Sid Meiers Civilization IV Beyond the Sword

I bought this enhancement after installing Leopard on my Mac. (Beyond the Sword is not available 4 Mac). It has great new features, that bring further layers of complexity into the game, like Espionage, Corporations, & the diplomatic use of the Apostolic Palace.
If you have played Civilization IV before, I certainly recommend buying this add-on. If you haven't, you will probably want 2 wait until you have an understanding of how the game works: the plain vanilla version of the game is complicated & addicting enough by itself.

That big whooshing sound is the sound of my life whizzing by as I sit completely absorbed into this game. Lots of fun, endless hours of gameplay, & guarranteed 2 annoy your wife / significant other / house pets.

Tip: You're not going 2 be able 2 jump in & play out of the box (the game has a steep (but rewarding) learning curve. Go 2 Civilization Fanatics Forums on the web 2 get tips & tutorials.

A great game gets even better. Add 2 it the fact that you can mod-out features many features you don't like with very basic knowledge of XML, & that the developers actually provide C++ source code 4 the game so that professional programmers can rewrite the game themselves, & you have a recipe 4 the best. Even my non-gamer friends have fallen in love with it, especially girlfriend types once they realize you can play cooperative team games on a LAN.

One word of warning: this game is hard at first, especially if you have never played anything similar. It does get easier, though.

This is not a mere expansion pack but a major update 2 a fun but flawed game. It is simply much more polished & better thought out than the original. It also comes with tons of great mods. Overall the value is excellent. My only complaint is that the difficulty level seems 2 have gone up a notch as well, but maybe I am just not very good at this game.

Provides hours of challenging fun. I like the new additions 2 the original Civilization 4 game. Its nice 2 see that spies have returned 2 the game.

Civilization IV: Beyond The Sword will deliver new themes never seen in Civilization, many recommended by the fans. The expansion will focus on the late-game time periods after the invention of gunpowder & will deliver 12 challenging & decidedly different scenarios, ten new civilizations, 16 new leaders, five new wonders, & a variety of new units. Five new wonders - The Statue of Zeus, Cristo Redentor, Shwedagon Paya, the Mausoleum of Maussollos, & the Moai Statues Earn a diplomatic victory & unlock the United Nations - then create new resolutions 2 expand your diplomatic options Advanced Starts let players buy an empire's components & begin play in a later part of the game -- experience new features of the expansion in a shorter time Enhanced AI is tougher 2 beat on the higher levels, & expanded its strategies 4 achieving victory