<s>
Warlords	B-Application
III	I-Application
:	I-Application
Reign	I-Application
of	I-Application
Heroes	I-Application
is	O
a	O
computer	B-Application
wargame	I-Application
released	O
in	O
1997	O
,	O
and	O
the	O
third	O
release	O
in	O
the	O
Warlords	O
video	O
game	O
series	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
In	O
1998	O
it	O
was	O
followed	O
by	O
the	O
expansion	O
Warlords	B-Application
III	I-Application
:	I-Application
Darklords	I-Application
Rising	I-Application
.	O
</s>
<s>
Warlords	B-Application
III	I-Application
was	O
a	O
critical	O
success	O
but	O
failed	O
commercially	O
,	O
a	O
performance	O
that	O
some	O
commentators	O
attributed	O
to	O
the	O
rise	O
of	O
the	O
real-time	O
strategy	O
genre	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
After	O
a	O
four-year	O
hiatus	O
,	O
SSG	O
developed	O
Warlords	B-Application
III	I-Application
:	I-Application
Reign	I-Application
of	I-Application
Heroes	I-Application
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
game	O
was	O
released	O
for	O
Microsoft	B-Application
Windows	I-Application
and	O
used	O
new	O
system	O
capabilities	O
to	O
dramatically	O
improve	O
graphics	O
:	O
</s>
<s>
Warlords	B-Application
III	I-Application
was	O
announced	O
in	O
August	O
1996	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
By	O
the	O
time	O
of	O
Warlords	B-Application
III	I-Application
games	O
 '	O
releases	O
the	O
real-time	O
strategy	O
game	O
genre	O
was	O
in	O
full-swing	O
,	O
so	O
there	O
was	O
less	O
of	O
a	O
market	O
for	O
turn-based	O
games	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
oncoming	O
rush	O
of	O
first-person	O
shooters	O
and	O
first	O
generation	O
MMORPGs	B-Protocol
also	O
did	O
n't	O
help	O
the	O
popularity	O
of	O
the	O
series	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
latter	O
ultimately	O
went	O
to	O
StarCraft	B-Application
and	O
Age	B-Application
of	I-Application
Empires	I-Application
(	O
tie	O
)	O
while	O
"	O
Computer	O
Sports	O
Game	O
of	O
the	O
Year	O
"	O
went	O
to	O
FIFA	B-Application
Road	I-Application
to	I-Application
World	I-Application
Cup	I-Application
'	I-Application
98	I-Application
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
game	O
was	O
a	O
runner-up	O
for	O
Computer	O
Gaming	O
Worlds	O
1997	O
"	O
Strategy	O
Game	O
of	O
the	O
Year	O
"	O
award	O
,	O
which	O
ultimately	O
went	O
to	O
Myth	B-Application
:	I-Application
The	I-Application
Fallen	I-Application
Lords	I-Application
.	O
</s>
<s>
Shortly	O
after	O
releasing	O
Reign	O
of	O
Heroes	O
,	O
SSG	O
followed	O
with	O
Warlords	B-Application
III	I-Application
:	I-Application
Darklords	I-Application
Rising	I-Application
,	O
a	O
stand-alone	O
expansion	O
pack	O
,	O
on	O
August	O
21	O
,	O
1998	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Darklords	O
Rising	O
received	O
favorable	O
reviews	O
,	O
albeit	O
slightly	O
less	O
than	O
the	O
original	O
Warlords	B-Application
III	I-Application
,	O
according	O
to	O
the	O
review	B-Application
aggregation	I-Application
website	O
GameRankings	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
game	O
was	O
a	O
finalist	O
for	O
Computer	O
Games	O
Strategy	O
Pluss	O
1998	O
"	O
Strategy	O
Game	O
of	O
the	O
Year	O
"	O
award	O
,	O
which	O
ultimately	O
went	O
to	O
Railroad	B-Application
Tycoon	I-Application
II	I-Application
.	O
</s>
<s>
Warlords	O
is	O
an	O
out-of-print	O
collectible	O
card	O
game	O
published	O
in	O
1997	O
by	O
Iron	O
Crown	O
Enterprises	O
based	O
on	O
Warlords	B-Application
III	I-Application
.	O
</s>
<s>
Warlords	B-Application
III	I-Application
was	O
followed	O
by	O
the	O
Warlords	O
Battlecry	O
series	O
of	O
real-time	O
strategy	O
games	O
.	O
</s>
