Sid Meier's Civilization IV: Warlords

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

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

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. [Sept 2006, p.86]

There's certainly enough here to keep you busy for months, and if anything, it's a great excuse to return to what is an undeniable classic.

From the moment you begin playing both the open-ended campaign and individual scenarios, it's clear that Firaxis used this expansion to fine-tune and upgrade the game's Artificial Intelligence. A.I. opponents are noticeably more aggressive now, particularly towards the end of a game.

In short, there's a lot of game here but none of it immediately demands you buy it, unless you just need a few new things to insert into Civ 4 to justify returning to it. In which case, hey - go do it. Civ 4's awesome.

A great addon, that brings up six new civilizations (Celts, Vikings, Carthaginians, Zulu, Koreans, and Ottomans), a dozen leaders (including Churchill and Stalin), warlord and vassal mechanics (allows more powerful civilizations to control weaker civilizations), more units, unique buildings for each nation, three wonders of the world, resources, game scenarios, as well as a lot of smaller improvements. As you can guess from the name, Warlords focuses on the military aspects of the game. All its innovations, in one way or another, are designed to diversify the militaristic scenarios. But this leads to the only disadvantage of the addon: already inadequate AI begins to behave even more aggressive, and the system of vassal relations gives an advantage to the most hostile leaders.