The new elements it adds feel more like a patch than a genuine expansion whilst the mods are hit and miss - and you can already get the best ones for nothing. Would I want to go back to playing Civ IV without what Beyond the Sword adds? No. But should I have to pay this much for the privilege of balancing a game that, by the very intent of this expansion, its developers clearly feel needs it? Again, no.

Takes a dangling plot thread and ties it up, but unsatisfyingly and with a lot of repetitious combat.

Played correctly, it's still fun, but never feels as important as its older brother did. [May 2011, p.79]

The artists are on form, even if the writers are coasting. [June 2008, p.89]

By far one of the funniest S&M episodes for dialogue. [June 2008, p.89]

Gloriously beautiful, infuriatingly fiddly. [Christmas 2009, p.98]

In the grim darkness of the Warhammer 40K future, there is only a solid, satisfying game let down by a lack of variation. [May 2010, p.100]

A shadow of the awesome original. [Nov 2008, p.70]

A perfectly pitched horror-themed add-on for Borderlands, but lacking the essential undead magic. [Mar 2010, p.102]

Better than previous seasons, but far weaker than episode one. [Aug 2010, p.99]

Soccer sim solidly cluttered. [Christmas 2008, p.78]

A brave attempt at a promising genre, but not hard-boiled enough to earn the traditional $25 a day plus expenses. [Jan 2012, p.120]

There is a certain charm to Anno 1404's dinky people going about their business, and a lot of pretty detail to revel in, but this familiar collection of well-worn elements only preaches to the converted, offering little to attract new believers.

Still fun, but disappointing. Here's hoping for a great finale. [June 2007, p.83]

As a continuation of the story, however, the episode works well. [Dec 2009, p.91]

Cynical and unimaginative - but fun. [Jan 2007, p.102]

Too garage for its own good. [Christmas 2006, p.80]

If you haven't completed [the main game] yet, though, there's no real reason to pay for this. [March 2013, p.111]

Wacky before funny, showing no signs of progress. [Jan 2008, p.81]

An RPG in poor action-game disguise. [Christmas 2007, p.90]

A novel use of fluids, but sometimes scuppered by cumbersome platforming and the annoyingly happenstance physics. [May 2012, p.104]

An engrossing but overly geeky sortie. [Jan 2007, p.84]

While it's limited, it's also a lot of fun. [Sept 2011, p.89]

The visual dazzle and cinematic set-pieces are let down by bad scripting, glitchy multiplayer and increasingly dull firefights.

Sam and Max's twisted world is captured near-perfectly in the art, which makes the disappointments in the dialogue and puzzles all the more acute. [Dec 2006, p.92]

A good idea that allows for some fun co-operative strategising, but too often the mechanics or technical issues get in the way. [Christmas 2011, p.100]

One for hardcore online fans only. [Christmas 2007, p.95]

Age of Empires III just hasn't aged all that well. [Feb 2007, p.91]