Aspyr Media on Monday said that it is now shipping Civilization IV: Beyond the Sword, the latest expansion pack for Sid Meier's popular strategy game. As its name implies, Beyond the Sword focuses on the post-industrial period world, with the introduction of corporations, new technologies, and even 11 new scenarios that include World War II and a post-apocalyptic landscape full of zombies.
Beyond the Sword introduces a variety of new elements to the game, including 10 civilizations, 64 buildings, 16 leaders, five wonders, six technologies, expanded trade routes, and a new espionage system. In addition, players can now jump straight to later eras with advanced starts that allow them to purchase more advanced units, technologies, ad other items at the beginning of a game.
Beyond the Sword sells for US$34.99 and requires the full version of Civilization IV, in addition to Mac OS X version 10.4.7, a 1.8GHz G5 or Intel processor, 512MB RAM, 3.5GB hard drive space, and 128MB video RAM. Mac OS X version 10.5.6, a 2GH processor, and 1GB RAM are recommended.