Whereas the Warlords name might be more familiar to today's gamers from the two excellent Warlords Battlecry real-time strategy titles, Warlords IV is a turn-based game, and is very similar in style to the original titles. Warlords do gain experience after battles, though, so a character you've used repeatedly will become more powerful. You can research new spells over the course of a game, although these can't be carried over into new encounters. You can choose his race and major and minor professions - these include various types of magic and combat skills, and can be mixed and matched at will. Your game starts with the creation of your warlord, who is your representation in the game. She's summoned up a bunch of demons to help her, and is sending troops to raid libraries all round the world for information. Now, another dark elf mage, Aravein, is trying to recast this spell, which if successful will bring the whole world under her control. It backfired, killing him and unleashing a torrent of magical energy on the world, in an event that became known as the Sundering. 3,000 years before the game begins, a dark elf noble called Prince Mordaine attempted to cast a new and powerful spell. Like the other games in the series, Warlords IV has quite an in-depth plot. Fawkner has obviously decided the world is ready for another turn-based strategy game, so after a five-year hiatus, the series continues with Warlords IV. Created by Steve Fawkner and Australian developer SSG, they were responsible for many bleary-eyed late nights. If you think of yourself as a PC gaming old hand, you might remember the Warlords series of turn-based strategy games from the late 90s.

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