Though we managed to get it together enough last week to keep up our daily updates, we were really just playing the new Civilization IV expansion, Warlords. The new expansion offers a handful of minor changes to the standard game. The basic game has been enlarged with a new diplomatic relationship and a new Great General unit. There are also two new units, three new Wonders and three new leader traits, six new civs and a handful of extra leaders. Several new scenarios are also included for players who'd like a break from the standard game.
The six new civilizations include the Carthaginians, the Vikings, the Koreans, the Celts, the Ottomans and the Zulu. As longtime fans of the entire franchise, we're happy to see the Zulus are back but sad to see that the Babylonians didn't fit with the overall theme here. In any case, the decision about which civilizations and leaders to include (and which traits each possesses) is too subjective to criticize. Let's simply say that each of the civs and leaders that have been added to the game are significant enough to justify their inclusion, even if there are others that might be more worthy.
The traits have all been shuffled around so that they're spread out pretty evenly among all the leaders. Each of the three new traits fits the warlike nature of the expansion. Charismatic leaders will benefit from faster unit promotion and less wartime happiness. Imperialistic leaders get Great Generals faster than other civs and can also pump out settlers nearly twice as quickly. While it's tempting to grab as much land as possible, if you grow too fast your entire economy could completely shut down and bring growth to a halt. Protective leaders are better suited to turtle tactics relying on their walls and free unit promotions to hold attackers at bay. In all, the new traits definitely add more variety to the game.
Each new civilization has been given a unique building. Though it basically serves as a slightly more powerful version of an existing building, the new unique buildings definitely help add a little strategic edge and personality to each of the civs. Though the actual benefit offered by each new building is relatively minor, their cumulative effect over the course of the game can really give each civ a considerable edge in a particular area.
The new Great General unit is a definite plus for the game and rounds out the roster of other Great Persons. Great Generals can be put to direct use by converting them into warlords. This grants some minor bonuses to whichever unit it's attached to and adds experience to nearby units as well. While the added abilities and experience are a nice touch, the Warlord isn't really a game-changing unit. It's certainly not as powerful as a three- or four-unit army and is as vulnerable to attack as the base unit it's attached to. Consequently you'll really need to take extra care of your warlords if you want to keep them around.
Great Generals can also be used to increase the military potential of one of your cities. You can sacrifice the General to create either an Academy that increases unit production or a military instructor that adds experience to each newly created unit. Given the vulnerability of Warlords, using the Generals to create Academies and instructors seems to make more sense, particularly if you don't need the one time XP boost a Warlord provides.
We're pleased to see the diplomatic options broadened with the inclusion of vassal relationships. On the plus side, it's an interesting way to develop more lasting alliances that allow for wars between groups rather than individuals. With two or three civs in one vassal relationship and two or three in another, any little conflict is likely to erupt into a large-scale war. In fact, many of the civs you're trying to conquer may voluntarily become vassals of their neighbors. Many times we've marched into an enemy's lands, captured half his cities and, just as we're regrouping to finish off the other half, been told that he's become the vassal of another of your rivals. What was planned as a short and decisive war against a minor enemy suddenly becomes a long and bloody struggle against multiple opponents.
While it's nice to get extra resources and happiness as the master state in the relationship, there aren't many great benefits to accepting another civ's request to become a vassal. Sure, half the civ's territory and population counts towards your domination victory but, in our experience, a civ really has to be on its last legs to want to become your vassal. Getting half of their territory usually doesn't amount to much. When you consider that the master state in the relationship has virtually no recourse to back out of the agreement once it's inked, entering into a vassal relationship isn't a terribly attractive prospect.
Three new early wonders have been added to the game. While the Temple of Artemis definitely has its uses, it's nowhere near as useful as the Great Wall or the University of Sankore. The former can offer a welcome respite from barbarians and its usefulness will depend on how early you can build it and how troublesome the barbarians are being. My favorite of the new wonders is the University of Sankore. Being able to get added research from your religious buildings definitely increases the effectiveness of religious-minded builders.
