Warlords Battlecry Review
While Warlords Battlecry is evidently derivative of other fantasy-themed strategy games, its combination of elements taken from its predecessors makes the game unique in its own right.
There has been a slew of impressive, new 3D real-time strategy games recently, but if you've ever enjoyed the great 2D strategy games of years past - or enjoy high-fantasy-themed games in general - then you'll like Warlords Battlecry, the latest game in developer SSG's long-running Warlords series. Die-hard fans of previous Warlords games and their signature turn-based gameplay may initially find Battlecry's real-time combat system unappealing. But after playing for a while, and developing a hero character, you'll find that it's hard to tear yourself away from the game, even if you're used to turn-based games. That's because Warlords Battlecry is a solid real-time strategy game that borrows heavily from games like Warcraft II and the Heroes of Might and Magic series. If you enjoyed those games, then Warlords Battlecry definitely has something to offer you.
As in most real-time strategy games, Warlords is played from an overhead, isometric perspective. The game features nine races: humans, orcs, minotaurs, barbarians, dwarves, undead, and three varieties of elves. After creating a hero character, you begin the campaign and set up shop by building a base, barracks, and a blacksmith. You can then proceed to buy units and unit upgrades to weapons and armor and so forth. It's standard real-time strategy at first; every upgrade and unit has a price, and there are four resources to mine, which are used in various combinations as payment. Fortunately, once you take control of a mine, any gold, stone, metal, or crystal is automatically accumulated over time. Adding a peasant to a mine speeds up the mining process. This automatic resource collection lets you concentrate on bigger issues, like vanquishing a horde of minotaurs. Each race's dependency on resources differs, which adds another element to the strategy, especially in missions where it becomes necessary to set up a garrison by a critical mine or destroy a mine that's vital to your enemy's development.
However, the most noticeable feature that sets Warlords Battlecry apart from other real-time strategy games are the hero characters. Your hero character is the focus of the game. Heroes have a command radius, and any armies within range automatically get bonuses, such as increased speed, power, and armor. The catch is that you also need to protect your hero at all costs, especially during the single-player game where you suffer automatic defeat if your hero falls. As such, it's not always wise to have your hero accompany your troops, especially if he's not quick on his feet. Your hero is also indispensable because of his ability to convert neutral or enemy mines and buildings. Generals are the only other troops that have this conversion power, but they are very high in the technology tree, and hence take a while to produce. Having a single character that you must protect, and who can also make your troops more powerful, adds an interesting new dimension to the gameplay.
Fortunately, Battlecry's interface is easy to use, and has all the features of a good real-time strategy interface. You can queue up just about any number of units or tasks, including waypoints, building production, unit production, and upgrades. You can easily group units into specific preset formations. The game can also be paused at any time, at which point you can queue up as many orders as you like. You can also set hotkeys to select specific groups of units or to activate spells. This makes complicated orders a little easier to execute, especially when you're under fire. Finally, you can fine-tune your troops' attitudes, which range from cowardly to berserk. This last feature comes in handy, mostly when you want your hero to stay put or when you want to lure enemy troops within range of your defensive towers.
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- IGN 8.4 / 10
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- GameZone 7.5 / 10
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