2K Games has shipped the largest expansion pack for the Civilization IV strategy game franchise, Sid Meier’s Civilization IV: Beyond the Sword, adding a wealth of new civilizations, units, wonders, inventions, technologies, and an advanced AI to the popular title, focusing on late-game eras afer the invention of gunpowder.
“Given the overwhelming critical and commercial success of Sid Meier’s Civilization IV, we were inspired to provide these loyal fans with the series’ most robust expansion pack ever,” said Christoph Hartmann, President of 2K, in a release. “By featuring more content than any other Civilization expansion pack, Sid Meier’s Civilization IV: Beyond the Sword is a must-have for all Civilization fans and will set a new industry-wide bar for expansions.”
Developed by Firaxis Games as well as members of the Civilization fan community, the expansion pack features ten new civilizations, including the Netherlands, Babylon, and Portugal, along with sxteen new leaders including Lincoln, Boudica, Hammurabi, and Sitting Bull. The expansion pack also offers 11 new game scenarios, including the downloadable space-themed Final Frontier and historical Charlemagne scenarios. The expansion pack also opens up Espionage much earlier in the game, enables players to create corporations which spread throughout the world, random events like natural disasters and citizen demands, and an expanded Space Victory which requires more planning and tactics to win the race to Alpha Centauri. The expansion pack also features advanced starts (letting players begin the game with a custom-tailored empire) and a tougher AI which makes play more challenging at higher difficulty levels.
The Sid Meier’s Civilization IV: Beyond the Sword expansion pack is available for PC at a price of $29.99; it’s been rated “E10+” by the ESRB.
