Warlords: Battlecry 2 Review

OK, so which is it? Is Warlords Battlecry 2 a Warcraft clone, or is it the other way around? Our editor Bane wanted to punch me in the face when I asked him this... You know, it's kind of funny that I've played Warcraft III beta before I got a full build of Warlords 2. Without going into too much detail, let's just say that there are some striking similarities between the two games. But considering the fact that the original Warlords already featured some RPG elements that made this RTS stand out, I'm really baffled as to who's 'borrowing' ideas from whom here. Still, I cannot talk about Blizzard's puppy in this article, and I'll probably get shot by some die-hard Warlords fan for comparing the two games. I don't' want to die like John Lennon, because that would mean that I'd have to live with Yoko Ono, and I cannot even IMAGINE that. Alas, I'm in fact an idiot and anything I say can be used against me in the comments section.

I'll kick their butts!

He's ugly!

So, what's the deal with Warlords Battlecry 2? What is it about? Ugh, so many questions and I basically don't have all the answers. In a nutshell, Warlords Battlecry 2 is an RTS game, which features an extensive number of units and a rich tech-tree, along with RPG elements in the form of heroes and experience points. You can keep your hero as you progress through the game (and he can gain levels), and veteran units gain experience as they win battles. That's pretty much it ... in a nutshell.

I could go over to the official site and cut and paste a storyline in here (Or could I?), but I won't do that. During my time with this game, there were absolutely no indications of a storyline in there. I mean, you can play Battlecry 2 for quite some time, and a quest or two might spring up every now and then, but this is one of the rare RTS/RPG that clearly omits a story in favor of gameplay mechanics. Yes, there is a large number of races in this game, and yes - it must've taken a long time to balance them all out, but wtf?! No storyline?! Incidentally, this is the biggest *improvement* over the original. How wacky... or not? Well, it depends on what you're looking for in a strategy game. Me? I always thought these things should tell a story, but what do I know? I also thought that Michael Jordan wouldn't come out of his retirement.

So, the first thing to do in this game is to set up your character (hero). There's even a dozen of races from which to choose in Warlords Battlecry 2: Humans, Dwarves, Barbarians, Minotaur, Undead, Orcs, High Elves, Wood Elves, Dark Elves, Fey, Dark Dwarves, and Daemons. After picking out your favorite race (mine were the Daemons), you need to give your hero a name, a face - the usual RPG-esque characteristics. After that, you can choose what style of hero it will be. You can go with normal and your hero will continue from one battle to another, conveniently resurrecting and gaining experience. Tinman will give you 25% more experience per win, but no experience if your hero gets clobbered to death by any chance. Bronzeman will give you 50% more experience, but your hero will need to start over from scratch, again if he's clobbered to death. And finally there is Ironman, which will double your experience gained per battle, but if you lose your hero once, you've lost him forever. Nasty! Anyway, this is certainly a refreshing strategic element of the game, which not only places the emphasis on your hero unit, but it also gives you the freedom to choose how fast you want to level your hero, and at what price. As you gain levels in this game, you'll get to choose your hero's career (warrior, priest, rogue, wizard, etc.) and specialty (depends on the career).

Who's the man, baby?

We need more resources...

It's quite obvious then that the hero units play a crucial role in this game. Their strengths and specialties, along with spells, will play a crucial role in the later stages of the game. Heroes can convert mines (along with your generals, but they're not available in the early missions), and if they die and you've depleted your resources, well then: you're in serious trouble mister! Now, if you've by any chance decided to gamble and play Ironmen style, then you're really in some deep crapola. This rather serious predicament is a fine example of how bad opening moves can pretty much ruin your chances in this game; well that is unless you use the save game option. And speaking of mines and resources, I should mention that the old resource management system is back from the original -- unchanged. You mine for four basic ore, some of them mostly used for unit production, and others for building and research.

Warlords Battlecry 2 is a rather complex game in terms of all the available gameplay details, and the inclusion of 12 different races makes the number of units, buildings, and possible spell mind-boggling. Controlling the resource production is in many cases the key to victory, and leveling your hero is another. Besides that, you should try to climb the tech-tree as fast as possible, as higher-level units are simply devastating. However, stronger units take forever to produce, and if you haven't paid attention, a surprise attack might leave your base in ruins, as you won't have time to hyper-produce enough units to defend your home. There are several other interface options that will help you a great deal in this game. Like the formations, and more importantly unit attitude. This is a great way to establish some kind of tighter grip on your units, which should prove invaluable in the heat of the battle. You should also use the spells, and group different types of units. If you play your cards right and get the subtle gameplay nuances down to a tee, you just might become very proficient in this game.

The enemy AI in Battlecry 2 is actually surprisingly clever. Not only is the path-finding working well, but the enemy heroes will put up a decent struggle, run away when they're hurt, and look for the weak spots in your base defenses. The game starts out slow, and the first few mission will basically turn into an easy chase around the map, where you get to mine and produce to your heart's content and basically get into the groove of this game. But the leap from the easy missions to the more challenging ones proved to be a bit too severe for my blood, meaning I got my ass handed to me the first time I encountered moderate resistance on a territory. Still, this should make you rise to the challenge and hone your skills until you're able to conquer it. And even though there's basically no story in Warlords Battlecry 2, kicking the crap out of a nasty foe can in itself be a pretty rewarding experience.

Visually, Warlords Battlecry 2 hasn't changed much from the original, though it's now displayed in higher resolutions than before. The game uses 2D backgrounds in combination with pseudo 3D units. This certainly isn't the prettiest game I've ever seen, but it runs smoothly and without any glitches placing the focus on gameplay rather than the eye-candy. The sound effects (unit sounds) on the other hand are downright silly. The Barbarian hero talks like doped-up Arnold Schwarzenegger, and that shit just ain't funny.

In the end, I should say that Warlords Battlecry 2 will probably cause quite a bit of controversy amongst the fans of the serial. Some will love it and some might hate the fact that the game lacks any meaning or narrative. Because of this, the campaign mode simply seems lacking. However, when you get into the groove of things, the challenging AI might be able to keep you busy for a while. And then there's always the multiplayer mode.