Warlords Battlecry

Warlords Battlecry was that game I had grabbed with much anticipation. I often think about this game, because I brought it home with a weekend of nothing to do, but play Warlords Battlecry. The game ended before the weekend was up. That's not to say it's a short game at all, but I was so into playing it that after going 16hrs a day Friday and Saturday, Sunday I was left wishing I there was more game left to play. i'm not big on RTS. I do like the Warcraft series, Myth games, but never really got into C&C much. What I liked was this game blended RTS with RPG so well. It was the first game I had played where both components were present but not overpowered. Another reviewer said Battlecry ruined the Warlords games and I think that's a false statement. I had never played a Warlords game until Battlecry and after I finished the game I ran to the store and got a copy of the turned based Warlords. It was something new from the same mythos. It's like blaming Ultima Online for ending Ultima series or Might & Magic. It's just another way to play. I have played Warlords 2 and 3, but for me neither compared in greatness. Perhaps it was just the surprise of playing it the first time. Maybe it's because Battlecry 1 is a better game. I don't really know now. It's been 12 years since I last played. I think I'm going to have to buy it again and compare :)

The Battlecry series took the much-loved turn-based Warlords games in a real-time direction, and did a very competent job of it. The games each offer a detailed campaign and a skirmish mode with a variety of map types, races, and units to play. One of the best features of the game was your retinue - a collection of up to 8 units you could transfer from one map to the next, keeping the experience they had gained. Each battle comes with a certain number of starting points, and as your retinue level up they can become quite expensive to deploy, but watching your level 8 fairy zooming around single-shotting the orc hordes makes it all worthwhile. Battlecry 2 offered a nice graphics upgrade, and Battlecry 3 is (not surprisingly) the most polished, and has more races and units available, but the original game had some neat features that were removed from the sequels in the name of simplicity, including ships and airships for transport. I'm hoping that we'll soon see Battlecry 2 to complete the trilogy, but between the original and the third game you do get most of what the series has to offer.

This game has many hidden gems. The separate faction mechanics, units that you can train througout the game, multiplayer, titans and dragons and everything you need to have fun. It's not the best strategy game around but if you're a casual like me, you won't find a game that's much more enjoying than this.

Warlords Battlecry was the first game I played that really mixed RTS and RPG successfully. It's classic high fantasy that should be enjoyed but any who love the genre. I would say of all the Warlords Battlecry games, this one has the best story mode but the other two are better in terms of game mechanics and overall gameplay. Definitely worth picking up.