Total War: Warhammer is a Total War game. It’s a good Total War game, but it’s still just a Total War game. What’s also pretty much a Total War game? Warhammer Fantasy , the miniatures game that sets elves, dwarves and chaos emperors into epic battles with each other. The unit formations, the battle commands and the army set up all share a startling resemblance to the popular RTS that’s taken army games by storm.
I used to play the tabletop Warhammer game constantly when I was in high school. I had a Wood Elves army, with giant metal Treemen that weighed enough to crack cement (it was up about three feet, try explaining that to your mom.) When I heard there was a Total War game trying to capture the essence of the game that started it all, I got so excited. Finally after years of shitty Warhammer games, we are getting something good. Goodbye, Space Marine, Warhammer Online and Snotling Fling , hello Total War: Warhammer !
There were two modes to choose from in the demo: one with Empire and Vampire Counts, the other with Orcs and Vampire Counts. I chose the Orcs, because I was feeling the need to avenge the Manfred name against those grimy greenskins. The game plays absolutely beautifully, the grime and grit of the Warhammer universe is used to its fullest effect. From a distance you see your little soldier men fight to defend your honor, laughing from your view in the sky.
Scroll in and you can see what Warhammer games look like when we imagine what’s happening when our models collide, Black Orcs charge in, zombies fly every each which way, and Wraith guards march through the fields of gore while Fell Bats fly overhead. It stays true to the actual game of Warhammer , which is something I can’t say about any of the other pieces of trash in the franchise (other than Vermintide.)
The gameplay is exactly what you’d think it would be. You march your units into other units, either being strategic or just sending units at each other all willy-nilly. There have already been a ton of fan-created Warhammer mods for Total War .
The most popular Total War mods were Call of Warhammer and Rage of the Dark Gods, both mods that were really fun to play. Does Total Warhammer give me a better Warhammer experience than those mods? No it doesn’t, but it’s pretty and fun as heck to play.
Total War: Warhammer comes out May 24, 2016
