Customer Reviews
What CIV4 should have been from the start 
2008-06-06
I do not believe there is much to say about this game as either you are a CIV player and you already have it or you never heard about CIV series and that means you are not into turn based strategy games. If you are among the last you really should see what the fuss is all about. The nasty thing is that this is an expansion and you must have CIV4 in order to play Beyond the Sword. Even though I am not fond of "expansions" I have to agree that it is a must have.
Civilization IV - Beyond the Sword 2008-06-04
Another great installment for Civ IV! While I enjoyed the previous one, this one is a must for Civ lovers. It adds espionage as another diversion and way to bring down your enemies.
Another piece is always the installed scenarios. Unlike previous additions that had simple ones you could make yourself, this one includes versions that completely change the game itself. You can play a space marine killing aliens, you can play a number of future war scenarios, you can also play some fictional mythology ones. They are quite a turn from the norm.
As always, you get new countries to play and new personalities. These are great to add spice to an otherwise regular game.
For the price, you can't ignore it... you need this and so do your armies!
Recommended 2008-05-25
This expansion pack definitely adds to the game. Note that you don't need to buy the Warlords expansion as this includes the stuff that was in Warlords, except for the scenarios.
If you enjoyed Civ4, you will enjoy it more with this expansion. It adds whole new strategies beyond what's in the plain vanilla Civ4.
There are some downsides. I feel this expansion was never really completed. It feels more like a beta than a final product. There are some play balance issues with spies, and with corporations, that were never addressed in the patches. Even the final released patch, 3.13 is full of bugs. After you install it, you need to visit a Civ4 forum site where some guy has posted a fix to the official patch. You need to download and install that unofficial patch to the patch otherwise the game is unplayably buggy. I think it's pretty pathetic that a fan had to fix the game instead of the actual programmers working for Firaxis.
But you still should buy it and enjoy it (after patching it as described above) despite the bad stuff. It's just a shame that it's merely a really good addition to Civ4 instead of what it might have been, the ultimate greatest strategy game ever.
great addition to CIV IV 2008-05-11
I play civilization since the first version (used to play in a black and white monitor in a 386 pc. good times)
I love civ4 and I'm completely addicted to it. I really enjoy the additions, the new civilizations (Why portugal was not in the previous versions??). The new tech tree makes more sense and the already programed random events are really cool!! I think that Espionage was neglected in the previous versions and this expansion made up for them.
Awesome Game 2008-04-19
Civilization 4: BTS is the best computer game ever. It added a ton of cool new features to the original Civilization 4. I only expected a few minor changes, but I was wrong. They added a bunch of new units, buildings, civilizations, leaders, and many other things. The combat in this game is very life-like and the Warlord is an excellent new addition. I would recommend this game to anyoune who is interested. I have had it for a few months now and it isn't gettin boring at all. With this new expansion pack you will never have a dull moment. Also, the graphics and sound are great. This expansion pack also made the game run a liitle faster. Hope you enjoy the game, too.
Great expansion pack, which I'd got it in the complete edition 2008-07-01
I got to this game a few years after it came out, but I am not at all dissapointed in the content. The only thing I wish is that I'd have bought the complete edition (which I didn't know existed), instead of buying the gold edition and this expansion pack separately.
If you have a Dell, beware of this expansion pack 
2008-07-01
I was a Civ IV fan through Warlords, but when I tried installing "Beyond the Sword" on my Dell Inspiron it wrecked the whole game. When I inserted the second installation disk, the computer locked up instead of finishing the installation. When I rebooted, I discovered that I couldn't remove the incomplete "Sword" expansion -- it didn't show up in the programs to uninstall -- and I couldn't reinstall it either (whenever I put the disk in it, it tries to start playing the game and then crashes). And now I can't play the earlier Civ games either because it just crashes. Since I've lost the original Civ IV installation disk, this means that I've spent $20 for the privilege of wrecking a game on my computer. If I could give it a minus star, I would.
Excellent Expansion to Civ IV 2008-06-27
If you have Civ IV, you simply must get this massive expansion pack! For experienced Civvers this game adds a great deal of new content, in the form of mods and levels, quite a few and very ingenious. The game concepts have slightly changed as well, moving from a militaristic focus to focusing on more peaceful mods of victory, such as diplomacy and culture. One complaint that I do have is that it is now much harder to achieve a spaceship victory, as the requisite technologies are buried even further in the tech tree than before.
As an experienced Civver (played since Civ 3), I can definitely recommend this game, altho it is for the more serious strategy gamer. It's a game loaded with details and very complex, so don't expect to master this game quickly. That said, Sid Meier has put out another worthy entry in the Civ franchise, well worth your time, and your money.
This Expansion sets the Bar Higher for every Expansion that comes after it. 2008-06-17
Beyond the Sword is to Expansions like Warcraft I is to Warcraft II.
The ONLY reason this isn't a full blown game is that some of the Mods are a 'little' glitchy, like the screen sometimes gets frozen in a strange position and it's annoying. lol
The Mods on this 'expansion' are INCREDABLE though! They bring so much more playability to the game.
This expansion sets the Bar Higher for every Expansion that comes after it.
It is HANDS DOWN worth it.
If you buy Civilization IV, you WANT Civilization IV Beyond the Sword, Trust me. New Units, New Scenarios, even a UNIVERSAL Scenario where SOLAR SYSTEMS are conquered one-by-one. AMAZING!!!
If you like the Futuristic Scenarios that Beyond the Sword has in it. Check out Sid Meier's Alpha Centauri, it's an older game, but it has concepts in it that blow even Beyond the Sword away, like FULLY Customizable Units, training local flora and fauna to serve you, and it takes the Future Tech Tree to a WHOLE NEW LEVEL.
I'm actually kindof Suprised Sid hasn't remade it yet...I hope he does.
Umpteenth generation of a game 2008-06-07
I am not good with the computer world, but I have played "Civilization" since it first appeared. Each version is an improvement, but this is the best. I enjoy the new civilizations, e.g., Holy Romsn Empire, Holland, but I really like the new gossipy reports about what is going on with both my enemies and myself. It is lots of fun, even for a non-geek such as myself. I suspect computer literati would really find it difficult to leave the game and speend hours in the world they were creating.
