TOTAL WAR: WARHAMMER Build ’em up
If you’ve ever urged your miniatures across a barren tabletop, this is the Warhammer game you’ve been waiting for.
Warhammer is simple enough to comprehend – Chaos bad, Empire good, Dwarfs grumpy – and the game does a fine job of explaining each faction. Understanding Total War is more difficult. The map is grouped into regions, each with multiple settlements. You have to take all the settlements to control a region. As cities grow, you can build more impressive structures, each with different benefits. But you don’t need to build all the buildings in every settlement – if you have the right combination, you can recruit elite troops anywhere in the area. It’s an elegant system once you get it, but it does take time. If you were ever going to learn a Total War game, though, this is the one.
Every turn tells a story that could be a page in any Warhammer army book. Every hero character takes a journey worthy of telling tales about. The frustration that comes from seeing your empire crumble is eclipsed by the thrill of reclamation. There’s enough depth and spectacle here to keep the most fervent fantasy fan engaged until the End Times. Matt Elliott
There are four playable factions: Dwarfs; Empire of Man; Greenskins; Vampire Counts. A fifth is available as DLC.