Civilization IV: Warlords

"What did this expansion add?"

This expansion did not seriously change the way civ4 is played, in regular games. In fact, the biggest changes to the original game are simple scenarios.

In case you didn't know it, hundreds of user created civ4 scenarios have been available for free (and legal!) download almost since day 1 of release. Many of these scenarios are superior in quality to the ones available in Warlords.

The worst disappointment is the Barbarian scenario. The concept is awesome! Make money by pillaging cities and improvements, and destroying enemy units, with the ultimate goal of destroying ALL civilizations! Somehow, even that sweet sounding scenario ends up being dull and boring due to the "no war allowed ever!" game mechanics. Your relentless destruction of civilization turns into long, boring sieges of important cities, where you push the "bombard city" button a hundred times, and save your game in case the computer cheats and destroys your too-expensive-to-replace trebuchet on the all too frequent freak 0.3% miracle losses.

Other scenarios include a Catholic vs. Protestant religious struggle that doesn't last long enough to see the conclusion of a war, the unification of China, which doesn't last long enough to see the conclusion of a war (on normal difficulty levels), the Peloponnesian war, which doesn't last long enough to see the conclusion of the war...are you seeing a trend here?

So yeah, the new scenarios are trash. But what does the expansion have to offer for civ4's traditional game?

The list is pretty small, but seemingly significant. We get some new leaders with never-before seen traits, the ability to subjugate other civs as Vassal states, and a new Great Person, the Great General. There is a new minor tweak to all of the civilizations in the form of a unique building that replaces a previous building, like an assembly plant in Germany instead of factories. In many (most) cases, the difference between the old and upgraded buildings are no big deal. For example, the assembly plant's only advantage over the factory is that it allows you to assign more engineers. In another case, upgraded granaries also provide a bit of culture.

First, we'll talk about the Great General. It adds a bit of depth to war, but they're too rare and too vulnerable to really use effectively on the battlefield. As anyone who has played through a few full games knows, a unit is NEVER safe during war, because sniper cavalry are hiding on every unexplored terrain piece waiting for a chance to suicide against your General for 23% win chances that always seem to work out at the worst (furthest from your last save) times.

So you can't use a Great General in battle. That sucks, but he still has two other abilities. He can join a city as a great person, giving new units from that city +2 experience points. Or, he can build an academy (with the right tech) increasing military production by 50% in that city. Both of these options are extremely exciting if you're interested in accounting, but for most of us accountant abilities are not fun.

Where are all the new unit promotions? Where are all the improvements to the late game, where the Culture Monster prevents you from attempting war as a means to slow down your enemy's space race? The late game is still as stagnant as ever. Either you're steamrolling underpowered civs beneath your technologically superior boot heel, or you're cheese rush-building space parts and saving your cash to buy out the space elevator, pushing enter over and over with your cities on auto-wealth mode.

Next, we'll talk about Vassal States.

Vassal States stink. A civ will become your vassal only if you are significantly stronger than them. You literally have to beat the living tar out of them, have their cities at your mercy, and be prepared for an imminent final thrust into their heart before a civ will offer to be your vassal. They're slow with tech for the rest of the game, but will always be your automatic allies during war.

So what's the point? If their cities were valuable enough to contribute to your wars, why in the world wouldn't you just have taken them yourself? I suppose its useful to take advantage of computer production cheats for your own benefit, but you do not have control over their units, which makes them much less valuable. This feature is a flop.

Finally, lets discuss the new traits. First is "charismatic". Charismatic is the new Aggressive. It gives you a happiness boost (meaning that police state is not the only choice for a civ seeking eternal war) and faster unit promotions. It actually adds something FUN to the game, a new style of play (or at least a minor tweak to an old style).

Second and third are protective and imperialistic. Both of these are trash. One gives you more Great General Accountants. The other gives you free city garrison upgrades. Seriously, guys...what the heck?!

Is this expansion worth buying, just for a new leader trait and some war accountants? You can decide for yourself, but I'd rather have spent the money on a new DS game like Advance Wars: dual strike, or a couple of ice cream cakes from Baskin Robins.

Reviewer's Score: 6/10, Originally Posted: 05/11/07