Warlords III
Warlords III was a critical success but failed commercially, a performance that some commentators attributed to the rise of the real-time strategy genre.The game was released for Microsoft Windows and used new system capabilities to dramatically improve graphics:[3] The heroes acquired the ability to cast spells to receive the temporary benefit.CNET Gamecenter's Marc Saltzman attributed the failure of the game to "the real-time strategy explosion" at the time of its release.[20] During the inaugural Interactive Achievement Awards, Warlords III was a finalist for the Academy of Interactive Arts & Sciences' "PC Sports Game of the Year" and "PC Strategy Game of the Year";[21] the latter ultimately went to StarCraft and Age of Empires (tied), while the former was awarded to FIFA Road to World Cup '98.[24] Shortly after releasing Reign of Heroes, SSG followed with Warlords III: Darklords Rising, a stand-alone expansion pack, on August 21, 1998.[2] It featured the new maps and units and contained the sample graphics to facilitate development of alternative tile, army and city sets.This is achieved by exploring, finding treasure, or waging war by assembling followers, gathering armies, and building citadels.