Warlords introduces a few exciting new additions that only extends the greatness of Civ IV itself. You can now select leaders from six of the new civilizations, which include the Carthaginians, the Celts, the Koreans, the Ottomans, the Vikings, and the Zulus. In addition, there are also a number of new leaders for the pre-existing civilizations, such as Genghis Khan, Winston Churchill and the famous Roman leader Augustus Caesar, to name a few. Included in Warlords is the addition of new leader and nation traits that help distinguish between each nation and their leaders quite significantly. Every civilization now includes a unique building, one that has special advantages. For example, America will be able to construct malls instead of supermarkets, which provide certain advantages. To add to this, Warlords also includes three new wonders of the world (with The Great Wall being the most significant inclusion, where the walls will actually appear around your borders), as well as a scattering of new buildings and units.
The game also includes a new Great Person, conveniently named the Great General. Much like the other great person units in the game, the General provides a boost in stats depending on how you want to use them. For one, when a Great General is born in a city they will provide additional experience points for your units in that city. These units can also be sacrificed to create an Academy that provides your city with an increase in unit production, as well as being transformed into Warlords; basically, units with better stats.
The Great Wall is successful in keeping out unwanted enemies.
Other new additions help to improve the game’s core gameplay structure too. One of the most fascinating features of Civilization IV was the inclusion of diplomatic options that included trading of items, opening borders and declaring war on enemies. Warlords expands this feature, with gamers now able to opt for vassal relationships. Vassal nations under your control will contribute money, research and technology, in exchange for you protecting them. On the plus side, if you’re trying to conquer an enemy’s land, they may eventually voluntarily become your vassal. Once acquiring a nation as your vassal, their land will automatically become yours, but not vice-versa. Also, if you decide to go to war with a nation, the vassal will have to go to war too. It’s a great new feature, and helps move the game along a little faster, especially if you’re trying to finish a Domination victory.
One of the most significant additions is the scenarios, which are a nice little incentive for the entire package. The scenarios act as a great retreat from the typical Civ IV gameplay, with many differences between each scenario. In one instance, you'll be battling it out against the AI in trying to convert a certain percentage of the map into following your religion. Meanwhile, one of the more fascinating scenarios is where you get to play as the Barbarians. In this scenario, the concept is that players will need to destroy all the other civilizations on the map. You cannot capture cities, but instead you'll pillage towns and terrain improvements, acquiring gold for you to build more units. It’s a pretty neat idea, and is something that most Civ fans have been longing for, especially after having barbarians killing your innocent settlers in previous Civ games. There are eight scenarios in total, all of which offer something a bit more removed from the typical gameplay of Civ IV.
Winston Churchill in all his glory.
Gamers will also be glad to hear that the AI has been balanced out a bit more. The different difficulty settings seem to have had some improvements made in terms of how the AI acts in certain situations and utilises it units much more effectively. Also included are new musical tracks that reflect the civilization you choose.
Civilization IV: Warlords provides a fulfilling and rewarding new experience for Civ fans. Warlords does a great job of fleshing out some of the minor problems that persisted through the original, and also adds some exciting new features that does the series no harm. However, some gamers may not be happy with the lack of new content at hand, especially at its price.
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