Civilization 4 is one of the, if not THE, best turn based strategy game on the market, and the Warlords expansion does a rather good job at extending the Civilization experience — but at a cost.

Civ4 developers have made it easier for modders to create new units, scenarios and buildings so paying approximately $25 for what can be done for free is a little steep, especially for someone who lives in a third world country like me. Nevertheless, what you get in return is a polished piece of work. Just install it and you’re ready to go.

I also have this thought that the bad part about doing an expansion for a title like Civ4 is that the expectations are very high. Some people expect the expansion to be as evolutionary like the main game. But it doesn’t have to be.

Sure, Warlords doesn’t add a tremendous amount of new stuff to the Civ4 table but it delivers just enough to entice players to dust off their copy of the game. Custom Scenarios (The Chinese Unification for example) with customized units and tech trees provide more challenges. Other Additions include:

Warlords – This special unit spawns after a certain military experience amount is acquired and has the ability to increase Military production in cities or boost a unit by making it his own with special bonuses applied to it. A good bonus for aggressive Civilizations.

Vassal States — Now you can subjugate enemies under your rule. You can demand that another ruler submit to your rule or you can opt to just go the old fashioned way and burn him to the ground. Personally, I think this ability at least gives an option to players especially in long games.

New Scenarios — I had fun playing the new scenarios especially the Chinese one which reminded me of my other favorite empire building series, Romance of the 3 Kingdoms. I just wish the developers added a full fantasy scenario, complete with customized units as well.

New Leader Traits and Unique Race Buildings plus six new civilizations round out the new features of the expansion. More races equals more new things to try out so I think in this case, more is better.

While I wanted to have more stuff crammed in the expansion, I still consider it to be a good buy even if a free mod can essentially do the same things. Civilization 4: Warlords doesn’t rewrite the way Civilization 4 plays, but it didn’t need to. What it does is add more content to an already great game and that ultimately makes harder to resist playing one more turn.

Civilization 4: Warlords is rated E10+ (Everyone 10 and older) by the ESRB for Violence.