'Civilization 6' updates: New Greek leader Gorgo provides more aggressive gameplay

With only a week from its scheduled release, developers of the highly anticipated 4X video game "Civilization 6" have given fans something to look forward to by confirming speculations having more than one leader for each civilization.

After introducing Pericles, a renowned general of Athens as Greece's leader back in September, Firaxis has introduced yet another Greek leader in a first-look video featuring Gorgo, the fearless queen of fifth century Sparta.

She ruled Greece alongside her husband, King Leonidas I and was best remembered as a wise and outspoken politician who gave good counsel and embodied the best of Spartan values. She held and wielded power at a time when women were given little to no social authority. During the Greco-Persian Wars, Gorgo was instrumental in King Leonidas' quest in forming a coalition to fight off an invasion from Xerxes the Great.

In "Civilization 6," the Spartan queen is accorded with the unique ability known as Thermopylae, which kicks off whenever her troops achieve victory in combat. This ability translates half of the defeated unit's base strength into a Culture bonus for the civilization.

Additionally, Gorgo, like Pericles, also has access to the Acropolis, a district which is unique to Greece, and the Hoplite, an armed unit of foot soldiers that is also uniquely Greek. The Spartan queen also gets the ability Plato's Republic, which gives her extra policy slots.

In a livestream recently hosted by Firaxis, Ed Beach, the game's lead designer, said that introducing a second leader for each civilization was intended to "shake up gameplay" and to provide an avenue for more downloadable contents in the future.

Beach also explained the different styles of gameplay that players can have between the two Greek leaders. Pericles is a leader more concerned in forming city state alliances to develop Greece's culture. On the other hand, Gorgo is all about expanding quickly by fighting wars and developing Greek culture early in the game.

While Pericles may choose to send envoys to negotiate deals with particular districts, Gorgo will just come right in and snatch the territories away for herself. She's also not likely to give items up in a peace deal.

"Civilization 6" launches on Friday, Oct. 21. Pre-ordering the game from the official Civilization site comes with early access to the Aztec Civilization Pack which will be made available to the public at no extra cost 90 days after the game's official release.