Warlords I + II

Warlords I and II are the kind of games that remind you why you fell in love with strategy in the first place. No flashy cinematics, no bloated systems – just pure, clean, turn-based conquest wrapped in a chunky fantasy world that feels perfect on the Amiga. You pick a faction, grab your starting city and then the magic happens: exploring the map, snatching up neutral towns, recruiting ever-stronger fantasy units and racing your enemies to the good stuff before they get there first. The rules are simple enough to learn in a few minutes, but every decision matters – do you push your main army forward, leave your backline exposed, or slow down to consolidate and build up production? That classic “one more turn” feeling is brutal with these games. The AI is surprisingly competent for its age, but the real soul of Warlords is hotseat multiplayer. Passing the mouse/joystick around the room, trying not to show your poker face when you find a dragon or a legendary hero – that’s the kind of old-school magic modern games can’t really replicate. Warlords II mostly feels like the definitive version: more polish, better interface, nicer graphics, more variety. But both games share the same core: fast turns, clear goals, and a perfectly tuned loop of explore–expand–exterminate that never gets old. If you grew up with an Amiga, Warlords I & II aren’t just games – they’re memories. And the best part? They’re not just nostalgia pieces. Even today, they’re still genuinely fun, elegant strategy classics that deserve their legendary status.

This isn't a game I'd recommend to a modern player. Some games, like Dungeon Hack, a modern player could pick up and they'd think it was OK. This is not such a game. By modern standards it's extremely clunky and almost comically simplistic. However I played Warlords 2 Deluxe a lot in the mid/late 90's and from that perspective it's just as good as I remember it. After about half an hour I figured out how the strategy works and I'm thumping everyone just like it's 1997. It's well worth it for a retro player. No crashes. I'm very happy with the game. A big turnoff is that the publisher didn't bother to build a launcher for this. So the shortcut you get on your desktop only loads Warlords 1. You have to go into Steam and change a setting to play Warlords 2 and even then, you can only start Warlords 2 through the Steam interface. If you click the shortcut you'll only ever get Warlords 1. It's a small thing but look - they didn't write the game. They didn't write the emulator. The truth is most of us could download this off an abandonware site and have it working through DOSBox in about half an hour, but we're too lazy. So the least the publisher could do is make a launcher. It's their one job. It's literally all they're bringing to the table. So it's a worthwhile game and it's very cheap. Whether the publisher should get a reward for being that lazy is an open question. They're not doing anything you can't do yourself so if you already are a regular DOSBox user (I'm not) you're probably best off just downloading it yourself and setting it up.

I first played Warlords II 30 years ago in college. Still just as fun, although it was slightly annoying that the desktop shortcut only seems to go to Warlords I and I needed to futz around with the Steam settings for a minute to load the one I actually wanted to play.

Addictive. Computer controlled warlords are aggressive and capable.

my friend and i are playing it at school every day thru emulator

I played Warlords 1 and 2 back when it first came out around the ages of 8 to 11 and now replaying it again at the age of 44 brings good memories flooding back. i recommend this game to anyone child or adult that wants to play a game that isnt too detailed and less stressful to handle.

So many good memories with this game

So I run this game through RetroArch, and it looks like this: https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=3440937727 It's eerie how nostalgic this feels. I love it, it really makes me feel like I'm back in the 80's, in someones basement room, or upstairs living room. That panel wall really sets it off, and I played a lot of games on a monitor almost exactly like that one. I even knew people with some of those posters... I've seen them all. It's hard to convince me the 80's were not the best decade ever.

[h1][b]Warlords: a good oldie[/b][/h1] [h1] What this game is: [/h1] This is an at least 30 years old game in its two first versions Warlords I and II Deluxe (there is Warlods III that comes after that). It is a wargame played in various fantasy or some "historical" scenarios, and made playable in a DosBox format. [h1] How does it work? [/h1] You have access throught the same interface to both versions of the game: the original Warlords, and the better looking Warlords II Deluxe version. You can tweak somewhat the window settings. The games launch without a hitch from the DosBox interface. I recommend you keep it at fullscreen in order to be able to better see the map. [h1] How does it perform? [/h1] It performs well, has no bugs that I could observe, and provides excellent replayability through the numerous available scenarios and the various factions that are playable within each scenario. You can tweak the difficulty levels and the number of opponents you may have. The game is decent, and once you get the hang of it you will probably enjoy it. You will have to learn the playing codes for the first game (Warlords I) and will have to do some research in order to do so. The second game does not need that, you just need to click with your mouse in order to play. [h1] The good points: [/h1] Both versions of the game are not complicated once you get the hang of it, but for Warlods I you might need to do some research in order to understand how to play with your keyboard. Replayability is excellent. It can be played on a 10 years old PC and does not require a lot of graphical power. It will take around 800 MB on your HD. [h1] The bad points: [/h1] Even if replayability is excellent, and the numerous scenarios provide for a variety of plays, you may find that the gaming style is repetitive as the mechanics of the games is similar when you are playing a fantasy scenario or a "historical" scenario. After a while, you will probably play something else in order to renew your own fun. Graphics are more than dated, and music and animation and just very synthetic and uninteresting. There are no Achievements or Steam Trading Cards. [h1] My take on this: [/h1] A very good oldie. Those that played the game in its time will enjoy it. Those that discover it will find value in the game, at least for some time. I can recommand it for those that will not be put off by its dated graphics and music. There is enough value in there to make it enjoyable, specially if you can find it for sale.

I like this old but solid and simple game. The simpler it is the deeper it becomes. Enjoy it!!!