Warlords is basically a competitive version of Breakout.  Each player is represented by an icon in each of the screen's four corners surrounded by a castle wall.  One or more balls in the form of fireballs begins bouncing around the screen and if it hits your wall it will take a piece of it out.  If the ball manages to get through a gap in your wall and hits your kingly icon, you are eliminated from the game.  To defend your walls you're given a paddle-like shield which you can move along your wall to block the ball and try and direct it towards your opponents' walls. 

Warlords may have had its day in the arcades a quarter century ago, but its looks and gameplay have not aged well and it doesn't do very well as an Xbox 360 game.  It would be possible to look past the barebones graphics if the gameplay wasn't so frustrating.  The game was originally designed as a quarter eater and its programming hasn't changed since.  Your paddle is too small, your walls too thin, and the computer opponents blatantly gang up on you.  Couple this with the fact that the game is in desperate need of a paddle controller and you've got a gaming experience that manages to be both short and frustrating. 

Luckily the game includes an updated version that is far more enjoyable.  Along with better graphics, you get thicker walls, a bigger shield, and opponents who play fair.  The evolved version could still use a paddle controller, but overall control is tighter and more responsive than it is in the classic version.  The evolved version is fun, especially when played against other gamers online (when you can find them).  However, it's not the sort of game that will draw you back time and again for long gaming sessions.  It's fun for a bit, but then grows repetitive and frustrating, and then you'll move on until the mood strikes you to play again.

Both the classic and evolved versions of the game include a 'Throttle Monkey' mode that seriously ramps up the speed and difficulty.  However, this mode goes way overboard in doing so.  The game is so fast and random in this mode that it is practically unplayable.

In The End, This Game Hath Been Rated: 67%. The evolved game is fun in small doses and more so in multiplayer, but the archaic classic mode is a game that should be left to rest in peace.