Sid Meiers Civilization 4: Beyond the Sword

Sid Meiers Civilization 4: Beyond the Sword is the second official addition to the original fourth part of the global turn–based strategy, in which the gamer gets the opportunity to develop the chosen civilization from primitive times to the near future.

Review

The addition brings a huge number of positive innovations to the gameplay of the original strategy. One of the important updates was the emergence of new civilizations, including: Babylon, Portugal, Maya, Holland, Ethiopia, Byzantium, Sumerians, Indians, Holy Roman Empire, Khmer Empire.

Also presented are new powerful leaders for already existing factions, namely Abraham Lincoln, Pericles, Darius I, Charles de Gaulle, Boudicca, Suleiman I.

According to the tradition of the genre, the gamer chooses a faction and starts from primitive times with only one city. He gets the opportunity to develop a civilization – to build new cities, develop infrastructure, hire troops, study technology, do business with other civilizations.

Gameplay

Among the main gameplay innovations that the addition of Sid MeiersSivilization 4: Beyond the Sword brings, it is necessary to note:

1. A completely open virtual world, divided into cells, in each of which you can build a city – they also have resources, and it is important to master and extract them for the development of the empire.
2. At any moment, a random event may occur, to which the gamer is obliged to react quickly and solve the problem. Such events can include an earthquake or the discovery of a valuable resource.
3. Secondary tasks appeared, for which the civilization receives bonuses.
4. The narrative is divided into historical epochs – primitive, Stone Age, Bronze, Iron, antiquity, the Middle Ages and so on. With each transition, the design of buildings and the type of units changes thanks to new technologies and scientific inventions.