. Now you have added espionage, corporations, and trade became more complex.... The complexity is good in that it adds to gameplay. It is just that now, with so much stuff, it'll take longer to learn the nuances of the game.

Rating: 10

Time with product: 5

Strengths: Easily the best Civ expansion ever made, packed to the gills with new content

Weaknesses: A few parts that clash with the vanilla Civ 4 content (Sid Meier voiceovers, poor unit art), some of the scenarios are clunkers

Summary: Civ 4 Beyond the Sword is a fantastic expansion to a fantastic game. Not only does it add all the epic game additions of the previous expansion Warlords (Great generals, unique buildings) it adds many more new things, such as improved espionage, corporations, and new units. On top of all that epic game goodness, it also shovels a bunch of new and interesting scenarios in to the mix, some better than others. For example, you can play a game of Civilization 4 entirely in space in the Final Frontier scenario, colonizing worlds and building up fleets. The Final Frontier scenario ends up being pretty interesting, and is a nice change of pace from the standard Civ 4. On the other end of the spectrum, the Afterworld scenario isn't particularly good. It's an attempt to make an X-Com-like turn based tactical strategy game using the Civ 4 engine, but ends up just being a bit dull. On top of that, some of the new epic game additions don't mesh perfectly. For instance, the new technologies you can research have their quotes voiced by the series creator Sid Meier, who unfortunately isn't nearly as good at it as Civ 4's Leonard Nimoy. Also, some of the icons for the new units are fairly obviously new additions as instead of being a drawn picture of the unit, it's just a screenshot. These don't hurt the gameplay at all, but they are a bit annoying.If you have Civilization 4, this is an easy purchase. It adds so much to the standard game and gives you plenty of odd new scenarios to mess with that it's the best you could hope for from an expansion. Highly recommended.