The new trebuchets offer an incredibly powerful option for city assaults. Not only do they completely flatten city defenses but they also cause considerable collateral damage among the defenders. These two abilities make it much easier to take down enemy cities. Just put a handful of trebuchets in your stacks and you'll be able to whittle down any fortified position to nothing. Since the trebuchets can also attack units directly, they're the star city raider until the discovery of cannons. While it's a bit unbalanced in single-player, it definitely makes for a much more fluid game in multiplayer.
Some might actually consider the trebuchet a bit overpowered but they're really only a problem if you let them get next to your cities. This forces the defender to put a premium on mobile unit who can rush out to intercept enemy stacks before they reach the cities. Mounted units (boosted by the new stables) make a nice defense force but they can still be trumped by a nicely mixed stack. Again, the AI has trouble on either side of this conflict but things are much better balanced in multiplayer.
The addition of the trireme definitely increases your options in terms of ancient-era naval combat. Having a dedicated offensive sea unit early on enlarges the naval game considerably and allows for a much more historically accurate experience. Sadly, the trireme is the only new naval unit so, once you move on to frigates, the naval game is in shallow waters.
The good news is that the AI now makes better use of navies, even if they're fighting an enemy on the same continent. It's true that your enemies will still rely heavily on land units, but I've had neighboring enemies land forces well behind the frontlines and attack me on my flanks. Since my basic strategy is to throw every available unit right at my enemies, I've found I have to start holding some forces back in case my enemy manages to find a way to hit me in an unguarded location.
Veteran players will find that the AI is much more aggressive in general. You can still scale the aggressiveness during setup, but the AI is going to be much more active and hostile. For most veteran players, that's a good thing. It's still nowhere near the level of challenge you get from a human opponent, but it's nice to see your rivals put up a bit more of a fight. The fact that they can actually build nuclear weapons now makes for a very interesting endgame.
Past Civilization expansions have offered a wide variety of scenarios, from ancient era Wonder races to thorough recreations of World War II. Personally, I've never really cared for these. They always seemed to be nice enough as a diversion but they're really only distractions from the standard game. With that said, the scenarios that have been included in Warlords are very inventive and offer some intriguing changes to the basic game design. They all come with some sort of time pressure as well which forces players to make the most of every turn.
Some scenarios, like Chinese Unification and the Peloponnesian War offer experiences that are very close to the standard Civ game. The units and technologies have been expanded to fit the time period but the overall mechanics and objectives are the same as they are in the regular game.
The other scenarios offer greater variations. In the Viking scenario, for instance, you'll have to earn money by ransoming cities, while in the Rise of Rome scenario you'll have to gain control of five separate victory locations. Neither scenario requires the player to crush an enemy's empire. Hit and run tactics work well, particularly in the Rise of Rome scenario where you're likely to see massive armies punching deep into enemy territory just to capture and hold a single objective.
In the Omens scenario, players will have to fight a religious war in the New World. This is a two-sided conflict between the French and English (or Catholics and Protestants) along with a third, non-playable native faction. What makes this scenario particularly interesting (aside from the focus on missionary activities) is the inclusion of a fantasy element. At certain key points in the game, supernatural forces appear to severely punish the civ who's falling behind in terms of religious conversion.
Two of the more exciting scenarios let players take charge of the forces struggling to topple civilization. The Mongol scenario gives you a chance to throw your weight around as the head of the Khan's mighty hordes. There are tons of enemies here, each of which is ripe for conquest. The trick is not biting off more than you can chew while still maintaining some momentum.
My favorite scenario lets you lead the boogeymen of the series, the Barbarians. Getting to play as the city razing vandals that plague every civ builder is a real treat. The basic setup is quite simple; a number of civs develop their empires from scratch and, after a few turns, you're dropped into the world at the head of a barbarian army. As you win victories you'll gain gold that you can use to buy more units. The goal here is to eliminate all the civilizations before they become too powerful to defeat.
Closing Comments
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