A well-crafted, easy-to-play game with an entertaining fantasy bent, Warlock will have you staying up nights taking one more turn to blast King Rrat to kingdom come.
Warlock: Master of the Arcane is a well-packed turn-based strategy game, with a deep and captivating gameplay. Still, the lack of a structured campaign and of the multiplayer mode is a big letdown, and the graphical engine does not shine.
I keep dusting of this game every once in a while because it is so addictive. Took some time to learn how to survive, but that is because it requires some thinking here and there. Definitely one of my all time favourites.
For all of its flaws, it's still a remarkably fun game with plenty of character. When you're commanding armies of dragons and giants to annihilate cities protected by ghost ships or rat snipers, it's easier to overlook the game's shortcomings. I know that I'll certainly be playing a few more campaigns, and once the multiplayer gets added I'll play even more.
Warlock is a combat-focused empire builder that can be quite addictive and enjoyable. It doesn't quite have the depth that would give it the kind of replayability we get from classics such as the Civilization-games, but it's fun while it lasts.
Tuning issues aside, Warlock is a fantasy strategy game that's more than just Civilization with dragons and elves because it's not Civilization at all. Far too many strategy games rely on Sid Meiers' classic formula, often bogging down in the process. It's nice to see a developer getting back to the basics and down in the trenches with goblins, werewolves, skeletons, dragons, clerics and the odd angry fireball.
*The metacritic score is out-of-date*, because, in only three months, the studio has fixed 175 bugs/game issues in Warlock: Master of the Arcane (the fixed issues are listed on the game's steam page).
Few games are updated (much), post-release. For that reason, almost no reviewers update their reviews, post-release. This game has vastly improved, since it's release. Consequently, the Metacritic score is now *at least* ten points two low. (I added twenty more points, because of the studio's dedication.)
The profoundly long list of issues addressed by the developer in the three months since the game has been released can be found here: ****/news/?feed=steam_updates&appids=232050 (or search the Steam site for "Eador", and click "view update history" on the right-hand side of the game's page).
How do I know that 175 bugs were fixed? I pasted the list of bug fixes into Word. It was over 200 lines in length. I eliminated those lines that weren't bug fixes. Each remaining line of text was a bug fix, and there were about 175 remaining lines.
Should the game have been released without said bugs? Perhaps. (Although, in the Studio's defense,
it can be extremely difficult to eliminate bugs without widespread bug testing and user testing, for technical reasons.) *But,* the developer has shown extreme dedication in eliminating said bugs. They deserve kudos for that fact. I don't believe the decision to eliminate the bugs was made by some bean counter--sadly, I'm not sure you could easily make the case to such a person that it's in the studio's self-interest to patch a released product. But the studio decided to, anyway.
Both this game and Snowbird Game Studios deserve your support.
A wonderful strategy/simulation game, this is almost like Sid Meier's Civilization V but changed to include Wizards, monsters, creatures and other mystical beings
A very solid game in a similar style to the Civ series. While it lacks a lot of depth this game is very enjoyable if you want to get straight in to action and can be a good challenge on harder modes.
Estrategia al puro estilo Civilization, pero por el contrario, basada puramente en la fantasía.
Este juego me pone en un apuro, ya que veo que tiene todos los componentes para ser buena estrategia por turnos, pero sin embargo, le falta algo, ese toque que te hace querer seguir y seguir pasando turnos para avanzar y ver a tu imperio cada vez mas grande.
Sin duda tiene buenas ideas, y si te gusta el género, probablemente merezca la pena al menos echarle un vistado.
I have to say I'm surprised that the famous Paradox Interactive made such a shabby game, I can't tell how much disappointment and frustration I got from the first 30 minutes of gameplay...
First, the point and click of unit control is just so unintuitive, I don't even know how many movement point I have to take to get to a place, not to mention the unintentional wrong clicking or false route the AI may take, I just can't bear with this kind of unclear control.
Second thing is the map, there's no "whole map" view option in this game, and I'm so frustrated to find out that even the option for adjusting the scrolling speed on map browsing is missing...I'm pretty sure a 90's game may have such a feature, I just can't tell if it's intentionally ignored.
If this game was out there in 90's or early 2k, I might stop whining and try to feel the intense similar to Civ or HoMM or so, but it's a 2012 game and I believe there are a lot to be reworked concerning UI and gameplay.
SummaryWarlock – Master of the Arcane invites players to take on the role of the Great Mage and build a powerful magical empire, giving mighty mages the ability to control armies and wield magic to wage war against one another, as they compete with other wizards for the title of Warlock.