Playing More GTA 4, I just blasted a few dozen union hardhats and hired muscle at a construction yard for X.
I like how the game sort of presents the plot in vignettes, like the rap with Vlad at the start, and then moves after you complete a bunch of missions. Unfortunately, so far it seems I've killed my every employer, which isn't a very productive way to get anywhere in the long run...but, oh well, it's a GTA game afterall.
In Battle Realms, I was completely molested by the Wolf Clan berserkers and werebeasts once I chose to raid the Lotus instead of them and proceeded into Swan's Pool mission which had me facing a massive Wolf army that was not weakened earlier thanks my decision to go after the Lotus warlocks. So, I failed the mission and restarted the game, playing through the campaign until I was again faced with the decision to attack one of the clans.
This time I went against Wolf in their own province and the tactics I learned against Lotus - mainly constant archer harassment and flanking - easily gave Dragon Clan victory over the barbarians! Swan's Pool was considerably easier with Arah, an archer hero I found battling the Wolf, in tow and the enemy(supposedly) weaker. I think I at least faced less pack leaders and beasts, but the bath house was still just about razed to the ground.
I just love the units in this game and the small scale. It's what Warcraft 3 promised to be, instead of a stupid creepfest.
The ballista archers Wolf sends are pretty darn powerful, having considerable health reserves as well. Heh, I hope I get a more powerful melee unit soon, since the Dragon Warriors are pretty mainstay and do not seem to be capable to win against other tier 2 units on their own, despite their wicked looking curved blades and magic. Well, on to Lotus now!