Sid Meier's Civilization IV: Beyond the Sword

Civilization IV: Beyond the Sword makes an already phenomenal game even better. The new espionage elements and the Apostolic Palace work together to make the game's diplomatic system more interesting and a lot more flexible in terms of projecting your will on your enemies without resorting to open warfare.

As an expansion it's patchy, in more than one sense. The new elements it adds feel more like a patch than a genuine expansion whilst the mods are hit and miss - and you can already get the best ones for nothing. Would I want to go back to playing Civ IV without what Beyond the Sword adds? No. But should I have to pay this much for the privilege of balancing a game that, by the very intent of this expansion, its developers clearly feel needs it? Again, no.

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.