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   Another year, time for another Civilization! After the original Civilization IV came out in 2005 and the Warlords expansion followed in 2006, this year 2K Games and Firaxis are preparing a second expansion pack, announced today for release in July. 2K claims that Beyond the Sword will mark "the largest amount of expansion content in the history of the Civilization franchise", by delivering 12 new scenarios, 10 new civilizations, 16 new leaders, 5 new wonders, and a variety of new units that will offer even more fun and exciting ways for players to expand their civilization's power as they strive for world domination.

   Along with the team at Firaxis, "select members" of the Civ Fan Community will also leave their mark on the new scenarios included in Sid Meier's Civilization IV: Beyond the Sword. The ten new civs will include Portugal, Babylon and Netherlands, leaving the other seven hidden behind the curtains for now. The five new wonders will be the Statue of Zeus, Cristo Redentor, Shwedagon Paya, the Mausoleum of Maussollos, and the Moai Statues.

   A completely new gameplay feature announced for this add-on are the Corporations. Players will be able to create corporations and spread them throughout the world, and each of them will provide benefits in exchange for certain resources. As for other gameplay changes, the United Nations and Espionage features will be made available much earlier in the game; there will be new events (such as natural disasters, pleas for help, or demands from their citizens); an expanded Space Victory requiring more strategic planning and tactical decision making; and something called "Advanced Starts", described below:
"A major fan request, this new feature will enable players to "buy" components of a custom-tailored empire and begin play in the later part of the game, allowing them to experience many of the new features of the expansion pack in a shorter amount of time."    Last, but not least, the AI has received many enhancements, making it tougher to beat on the higher difficulty levels. The ways in which the AI will attempt to achieve victory have also been expanded. For the full - and better organized - list of features, check our Civilization IV: Beyond the Sword gamespace, and don't forget to drop by our newly opened gallery as well, for some artworks.

   So... if the second Civ IV expansion is coming in July 2007, odds are 2008 will indeed bring a full-grown Civilization V sequel, as speculated earlier this month. Goodie.