Stores prepare for Warlords IV invasion

Thirteen years after the first Warlords fought its way onto computers, the long-running PC strategy series started a new chapter when Warlords IV: Heroes of Etheria shipped to stores today.

Published by Ubisoft and developed by Infinite Interactive, the game eschews the real-time combat of spin-off Warlords Battlecry II. Instead, the game returns to the turn-based system of the original SSG-developed Warlords franchise, albeit with improved graphics and gameplay. The new game has assembled an army of new features, which include:

• New speed tactical system, which speeds up combat.
• 3D-rendered height-mapped terrain.
• Persistent warlords that can be re-used in campaign, skirmish, or multiplayer modes.
• Enhanced AI for craftier opponents.
• A new open-ended, dynamic, nonlinear campaign.
• Unique multiplayer features that allow both allied play and free-for-all online play for up to eight players.
• Ten factions with unique units, weapons, and combat styles.
• Automated combat casting and high-quality graphical effects.
• 120 different fantastical units that grow stronger with experience.
• Variable victory conditions in both single- and multiplayer modes.

Warlords IV: Heroes of Etheria is PC-only and sells for a suggested retail price of $39.99. Its real-time combat sibling, Warlords Battlecry III, will be published by Enlight Software in Q2 2004.