Total War: Warhammer
A match made in heaven
SWORDS AND STEEL— that’s what Total War has traditionally been witness to. The clashing of armies across the corpselittered battlefields of our world. A world where history changes depending on the player's skill. Where Rome conquered all, the Samurai held on to Japan’s sovereignty, and Napoleon became ruler of the largest empire this planet had ever seen.
Swords and steel—that’s what it’s always been. Until now. The clamor for a Warhammer spin-off has been heard ever since Rome:TotalWar first graced our screens all those years ago. A way to see the far-reaching fantasy armies of Games Workshop go toe to toe on the battlefields of their cursed apocalyptic world; a world so unlike our own. And, at last, we have it: the latest in the TotalWar franchise. A game unlike any other in the series.
So now that the heralds of the end times have signaled doom upon us all, we’d best start with the familiar. The integrity of any TotalWar game stems from its campaign mode, and TotalWar:Warhammer doesn’t disappoint. You’re presented with five factions to choose from: the versatile Empire, stout Dwarfs (not to be confused with Tolkien's dwarves), the undead Vampire Counts, the savage, marauding Greenskins, and the vast armies of corrupted Chaos Warriors (Bretonnia is available in custom battles, but not in the campaign just yet). Each faction is intricately unique, both in how they feel to play on the battlefield and how they operate on the campaign map. TAKING SIDES The Dwarfs shun magic, and don’t take kindly to anyone trespassing upon their soil. Their intricate play style revolves around the Book of Grudges—any time an enemy faction raids your lands, attacks your cities, or tries to assassinate one of your lords, you’re issued with a grudge, demanding you give those misbegotten swine their comeuppance. Too many unanswered grudges, and political instability becomes rife leading to civil war.
The Empire, on the other hand, has a far more traditional play style. There’s no Book of Grudges here, but from the start, you’re beleaguered by a fractured nation, surrounded on multiple fronts by both the Greenskins and civil rebellion. Not to mention the looming threat of Chaos.
Speaking of the Greenskins, their economic strength is just a fraction of that of their more sophisticated neighbors. They rely heavily on raiding and fighting to maintain their dominance across the continent. In fact, they have a “fightiness” meter (yep), which requires them to destroy their enemies, or suffer attrition and losses at the hands of each other. Once the fightiness meter is high enough, they’ll enter a state of “Waaagh!” with an identical separate army joining in the throes of combat for free.
Finally there are the Vampire Counts. With a diverse unit roster, they rely predominantly on the spread of corruption to help secure safe passage for their forces. The higher the corruption, the more the enemy suffers, and the greater power the Vampire Counts have, raising the dead found in your own battle sites to bolster their forces.
Unlike every TotalWar game before it, Warhammer provides the player with a unique experience each time they start up a campaign. That’s not to say it’s perfect, though; there are missing elements. In particular, there’s no squalor to manage, no more food supplies to maintain, and no more political corruption (granted, Chaos and Vampiric corruption work
easily as well as a substitute here). On top of that, there are additional limitations in place to stop you from straying outside of Warhammer lore. For instance, as a Dwarf, you can only capture other dwarven or orcish settlements, and none from the Vampire Counts, the Empire, or Chaos. As the Empire, you can’t take dwarven strongholds, and so on.
Battlefield combat, meanwhile, is all sorts of fun. Each faction fights in a unique manner befitting their history and stereotypes—strategies need to adept for each race. However, the biggest culture shock is what the Warhammer universe allows you to do. There’s black powder, cannons, gyrocopters, giants, monster arachnids, tanks, archers, crossbows, swordsmen, demigryph knights, and the more traditional infantry that we’re used to.
Then there are the legendary lords, which are vastly superior to generals of previous titles. These war leaders are like armies in their own right, capable of taking out multiple battalions by themselves. This adds intriguing strategical decisions: Do you go all-in and throw your general in, too, or hold back in a more traditional, oldschool style of TotalWar play?
And there’s magic. A powerful resource, generated slowly over time ( or quickly, depending on the flow of the Winds of Magic), which allows your magi to cast spells capable of destroying the hardiest of units in a ball of fire, or even raising the dead to fight again. Incredibly strong, but often intensely volatile.
The biggest change, however, comes to siege battles. One wall or two? That’s your choice. You no longer have access to all four sides, and, in reality, that’s no bad thing. Cast your mind back—when did you ever use more than two? Seriously. It’s just unnecessary. Now the walls are larger, the towers far more powerful, and the siege weapons far less effective. Holding the walls and the gate is vital to securing victory, and that’s what sieges have turned into. It’s great fun. Couple that with the vast selection of forces, and battles feel alive— incredible, intense, and engaging.
Graphically, the game is stunning. The designers have really gone to town, bringing the feel of Warhammer into the TotalWar universe. It runs smoothly on a range of hardware too.
The gameplay elements are well established and incredibly intuitive. The complexity is there for those who need it, yet it’s accessible—easy to get into for those who are new to the TotalWar experience— and incredibly replayable. Yet, at the same time, it still feels like a beta; having access to only five races in campaign (six in custom battles) feels a bit narrow.
Fortunately, Creative Assembly has announced it will be releasing “FreeLC” over the course of the next year or so, to include more of the factions found in Warhammer Fantasy. Until then, you’re stuck with this wily bunch. It’s a beautiful change of pace—if you’re a fan of either the TotalWar or the Warhammer franchises, you’ll be in heaven.