I often find that expansions, although adding to a game, often come out with too high a price on them. Therefore i wait until no one is buying them anymore so that the price is greatly reduced. I did that with Warlords and was very glad i did. Although it was a good expansion it really didnt add enough that it could justify being sold at one third the amount of the actual game. Beyond the sword, however adds a lot to Civ4 and i feel they have worked hard to listen to those that spoke their grieviences. The first thing i would like to say (to which i imagine i would be verbally attacked if possible) is how wrong i feel gamespot are. I often imagine they are a bunch of arcade game players who very rarely enjoy or apreaciate the depth some games have to offer. Specifically to BtS they have said the interface is still cluttered. To all those civ fans out there i would like to say it is not. Perhaps if you are looking to access a small amount of infomation quickly then it is daunting having to look at the several screens civ4 offers. However, as you are playing civ4, which is a turned based game with many things to keep track of at the same time, i think it is a fair assumption that you want lots of information. This is what Civ4 gives you and it does it well. So to all those who are not only into a quick console game i say ignore that comment. Having had my moan i will continue with the review. The added content appears in many different guises. The new civs are a welcome addItion to the game as are the new leaders. The espionage, although perhaps a little useless in some situations can be quite useful and is certainly a nice angle when you dont want to risk open war. The corporations are, as gamespot says, just religion for the late era's. It is nice though to have something else to concentrate on in that late game. The new mods and scenarios are great and adds a whole lot of life into an already long lasting game. Alltogether the game seems to run more fluently and there are several game tweaks which improve the game in certain areas. All in all if you are a civ4 fan i would reccomend this addition. To summerise
+ new units, civs and leaders +new things to do such as espionage and corporations +new mods and scenarios +lots of new things to do - im afraid i always think with addons that there could be just that little bit more.
Other Helpful Reviews for Sid Meier's Civilization IV: Beyond the Sword
First, lets start with the new stuff in the game. Of course, there are new civs, leaders, wonders, units, etc that have already been mentioned and that add a lot more strategy to the game. Espionage has been redone, a f... Read Full Review
When I got Warlords, I thought it was a good expansion pack. I wouldn't throw away any of its additions to the core game, but at the same time, about an hour into a game and after the initial excitement you realise you a... Read Full Review
