Warlords Battlecry

Warlords Battlecry is a real-time strategy video game released in July 2000 for Microsoft Windows.[1] It was the first of new series of RTS games set in Steve Fawkner's Warlords franchise.[2]

Warlords Battlecry
Developer(s)Strategic Studies Group
Publisher(s)Strategic Simulations
Producer(s)Gregor Whiley
Designer(s)Steve Fawkner
Programmer(s)Steve Fawkner
Mick Robertson
Dean Farmer
Artist(s)Alister Lockhart
Steve Fawkner
Janeen Fawkner
Composer(s)Steve Fawkner
SeriesWarlords
Platform(s)Microsoft Windows
ReleaseJuly 2000
Genre(s)Real-time strategy
Mode(s)Single-player, multiplayer

Gameplay

The game introduced a hero-building system, combining real time strategy elements with roleplaying elements (hero development, stats and skills). This makes the series the first to be called "roleplaying strategy", a term coined by its creator, Steve Fawkner. There are nine races organized in sets of three:

  • The Civilized races: Human, Dwarf and Undead
  • The Primitive races: Barbarians, Orcs and Minotaurs
  • The Elvish/Magical races: High Elf, Wood Elf and Dark Elf

There are four professions, Warrior, Wizard, Rogue, and Priest. Each profession has at least three specialties, which give access to different skills and spheres of magic.

Reception

Jim Preston reviewed the PC version of the game for Next Generation, rating it four stars out of five, and stated that "Players who look underneath the ordinary surface will find a highly entertaining mix of strategy and role-playing."[3]

Warlords Battlecry was commercially unsuccessful in the United States,[4][5] and journalists Mark Asher and Tom Chick noted that it "didn't even hit PC Data's charts".[4] Writing for CNET Gamecenter, Asher reported in September 2000 that the game's sales in the United States had reached 8,608 units, which drew revenues of $332,662.[5]

Warlords Battlecry received positive reviews. It has an average score of 78 per cent at GameRankings, based on an aggregate of 27 reviews.[6] The editors of Computer Games Magazine nominated Warlords Battlecry for their 2000 "Real-time Strategy Game of the Year" award.[7]

Sequels

Two sequels were released: Warlords Battlecry II in 2002 and Warlords Battlecry III in 2004.

Although released in different times, the three games essentially share the same 2D graphics engine, a gameplay closely resembling that of Warcraft II: Tides of Darkness or StarCraft and have a high number of playable races/sides (ranging from the 9 of WBC 1, to the 12 of WBC II and the 16 of WBC III).

The games feature a hero building system which preceded Warcraft III's own one and combine real time strategy elements with roleplaying elements (hero development, stats and skills), thus making its creator labelling the series as "roleplaying strategy" games.

Although the games share the same basic gameplay and graphics engine, and the series is generally well received among Warlords fans and hunters, the community around them has always been small (but loyal), and no serious modding efforts have been done until the third installment was released, although all three installments ended up supported by community (Fan patches[8]) rather than developer patches and mods.

References
  1. http://www.ign.com/games/warlords-battlecry/pc-12054
  2. http://www.mobygames.com/developer/sheet/view/developerId,35177/
  3. Preston, Jim (October 2000). "Finals". Next Generation. Vol. 3 no. 10. Imagine Media. p. 125.
  4. Asher, Mark; Chick, Tom. "The Year's Ten Best-Selling Games". Quarter to Three. Archived from the original on February 2, 2001.
  5. Asher, Mark (September 1, 2000). "Game Spin: RPG Madness". CNET Gamecenter. Archived from the original on April 18, 2001.
  6. "Warlords Battlecry for PC". GameRankings. CBS Interactive. Retrieved 23 February 2018.
  7. Staff (February 8, 2001). "Computer Games Magazine announces nominees for annual best in computer gaming awards". Computer Games Magazine. Archived from the original on February 9, 2005.
  8. Unofficial Patches om patches-scrolls.de
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