February 7, 2008
Civilization IV Warlords Mac

Sid Meier's Civilization IV: Warlords is the first expansion pack for the Firaxis Games' award-winning title, Civilization IV. Paying homage to some of history's greatest military leaders, the expansion delivers eight unique and interesting scenarios, giving players the chance to change the course of history with the help of their new powerful ?warlord? unit. Civilization IV: Warlords includes new civilizations, leaders, units, and wonders that offer even more fun and exciting ways for players to expand their civilization's military power as they strive for world domination. Leader Traits - In addition to the many existing leader traits in Civilization IV, two new leader traits accompany the expansion. New Wonders - There will be three new awe-inspiring wonders, all contributing new benefits and culture to your civilization. Unique Buildings - Players will now be able to construct buildings unique to each civilization. Units, Resources,&Improvements - Many new items not available in the core game will be introduced in the new scenarios Core Game Tweaks and Additions - Expanded features and gameplay tweaks will be made to the core game Requires the full version of Civilization IV for Mac OS X to play Requires Operating System - Mac OS X 10.3.9 or later with PowerPCG5 or Intel running at 1.8 GHz or faster
User Ratings and Reviews
4 Stars Good but getting a little too ripe
This is a classic game I have been playing for years. I recently switched to Mac so I had to buy it again. It's not quite as stable as the PC version and in any case the game is overdue for updating.
4 Stars Civ 4 compared to Civ 3
I have never been good at math, but I am good at following the numbers. Civ 1,2, and 3 were good in one regard, it was easy to follow and understand the relationship with production and income and stuff like this. However I find it hard to follow Civ 4. Maybe I haven't played it often enough to grasp it. Half of the time I bang out wonders for the sake of keeping them from the other players when I can. Most of the time I do not grasp what the wonder is doing exactly. For the most part I am reflecting on what it did in Civ two and three.
It is a good game overall. But the heavy changes to the game make it a little confusing at times. A few of the changes I do like, but over all I feel they changed too much from the others.
The things I do like are:
* When you put a unit on automatic it tends to accomplish what I wanted it to do a little better than older versions.
* I like that mountains block travel altogether so you can use it as an impassable wall when making a map.
* Combat is a little fairer; I remember times in Civ 3 when a barbarian will kill an army of 4 modern tanks with a club.
The things I do not like are:
* The city info screen does not provide as much useful info as it did in Civ 3.
* The change in the graphics are cool but a pain in the @$$ to get use to. It provides the game with a whole different feel.
* The game does quit out from time to time. I'm a Mac Tech on a new Intel 24" iMac and I haven't figured out why. (Note: in a 8 hour session I would expect it to unexpectedly quit at least one time but the auto save prevents me from louse the game.)
* After a wile of running I need to quit the game and reload because it slows down. After I reload the game it runs a lot smoother.
4 Stars A good addition
The game add interesting and elaborate scenarios plus new leaders and civilizations.
For lovers of Civi it's a must have.
4 Stars Great Game, Great additions, a little too expensive…
Civilization IV is an AMAZING game! So much variety in game play, so much replay value and fun, and no "game rules/bugs" that hurt the game in any way (at least that I have found). So when the Warlords expansion stated it made changes in game play, most notably the addition of the new warlord special person, new gameplay options like vassal states, new buildings, changed leader characteristics, I was a bit worried. However, these changes managed to make an already great game even better, if anything just to add something fresh to the mix and get you playing this amazing game again.
However, if money is tight it may be hard to swallow the $30 price tag. If thats the case, I highly recommend you wait until the next expansion pack "Beyond the sword" is released. It will contain the same gameplay updates as warlords. The only thing missing will be the warlord scenarios, which are good, in no way worth $30 on their own, especially when users create their own free scenarios that are just as fun! The scheduled release for BTS is late July on the PC, but who knows how long it will take to be ported to the mac. If you are willing to wait, you will be rewarded, as you will get a TON of content for $30. Had I know about this before I purchased, I probably would have held off.
However, that being said, I LOVE Civilization IV and the warlords expansion. Best game on the mac by FAR, and is one of those games (unlike massive online games, etc) that let you take as much time as you want for each turn, and more importantly BETWEEN turns. You can actually have a life outside of Civilization, and it will be ready for you when you get home. Great game!
4 Stars Love this game
An improvement over the original.. Can't play online with the game… but i don't care..
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