Sid Meier's Civilization IV: Beyond the Sword

As if I didn’t have enough to do this summer, Firaxis and 2K released Civilization IV Beyond the Sword a few weeks ago. I’m just thankful that my college classes don’t begin until next week. Yep, I had managed to put Civilization IV at the back of my mind and also at the back of the game shelf, but now the demon has been reawakened.

Beyond the Sword is an expansion pack, but it has so much new material that it’s almost a stand-alone program. Paradoxically, all the new content is so in tune with the original that after a few gameplay sessions, players will lose their awareness of the additions and just enjoy the benefits of the new strategic tweaks without thinking about them. For instance, the new Espionage system feels so natural to the philosophy of Civilization (at least for the non-warmongers amongst us), that it seems that it’s always been available.

Although there is really too much new content to comprehensively list, there are several main additions to describe. While it appears that most of the main new components affect the middle to late gameplay, there are also quite a few that change the early game. The earliest benefit is the use of the Espionage system, which becomes available after Writing is researched. Along with research and commerce, this feature receives points from money that players allocate. It is a two-sided system with features that are always available, such as the ability to “see” lots of different statistics of the other civs, and other features that have to be implemented by the use of the Spy, who will carry out secret missions in competing capital cities.

These missions are a whole lot of fun for those of us who prefer to win by means other than smashing our enemies into quivering submission, and include acts such as inciting revolts, stealing technologies and forcing a civ to adopt a different religion. The Espionage function is incredibly useful, more so than it first appears. Players who are paying attention can discover useful information on the other civs, and then use the missions to counter short-term enemy advantages while planning a more permanent solution.

Another fairly early new item is the Apostolic Palace, which is similar to the United Nations, except that it is founded on religion. Available in the medieval era, this powerhouse Wonder can really affect the game. If the player is so unfortunate to be of a different religion than the majority of the other civs, than life can be very difficult for said player. Therefore, it is a good strategy to gain this Wonder first, and make sure that your religion is in tune with the majority. Then, use the Espionage system to convert enemies to opposing religions. This is a fun tactic. There is also a Victory condition in conjunction with the Apostolic Palace, but as it entails having everyone convert to the state religion, it’s rather hard to accomplish.

A later addition is the new Corporation system, which at first sounds wonderful for players who prefer to win by non-military means, but the actual implementation is a little difficult at first. The basic premise is that players can gain large financial advantages by researching Corporations and then choosing specific ones. Each Corporation is founded by a Great Person, who has to be in a city with the resources required by the corporation. The corporations provide added commercial benefits, but also cost quite a bit. By placing company outposts via Corporate Executives (rather like missionaries) in other civs, these costs can be passed on to others.

I was definitely intrigued by this new economic system, and therefore it is one I keep attempting. However, I haven’t quite mastered it yet. Getting just the right combination of Great Persons and required resources is difficult. And, when I send my executives to other civs, they are often killed by enemy raiders before they can plant their companies in the capital city. Raiders are a new unit, and boy, can they be troublesome for spies and executives. But hey, I still have a week before school begins, right? Plenty of time to practice.

There are many new units in this expansion, and new abilities have been added to existing units. Air units can now fight just like land units and can also gain experience points for promotion. Naval units can blockade and plunder other trade routes. The new units and new technologies are mostly militaristic in nature and are used in the later part of the game, like a new attack submarine unit and an anti-tank infantry unit, and also the advanced flight technology and the military science technology.

One new feature that I haven’t gotten around to actually using yet is the new Colony system. This helps alleviate the city maintenance incurred by the new Overseas Maintenance cost from cities on other continents. Now, players can “liberate” their own remote cities, allow them to have the liberty of paying their own expenses, and then invite them to become vassals. Once I master the Corporation system, I’ll tackle this one. And herein lies one of the few negatives about Civilization IV and this new expansion. It was almost too busy before, now it’s even more complex and therefore impossible to experience totally every session. Players will have to choose between certain options and game paths, because they won’t be able to do it all.

This “busyness” translates into a very crowded interface, too. There is just so much information that it is hard to remember where all the menus are located. And, sometimes the needed information is on a menu tree, sometimes it’s in the civilpedia (in-game reference), and sometimes it’s in the manual. It’s difficult to keep on top of how much money is earned by each city, how much units, techs and cities cost, and how much is earned in trade. If there is one thing I would like to see improved, it would be the information organization, especially in terms of commerce and trade. Figuring out what types of buildings can be built on the different terrains is also difficult to understand, and causes many a fruitless journey by a worker to a promising spot, only to not be able to build the desired building.

Besides all the new additions already discussed, there are lots of new civs and new leaders, too. And, there are eleven new scenarios! These are all different and feature futuristic space travel, various types of military expertise, diplomacy and economic skills. There is even an Advanced Start option for players to jumpstart their civilization. Random events have been introduced, but I only found them annoying, not game-shattering.

The main idea behind these new features, additions and enhancements, besides offering lots of new toys, is to even out the gameplay in a more balanced manner. The AI has been improved, and now the computer is almost as smart as you. It is smarter than you if you’re playing on the highest level. Again, this is where the Espionage factor can be vitally important.

There is one thing missing, though, and that is the great musical score from Civilization IV. I loved the music, and also Leonard Nimoy’s narration. Both are now missing. The new music is good, but it doesn’t come close to the epic nature of the original score.

Besides all the features mentioned so far, there are more. This is the expansion to beat all other expansions, and is well worth the purchase price. I’m usually not a big proponent of expansions, as I feel they are mostly just a method of getting more money from the original without the trouble of designing a new game. But Firaxis and company have outdone themselves with this expansion. There is a sense of genuine feeling and enjoyment from the designers, and it’s clear from their manual and their forums how much they believe in their game. I just wish they’d get rid of Mao, whom I can’t accept as a great leader.

Gameplay: 9.0
It’s almost a new game in terms of the amount of content, but it’s also the same game in terms of gameplay experience and sheer fun.

Graphics: 8.0
The graphics look great, same as before.

Sound: 7.0
Good, but not as good as before. I miss Nimoy.

Difficulty: Hard
This is a game that presents a challenge even to experienced Civ players, because of the amount of options and things to do. It can be confusing to know what to do on each turn. Thank goodness it’s turn based.

Concept: 9.0
It’s hard to improve perfection, but Firaxis has tried.

Multiplayer: 9.0
The multiplayer is still as great as before. Now players on the same team can play simultaneously.

Overall: 9.0
I love Civilization IV, and I love this new expansion. New gameplay features, new units, new leaders and new scenarios all add up to an amazing amount of content. Plus, it’s all mostly great content. The interface could use some improvement, but I have to say this is one of the best games I’ve played in the last several years, and this expansion has reminded me of this fact. All Civ players need this expansion.