Sid Meier's Civilization IV: Warlords Critic Reviews

Warlords adds even more to a game that started out great and only continues to be an excellent turn based strategy game.

Prepare to get addicted all over again.

But to the hordes who have already stayed up countless nights playing just one more turn, the cost of expansion is a pittance, and the sleepless nights merely part of the price of victory.

Warlords is just the kind of expansion that a game as open-ended and infinitely replayable as Civilization IV needs: one that adds enough new stuff, while also changing up the basics so thoroughly, that you might as well be playing a whole new game.

A great example of what an expansion should be - fix problems with the original game, add a lot of features that makes the original game more interesting and sends you back to replay it even more, while also adding new and unique content that challenges you in different ways to the original game. Warlords executes all of this beautifully.

In fact, the reason to get Warlords is for the scenarios. It's worth noting that there are already plenty of scenarios available for free, thanks to the generous modability Firaxis built into Civilization IV.

Warlords isn't as huge an expansion pack as some of the previous Civilization titles have had, but it's the best balanced, most refined expansion pack a Civilization title has ever had, and it carries more than enough new content to justify the purchase price.

Expands the Great People Points system of Civilization IV to the battlefield and adds vassalage, a new lopsided relationship between states. The new features are conservative and scarce but fit the whole perfectly.

A great addition to an already phenomenal computer game. It makes one of the most addictive games on the market that much more engaging.

Civilization IV Warlords will please all but the most pacifistic of Civilization players.

The multiplayer definitely benefits the most but all in all, one of the best and most disturbingly addictive games ever has just upped the stakes once again.

What feels missing are any additions to the late game modern units or buildings.

Warlords adds six new civilizations and other enhancements to Civilization IV, but the cool new scenarios are the real treat in this expansion.

If you already have Civilization IV and have played it to no end, you're probably interested in one question: Are the upgrades worth it? My response: The scenarios are what makes this worth it.

An outstanding game due to it's updated graphics, the widely varied choices you can make, and the wholly engrossing nature of the gameplay.

There's not a whole lot you couldn't live without if you stayed with the original and passed on the upgrade. However, those enhancements and fixes combined with the elaborate, well-researched and intriguing scenarios just manage to put this sub-product over the top.

The reason it falls short of a fantastic expansion is that it does not influence the main single player game as much as I would have liked.

Manages to repeat Civ IV's trick of delivering something that's hugely playable and yet dares to be profound and intelligent. It's an invigorating complement to the original and adds some essential refinements.

This expansion is as fun as its predecessor, and that’s saying a lot. All the new stuff fits in seamlessly with the existing game, and manages to incorporate new features with the old in a way that offers a change in scenery, but doesn’t distract from the original intent of the game.

Pick it up if you’re a Civ-freak. You’ll love it. But if long, epic strategy games aren’t your thing, Warlords won’t change your mind.