Civilization IV: Warlords review

Okay, somebody's gotta say it: Civilization IV was wimpy. Sure, it was a fantastic, addictive wimpy that had us playing till the crack of dawn for weeks. But there was something girly about a strategy game where you could build macemen, tanks and even nukes, yet not get the most out of them because defense bonuses made all-out warfare suicidal.

Say goodbye to this problem in Warlords. This expansion pack replaces cultural, space-race and those other goddamn hippie victory conditions with blitzkrieging one city after another. It's more simplistic than standard Civ IV, as many complexities have been droppedin favor ofjust building army stacks - but still perfect whenever you need to work out frustrations by slaughtering millions and building a throne with their skulls.

Well, in your mind, anyhow. In the actual expansion pack you have to make do with eight new scenarios that let you replay historical wars, plus additions to regular Civ IV like six civilizations, ten leaders, a handful of units, techs and wonders. Warlords also includes loads of rule tweaks, including an option to turn rival states into vassals.

While it's fun to play same old, same old with the newbie Ottomans under Mehmed II, or Hannibal's Carthaginians, the scenarios are where it's at. Alexander the Great, Barbarian Horde, and Genghis Khan are exciting races to sack cities. Rise of Rome and the Peloponnesian War feature measured wars in the ancient Mediterranean. Age of the Vikings sees you raiding northern Europe.