While many games at E3 have gamers drooling at the mouth in anticipation, the Warlords expansion to the 2005 release Civilization IV release is stocked with enough new content to revive interest in this series.

For those who have never played any of the releases in the Civilization franchise, the series is based on an epic Empire building strategy model that involves the gamer in raising the most powerful Civilization that the world has ever seen. By combining a unique mix of economics, politics and warfare, the Firaxis' developers have revolutionized the art of strategy gaming. This latest expansion not only increases the depth of gameplay, but keeps the balance just right so that you can have the best experience to date.

While we were only able to view a short video, the information contained in it covered all the new content included in the expansion. Civilization IV: Warlords contains new scenarios, civilizations, a new unit called a Great General, and finally, Vassal states.

In the original release of Civilization IV, the game contained Great People, which were born to civilizations at predetermined intervals. And while there were many types of military units found in each era of gameplay, there was never any form of hero unit, a general of sorts. Warlords includes a new unit called a Great General and is awarded to your civilization after winning a few battles. They can be attached to any military unit to create a Heroic Warlord unit. This warrior allows all military forces in the same square to earn more experience points. Like other Great People, the Great General can be used to construct a military academy, or can be converted into a military instructor who provides +2 experience points.

In the original game, each civilization was given a unique unit that could help the player in a specific era. While this is still used in the expansion, Warlords has now given unique buildings to each country. On top of that, there are now six new civilizations to choose from.

Vassal states introduce an alternative to totally and utterly conquering neighboring countries. If your civilization manages to create a vassal state, they would give your country tribute in the form of money, research development and tech tribute. Your obligation ends up being to defend your vassal states from enemy attack.

While this expansion to Civilization IV only expands on the gameplay experience, there should to be enough new content to renew an interest in the series.