I can't find any other recent Civ IV threads so I'll ask here...
I just got Civilization 4 Complete for my brother who hasn't played a Civ since II, and I'll try it too since I'm in the same situation (although I had it on Steam already but anyway). What's the best way to play it? From what I can see Colonization is a wholly different game, but the rest of the others look like expansions of the base game, so why don't I just get the choice to start Civ IV with or without any expansion but instead get a different shortcut for each? I just wonder what's the best way to play the game. Do I use the Warlords shortcut, or the Beyond the Sword one, or the standard Civ IV one? I want to just start with what's considered the best and fullest experience but also without missing the chance to start with some introduction or tutorial or whatever the base game may have had, is that possible?
Also, are there any patches I should get for this version, I just installed it off the disc.