The second expansion to the game I still play every night has been announced. You can get the full press release over at 2k Games.

I’ll highlight some of the passages for commentary.

“The expansion will focus on the late-game time periods after the invention of gunpowder.”

I start to lose interest in Civ IV once the tanks and infantry show up, so I hope a lot of this stuff is crammed into the muskets through cavalry period.

“The pack will provide 10 new civilizations, such as Portugal, Babylonians and Netherlands and their associated unique units and buildings.”

Judging from the artwork link, the Sioux will be one of the Civs. So who’s left? Civilization III had Iroquois, Byzantium, the Hittites, and Sumeria. If you add them you have room for two more. I still think Polynesia would be a good choice. Maybe another African civ like Kongo or Nubia? Europe is almost exhausted unless you add the Poles.

“Sixteen new leaders will be provided.”

Which means that the new civs will be stuck with a single leader/play style and we’ll get six add ons to existing civs: another American (Lincoln is in the artwork), another Roman, another Greek (how about Pericles?), an alternate Arab, alternate Spaniard and maybe another French or Russian leader. And there will still be dozens of forum posters complaining that they can’t choose Hitler.

“Corporations: A new gameplay feature similar to religion that allows players to found companies and spread them throughout the world. Each corporation provides benefits in exchange for certain resources.”

Awesome idea.

“New random events – such as natural disasters, pleas for help, or demands from their citizens – challenge players with obstacles that must be overcome for their civilizations to prosper.”

The original Civ had natural disasters that could pop up if you didn’t have the right buildings. Aqueducts prevented disease, temples deterred earthquakes. Or was it volcanoes? Anyway, this could be interesting if the randomness wasn’t just “build the right building” but had some relationship to terrain and city status. For example, a city that had to many sick people could pass that sickness on to cities it was trading with. Do you cut the trade links until the plague is under control?

As for citizen demands, I wonder what this could be. Do they want those silks that Mehmed keeps trying to push on you?

“Five new wonders await discovery including the Statue of Zeus, Cristo Redentor, Shwedagon Paya, the Mausoleum of Maussollos, and the Moai Statues.”

They have the Moai so they need to have Polynesians now, right?

“The United Nations will become available earlier in the game providing a way for players to win a diplomatic victory earlier. New resolutions will also be added which will expand the available diplomatic options.”

I want to be able to rescind resolutions. If I get outvoted into a Non Proliferation Treaty and then become Secretary General later, I want a chance to build my nukes. Still, an earlier diplomatic victory makes the opening relationships all the more important. Lately, I’ve been ignoring my neighbors until I knew which one I wanted to kill first.

The release date will be sometime this summer.