Battle Realms: Winter of the Wolf

"Winter of the Chawowa, Hear yee! Hear yee!"

Briefing Room

Has this update done everything that the original couldn't?
Perhaps here lies the pc game of the century.
No, we can safely say that is not so.

The concept behind Winter of the Wolf is quite obvious. Take an average game; add a few units and scenarios to a poorly wrote RTS, which in fact had lacking a lot more then a few extra addons could cover. Slap a new name on it, and ship it out. I like the 10-dollar rebate though. Also note, that the expansion includes a copy of the original Battle Realms.

Game Play: (5.0)
An already ageing Real Time Strategy Battle Realms is on its last leg. The expansion did little to remake and fix any of the problems that this title was facing.
The only thing that makes this expansion is the tiny amount of campaigns added (11 in total), and the units added (which there are very few of, and lacking in depth). The barbarian looking oafs happen to be the new units. These stoneage warrior units just don't match up to the old. Kenji (lead character) and his samuri looking warriors was far better, and more fitting unit(s) for this game.

As it follows, there really were no updates to the game play. It was a solid engine based on the same concepts of every other RTS on the market. Except of course the mineral harvesting was diffrent. Which is always the case with each of these games. Now rice is your number one resource to get and manage. I truly hope that Liquid Entertainment realizes they are no competition to the ''other'' RTS's. The only thing that holds the title afloat is its fan base. But with such a poor enhancement to an aging dog, I assume it is nearing the end of an overdue death. I for one say, ''Farwell Battle Realms.''

Graphics: (4.5)
Absolutely nothing new was developed in the graphical end of this new installment to Battle Realms. Which is an extremely fatal error. Everything is exactly the same. There were no new terrains worth even a second glance. Even a few new birds or animations of them flying from your approach would have been nice. I would have been happy to see even a deer jump out! But this is not the case.

You will see a new assortment of flashy intros, install screens that are breath taking, and in game menus that are just darn right awesome. But as soon as you leave this aspect to load a game the eye candy amusement park ride is cut short. The in game graphics, which were dull at best, have not changed in the slightest bit. Worst yet, the building animations haven’t been changed either. There are a few new units that are added with there own animations, but that is where it all comes to an end.

Sound: (4.0)
Where did we leave off on the original? Ah, that's right a prescription to painkillers for my headache. Yet again, Winter of the wolf falls short of anything spectacular. The differences in the sound's from the original to the expansion are not even noticeable at first. The new units granted; have a few lines to say which happen to be new. But other than that, there is nothing else this update has to offer. The music is still a headache i will not soon forget.

Replay Value (4.0)
If you liked the original, then you will like the expansion. That is because there is nothing different in the expansion versus the original. You wont have the problem of memorizing new units, or anything of that sort. Heck, you wont even be seeing any new units. (Well hardly any.) Come to think of it, about the only thing that would make this expansion 'catch the eyebrow’ of previous fans is one tiny addition. That would be the map editor, which is far from good. I thought this should have been included in the original. But it was just another growing pile of poor decisions and bad timing to add to my frustration.

Closing Comments

Reviewer's Score: 5/10, Originally Posted: 02/15/03, Updated 02/15/03