Warlords III: Darklords Rising

Well, the title of my review says all. I found out this game when I was 30+, when I already played Disciples 1-3, Heroes 1-5, Age of Wonders 1-2, Master of Magic, Cavewars, Dominions 1-3, Lords of Magic, Fantasy Empires, Fantasy General and so on. So there's no pink glasses of nostalgia here. Its battle mechanics seem simple but it's full of hidden nuances. Its strategic depth is shocking. Its graphics is not the prettiest even for its time but you'll be under its charm in half of an hour of playing. Its soundtrack is just exceptional, I'd even rate it higher than HoMM stuff, because it suits the wargaming essence of this game perfectly - being modest and plain but functional and going straight to heart as a sword. Its campaigns are maybe the best and the most entertaining and engrossing set of scenarios I've seen in startegy games. And the last but least, its AI is probably the best you can meet in strategy gaming. Greetings, Warlord. Let the war begin.

owo whats dis? So why is a 20 year old turn-based strategy game being released on GOG causing such a stir? Because this is NOT just another predecessor to HOMM or other staples of the genre. Warlords 3 is a completely unique game, its core gameplay abandoned and forgotten by time. At it's heart, this is a game about building optimised army stacks. Combat is completely hands-off, you need to use all tools at your disposal to give yourself the best chance at succeeding in any combat scenario. It's a hurdle at first, but once you understand the game mechanics the greatness of this game will reveal itself: THERE ARE NO BORING TURNS! Each choice you make is impactful in a way that modern games of this genre can only dream of. Do I risk producing a multiturn unit or do I need more chaff? Do I vector production towards the front or do I need more garrison? Do I explore the ruin first or should I rush the town with the gold mine? Do I commit to necromancy or do I learn a new spell? Do I concentrate my strong units in a spearhead stack or spread them out to gain more bonuses? Each turn is a balancing act and the lack of trivial deciscionmaking is very compelling for such an old game. And once you have cut your teeth in the campaign and the random maps, you can always go behind the scenes and design your own faction! Seeing how the game comes together in terms of balance and the amount of parameters you can change is mindboggling. Honestly I could probably write a book about all the intricacies but this is not the time or place. I'd recommend this game to any fan of turn-based strategy. Take the time to consult the manual and understand the game mechanics. There is a great and absolutely unique game waiting on the other side.

Had this been the original Warlords 3; Dark Lords Rising, I would have given the game 5 stars! I've waited for this game. But this isn't the original. This is the K4SH version. A fan-made unit rooster! A lot of core units is pilfered with, new overpowered abilities is introduced to heroes, archers gets hidden bonus vs fliers which they didn't in the orginal and the cost of units when making a custom army is also altered, and none of that for the better! This smells like a cheap money-grab, shame on you! I can download the exact same game on a fan website for free and where the aspect ratio of resolution is working! I can directly compare all units, since I still have the original CD installed on a winXP machine, but was hoping for a hassle-free game installer. What a disappointment!

My friends still play this gem, my brother resorted to creating a script to upload and download saves to a dropbox folder for our group. That is now no longer needed thankfully. So glad for this.

I played Warlords II Deluxe back in the day. By the time Warlords III: Darklords Rising came along, I was on a long hiatus from computer gaming, so I missed out on it entirely. Only heard about it recently. Now that I've played full games of both Warlords II and Warlords III, I can unhesitatingly give them both five-star ratings. It took me a while to readjust to the interface and get oriented again, but now that I have, it's a game I know I'll keep on playing all the time. Like the original Master of Orion, this is a timeless strategy game. Why? Because of its elegant simplicity. It's noticeably more streamlined than modern games (e.g, Heroes of Might and Magic or Age of Wonders). With less clutter to keep track of, it plays faster, as the player can easily focus on strategy. Some players object to the lack of tactical combat in Warlords. You see that it's happening, and you see which units are killing which, but once battle starts you have no control over it. That means you have to plan in advance--bring in the army you need to do the job. And in my opinion, that makes a wargame more realistically strategic, since the overall commander doesn't control each and every unit like a puppeteer. Besides that, switching to and from tactical battlefields takes a lot of time and compels you to play two games, not just one. Every tactical battle in Age of Wonders or Heroes of Might and Magic is a minigame that you have to play, since autoresolving puts you at a disadvantage. Mercifully, Warlords frees you from that and calls upon you to focus squarely on strategic moves. It's not for everyone, but it's a timeless classic for strategy gamers.