As with most Xbox Live games, this is another revamp of an extremely old game, one that has been on almost every computer that ever existed.

Warlord is the next step up from breakout, yes it’s that old. In Warlord there are 4 castles, one in each corner of the screen, you control one of the castles shields, and with this you need to prevent fireballs from depleting your ramparts and killing your king. 

Warlord has two modes, Classic and Evolved. For once I will start with the bad, Classic. Here the game uses the same graphics that were used all those years ago, nice and blocky and only a few colours used. You control the shield around the ramparts of your castle with the right stick, deflecting the fire balls and hoping they hit your opponent’s castles. There are a few problems with the classic mode, the shield you use to deflect is very small, making it hard to hit the already fast fireball, add to that the twitchy control of the shield and it makes it a very hard game to enjoy. I remember playing this game the first time around and it was not this hard to control. Under the Classic game you have Normal mode and Throttle Monkey, Normal allows you to progress through levels, as the game gets harder more fireballs appear. Under Throttle Monkey the game starts you off on the highest speed setting, and with all of the problems mentioned above, it makes this mode completely unplayable and a waste of time.

Thankfully the Evolved mode is a lot better. The graphics have been updated and given a shiny new look. The shields are a bit larger and easier to control and your ramparts take longer to destroy, all together a much better experience. An extra addition is the ability to hold the A button to catch a ball and then aim and fire at an opponents castle, making for a more frantic and tactical game The balls also are able to ricochet off each other, which adds another level of skill. Evolved has the same settings as Classic, Normal and Throttle Monkey, unfortunately, Throttle Monkey is just as unplayable as in the Classic mode, the speed is just too high, so all you see is a load of balls flying around the screen, destroying your castle.  

There is also an online mode where you can have 4 players on screen battling it out, however I was unable to find anyone else to play against.

There are only four game types to choose from and since only one is worth playing, due to this I really can’t recommend this game to anyone other than the hardcore retro fans and even they may be disappointed.