Civilization IV: Warlords Review

Warlords also adds a new vassal state system to the game. Vassal states add a portion of their resources to your civilization and add their territory and population to your domination score, but vassal states will work better for your AI opponents than for you. A civ will usually only offer to become your vassal once you’ve already pretty much brought it to its knees, so why not just finish it off and take everything it has? On the flipside if a civ with which you’re at war acquires a vassal, you will suddenly find yourself in a much expanded conflict.

This civ is walled for your protection.
The real heart of this expansion is in the eight scenarios it includes. Each includes its own unique twist on the rules of Civilization IV and in keeping with the expansion’s theme they are all war-focused. Alexander's Conquest has you driving east out of Greece and attempting to steamroll the Persians on your way to India. The Peloponnesian Wars has you island hopping around Ancient Greece. The Rise of Rome challenges you to expand the Roman Empire by driving to capture key strategic locations. Genghis Khan is interesting in that you must sweep across other civilizations, pillaging as you go. You’ll rely on mobile camps instead of cities and must gain your technology through ransacking enemy cities. Chinese Unification adds an element of alliance through intermarriage while Vikings has you earning wealth by ransoming cities. Omens is a kind of fantasy version of the French and Indian War in which gods periodically punish the faction in last place. Lastly Barbarians turns the tables and lets you be the one destroying cities in an attempt to stop human civilization in its infancy.

I found these scenarios to be enjoyable and a break from the usual Civilization. However if you’re a Civilization purist who never enjoyed the scenarios in previous incarnations of Civilization, then odds are that you won’t spend much time with the ones included in Warlords. To really get your money’s worth out of this expansion though you need to get some good playing time out of the scenarios. If you’re not a big fan of scenarios, then it can be hard to justify the cost of the expansion based on the other additions.

In The End, This Game Hath Been Rated: 88%.  Civilization IV Warlords will please all but the most pacifistic of Civilization players.

 

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