Fans of the Civilization series have been well and truly spoiled in the last year. First, there was the release of an updated version of the classic Civilization III, followed shortly after by the all-new Civilization IV, one of the most impressive and complete strategy games ever. Now, less than six months later, we get the first expansion pack, Civilization IV: Warlords.
As you'd expect from an expansion pack, Warlords is full of extra characters, building types and units, which we'll come to in a moment. The standout new feature, though, and the one that gives Warlords its name, is the addition of a new type of person, the Great General.
When you win a battle, your civilization gains a Great General. When you join your Great General with another unit in the field, you create a Warlord, who can distribute his experience points to a range of units, as well as construct a military academy or become a specialist in military instruction. These add a whole new dimension to the combat elements of the game: Warlords become a serious commodity and you'll have to be careful not to take your eye off the rest of your game trying to ensure you don't lose your warlords in the battle field.
Other new tactical options include the ability to create a 'vassal state', by swearing allegiance to another state in exchange for protection and other benefits. Of course, there are downsides, such as the master state's right to demand passage and access to resources in the vassal's territory.
The Civilization series has always been about recreating the great cultures from human history. As you'd expect from an expansion pack, Warlords introduces a host of new civilizations and historical characters to lead them. These include the Carthaginians, Celts, Ottomans and Vikings, as well as new leaders such as Churchill, Stalin and Rameses II to run existing civilizations from the original game. Each of the new civilizations has a new unit type, such as Viking Berserkers and Zulu Impi, while Trebuchet and Trireme are new units available to any civilization.
One of the most popular gameplay methods in Civilization is the scenario, where the play takes place in a preset (usually historical) situation and the player has to achieve certain goals within a limited timescale. And Warlords offers a wide range of additional scenarios to keep players busy long into the night. These include Chinese Unification, in which a group of feudal kingdoms aim to take control of ancient China, and Alexander the Great, in which you're charged with, well, trying to conquer the world.
Die-hard fans of the series will no doubt be delighted with Warlords, which strikes just about the right balance between new features and enhancements. But more casual players will wonder how on earth anyone can ever have thought Civilization IV needed expanding. The original game is so complex and time-consuming, it's hard to imagine getting bored enough to feel the need to add new units and civilizations. So while Warlords will be a must-have for Civilization nuts, there's not enough to be gained here for the rest of us.
Verdict
While Warlords will be a must-have for Civilization nuts, there's not enough to be gained here for the rest of us.
Author: Mike Hirschkorn
MacUser Online