Warlords

There's a line in a Billy Joel song that goes, "the good old days weren't always good and tomorrow ain't as bad as it seems". Just like anyone else gamers get nostalgic and occasionally long for those simple, yet enjoyable classic titles from their youth.

Our memories have a tendency to romanticize games from the past so when we play it later they don't hold up. The newly released Warlords has this exact same problem (the good old days weren't always good), until you play its modernized version (tomorrow ain't as bad as it seems).

The gameplay in Warlords consists of four castles wearing down each others defenses by blocking and aiming fireballs at each other, last man standing wins. In the classic version controls are stiff and cumbersome. Moving with precision around a square castle to block a shot takes more luck than skill. The AI is punishing. The other three castles pick on your base like 4th graders on the class nerd making most games are 3-against-1. Unless you're the albino in The Da Vinci Code, you won't enjoy classic Warlords. The evolved version is where the fun is.

In the modernized version castle walls are curved for easy maneuvering and the AI is much more balanced. The game presentation has been given an overhaul with solid 3-D visuals and up-tempo music appropriate for the games chaotic feel. The up to 4-player versus mode will give this title a long shelf life.

Warlords useless original version and some odd Achievement quirks (I met the goal for 3 Achievements but never received points for them) take some shine off this updated classic, but for $5 this title is a bargain.

PROS: Evolved mode is fun with friends and significantly better than the original, the price is right
CONS: Classic version has curse-at-your-TV difficult AI

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