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From: rhunt@uncmed.med.unc.edu
Newsgroups: comp.sys.amiga.games
Subject: Warlords from SSG
Message-ID: <2807@beguine.UUCP>
Date: 1 Mar 91 20:12:25 GMT
Sender: usenet@beguine.UUCP
Reply-To: rhunt@uncmed.med.unc.edu ()
Organization: UNC-CH School of Medicine
Lines: 46

Has anyone else gotten hooked on Warlords yet?  I picked this up at the
store 3 days ago and haven't gotten a good night's sleep since.

It is a fantasy wargame from SSG, makers of Reach for the Stars.  Each
player can play one of 8 different countries and up to 8 can play.  The
computer can take the other positions and play them at 4 different skill
levels.  There are the standard fantasy military units (infantry, cavalry,
wolf riders, dwarves, elves, giants) and the leaders are heroes who are
pretty powerful themselves.  One of a leader's best abilities is to raise
the other
units in the game (dragons, demons, devils, mages, undead etc.).  New
heros will offer to join your side as the game progresses, and bring these
allies with them.

The combat is fairly simple, but can be influenced by a lot of factors.
If there are any leaders, flying creatures, or special units present, the
combat value of the army increases.  Terrain is considered as well as the
nationality of the army in that terrain.  For instance, elves fight best
in the forest and dwarves fight best in the hills.  There are naval units
and one country fights best on the coast and on ships.

It does have a few minor problems, mostly with control of the units.  For
instance, when a leader rides a dragon, the stack moves at the speed of
the leader, not the dragon.  You also either have to get one unit of a
stack or the whole stack, so it is a pain to grab half a stack one unit at
a time and move them one hex, and get all the ones you want that way.
Most of the problems I have encountered are minor however and don't
really detract from the game, once you learn to expect them and work
around them.

It installs on a hard drive and multitasks, if you have enough memory.
They suggest having 1 meg free when the game is started.  It is also not
copy protect _in any way_.  It doesn't even have a lookup method, which is
pleasent for a change.  It is nice to see a company that is brave enough
to do that.  After about 24-30 hours of play, I haven't seen a crash,
guru, or hangup.  It seems very solid.

Don't bother if you are looking for flashy graphics and awesome sound.
After the OK startup screen, the graphics and sound are functional, not
awe inspiring.  This is a wargame in the classic sense of the word.  There
are no arcade sequences and no blood and gore on the screen.  But if you
are looking for a good multiplayer, strategy wargame a couple of notches
of complexity above Risk, you may want to check it out.  Suggested retail
is about $50 US.

Rick Hunt