First, let me tell you what I liked. I liked the multi-player internet capabilities. The graphics are not bad, and some are great. In the early levels, the magic items and spells are not too powerful, which can create a good, challenging adventure. And the sound effects are OK.

Now, I'd like to point out that you are playing a midieval, third-person version of Doom. Sure, there are quests. But do the quests really constitute more than just going back into the same dungeon to kill some new monster or retrieve an item? Yes, you can talk to the characters. But do they say the same things every time you play? Yes, different characters. But aside from weapon choice and how powerful they are at manipulating magic, what differences are there? Anybody remember Gauntlet?

I equate this game to my first experiences with FRP's, when the characters would go to the local dungeon, hack and slash, and return to town with gold and magical items. Maybe one of the locals had been kidnapped, providing another opportunity to re-enter the dungeon and kill everything again. And in multi-player, it's exactly like the early days. "Hey, there's six of us and only one dragon. Forget talking or sneaking up. Let's go get 'em!" I have progressed in my role playing taste and now desire strong plots, wrought with intrigue and subplots and mysteries. The only mystery in this game is whether to destroy the barrels outright or check them for traps first.

Overall, I'm neutral on this one. It doesn't live up to the "role playing" billing it received, but it is a fun take on shoot-'em-up games.

Final line: 3 of 5 stars

I never played the original Warlords, so I was pleasantly surprised by what I thought were new features (but actually were favorites from the first game that got left out of the second). The strategic element of the game has not changed: you control cities and armies, and try to expand your hold on the continent. What has changed is the way the scenarios are linked, the ways in which heroes can be used, two-button mouse utilization, and a "new" artificial intelligence opponent. Let's go through some of the points:

1. In W2, each scenario was its own little battle. They were unrelated and some were just plain cheesy (for instance, the "Japan" scenario). In W3:RoH (and I must specify Reign of Heroes; there is a stand-alone expansion for W3 called Darklords Rising), you can start a campaign or play individual scenarios. The whole game is based on Lord Bane having invaded and conquered most of the land; the only holdouts are you and a few other knights. You are charged with getting the knights to stop internal squabbles and pushing Lord Bane back into the sea. A campaign will start you on a small section of map; each time you win that scenario, the game "zooms out" to a larger map, revealing that you have only expelled Lord Bane from a small section of the map. You continue until you eventually conquer the world. If you choose a single scenario, you will play out one of the events that led to Lord Bane's invasion or one of the battles that occurred during that time. You also have the opportunity to create your own random map for an unrelated scenario.
2. Heroes in W2 were just powerful armies who could get quests or explore ruins. They had levels, but it was so meaningless for the most part that it came down to the monsters which accompanied the heroes. In W3, levels come with ability points, which you can use to develop your characters. The points can be used to increase power, movement, hits, morale, leadership, etc. or buy spells to cast. Heroes also have classes, which is a BIG difference over W2; the class determines how much certain abilities cost, whether or not spells can be cast, how hard the hero is to kill, etc.
   Questing is still a great way to gain experience, but there is more flexibility. Depending on the size of the city you are in, you can receive easy, average, or hard quests (you choose). Whichever you choose, you will be able to select your quest from a list of three, so you won't be screwed into looking for the most powerful enemy on the map unless you want that quest. Also, when you progress to the next scenario in a campaign, your heroes go with you (and some of their items).
3. Cities come with little or no production when you capture them now. If a city produces an army type you already posess the capability to produce, it will remain when you capture the city; if you can't produce any of the armies your enemy was making at the site, you will have to develop the production from nothing. Cities also come in various stages of development: village, fort/castle, and stronghold/citadel. The type of quests your heroes can acquire and defensive value for your troops depends on the type of city you have.
4. Right button mouse clicks now actually do useful things. You can bring up any number of menus which speed gameplay and give you crucial information. With most things only a click or two away, things move at a good pace.
5. The new AI hasn't really been too much different from before, but it has been a tougher game, with each level getting more difficult. The diplomacy function is a blast, allowing you to bribe different leaders as well as the traditional peace/war options. Now you can create alliances with other clans and observe the state of your relationship closely (there are something like 8 or 10 stages to indicate how you relate to another player, ranging from friendship to frenzy). Be careful; if you attack an army which is at war with your ally, but is friends with another enemy your ally is at peace with, your rating with your ally could drop and the alliance could possibly be broken (sounds like the beginning of WW1, huh?).

Overall, I really like this game. The graphics are not much better than W2, but the game is much more enjoyable with its continuing storyline. The challenges increase as you go along, keeping you interested, and the registered version has four bonus scenarios available at the web site. I haven't tried the internet multi-player yet, but it looks fairly customizable (and as yet, there are no cheat codes).

Bottom line: 4 of 5 stars

• Fantasy Role Playing Games
• Collectable Card Games
• Collectable Dice Games
• Back to my rant
• Back to the main page