Sid Meier’s Civilization IV: Beyond the Sword

The general consensus on the Civ4 expansions is that Warlords was largely unnecessary, while Beyond the Sword is a real expansion that makes the original game bigger and better. And the general consensus is completely correct. BTS overhauls the espionage and space race systems and adds a fairly complex corporation mechanic, on top of new diplomatic options, creative random events, and even an unexpected “quest” mechanic. It makes me wonder why Warlords’ barely-present features weren’t just postponed for inclusion in this pack. It’s still not the kind of expansion that makes you think it could’ve been a whole sequel, but even if its new features aren’t enticing, it adds several palpable quality of life improvements (and some expected mechanical tweaks) that make it the definitive version of an already classic game.