Those who missed out on Firaxis and 2K Games' Sid Meier's Civilization IV the first time around will be getting another chance to get their copies of the game. Not only the base Civilization IV game, mind you, but also the game's three expansion packs.

He's been at it for 25 years, and he's still going strong. We're referring to Sid Meier, Firaxis head and game designer of such notable PC titles as Civilization 4. This industry veteran is obviously far from tired, as he can still talk animatedly about the upcoming Civilization Revolution and the MMORPG genre. Find out more in the full article after the jump.

 For the gamers out there who have a penchant for buying collector's editions (limited editions, and other editions other than the standard one), here's another title for you to watch out for. It's Sid Meier’s Civilization IV: Gold Edition.

2K Games and Firaxis Games' strategy video game allows players to literally take over the world. The Gold Edition for this empire building video game will include Sid Meier’s Civilization IV and the first expansion, Civilization IV: Warlords. As with all special editions, this release will also pack a number of additional stuff:

• Exclusive fantasy-style poster from world-famous artist Greg Hildebrandt (illustrator of the original "Star Wars", fantasy-themed "Clash of the Titans" movie poster, "Lord of the Rings" calendars and posters and other seminal artwork)
• Behind-the-scenes DVD with developer interviews, insight into the Civilization IV development process and a short feature on Sid Meier’s video game history
• Tech-tree poster featuring the paths to researching and discovering all of the technologies needed to advance in Civilization IV
• Civilization IV Game Manual

Christoph Hartmann, President of 2K had this to say about the Gold Edition's release:

Sid Meier's Civilization IV: Gold Edition is a great way to get into the award-winning Civilization IV series. Gamers will now have the chance to change the course of world history and relive battles from every era of the past with both Civilization IV games in one box – in stores just in advance of the highly anticipated second Civ IV expansion pack, Beyond the Sword.

Interested? You won't have to wait long for the Gold Edition as its release is only a few winks away (July 17).

Soren Johnson, recognized for his work on Firaxis' Civilizations series, is "moving back" to the fold of Electronic Arts to join creative genius Will Wright's staff on the ambitious cross-platform project Spore.

Johnson was a former EA intern while he was taking up graduate school in Stanford University in California. He has a bachelor's degree with honors in history and has an MS in computer science, making him ideal for the Civilizations series.

He was Lead Game Designer in Civilization IV and Co-lead Designer in Civilization III. The Civilizations franchise rose to prominence in the late 90's and has been one of the most respected names in the real-time strategy genre.

Spore, on the other hand, is described by its developers as a massive single player game. How it works out is still uncertain, but we'll update you as soon as news is forthcoming.

Valve's Steam service just got infused with some additional Sid Meier goodness. A new update to Steam reports that Civilization IV: Warlords and CivCity: Rome are now up for sale on the digital distribution service.

Here's the original announcement from Steam:

Two new products in the legendary Civilization series are now available for purchase via Steam, Sid Meier's Civilization IV: Warlords and CivCity: Rome. Sid Meier's Civilization IV: Warlords, available for US$ 29.95, is the first expansion pack for the award-winning Civilization IV and delivers new scenarios, civilizations, leaders, and units. CivCity: Rome, available for US$ 39.95, is a city building strategy game inspired by the world of Sid Meier's Civilization.

If you're hankering for more strategy in your life, then this is the perfect thing to add to your collection. Enjoy!

A publishing label of Take-Two interactive, 2k Games, has recently announced Sid Meier's Civilization IV: Beyond the Sword, the second expansion pack for Civilization IV (The first being Civilization IV: Warlords). Beyond the Sword is said to be "the largest amount of expansion content in the history of the Civilization franchise".

The expansion will focus on the late-game time periods, starting after the development of gunpowder. It will introduce 12 new scenarios designed by Firaxis Games and certain members of the Civilization Fan community. In addition to this, 16 new leaders (this includes the leaders for the new civilizations and additional leaders for existing leaders), 10 new civilizations (including Portugal, Babylon, and Netherlands), and new units will be available in the game.

Sid Meier's Civilization IV: Beyond the Sword is set to be released in 2007. You will need the full version of Sid Meier's Civilization IV to play it though. Check out some of the concept art and see if the expansion is shaping up to your liking.

The full list of this expansion's features come right after the Jump!

Warlords is the latest expansion pack for the best-selling Civilization franchise. Paying homage to some of the world's greatest military leaders, the expansion includes six new scenarios. It also introduces the powerful new "warlord" unit, giving players the power to change the course of history.

New civilizations, new leaders, more units, and new resources and wonders come with Warlords, and since these new features can all be used in both single and multiplayer games, it definitely promises a depth of enjoyment and exhilarating gameplay that will keep players coming back for more.

In order to further enhance the enjoyment of players all over the world, 2K Games has just released the first patch for Civilization IV: Warlords. The patch includes general tweaks and balance adjustments, as well as fixes that address various AI, graphics, UI, multiplayer, and sound issues.

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Update: We have the patch for download (it's 60+MB).

Click on the "Full Article" link below to see the complete patch log.

Download: [Civ4Warlords Patch v2.08]