Pros:
+Depicts the Warhammer universe in an immaculate manner
+Mod support works greatly since launch
+Online multiplayer is challenging, fun, and keeps the game functionally alive
+Amazing combat rendering for each faction
+Extremely easy to navigate and moderate active mods through the launcher.
+Runs amazing even on lower spec computers
Cons:
-Can be complicated for beginners to learn even with tutorials
When you think of strategy games what do you think of? Some may think of games such as Starcraft, X-Com: Declassified, Warcraft, Total War, Age of Empires, and many others when it comes to the famed genre. When you ask me? I think of even older games, ones like Sid Civilization or Missionforce: Cyberstorm. However, none of these games truly have the depth of Total War: Warhammer, but this one isn’t the usual for the franchise. Known for its historic approach to events of true history and an approach to some of the worlds most interesting conflicts, Total War: Warhammer takes away from events such as the era of the Shogun and Napoleon Bonapartes greatest achievements in history.
Created by the masterminds behind the Total War franchise and even Halo Wars, Creative Assembly has created a solid franchise, one that fits a specific niche for some gamers, and continues to do great at it. With this latest expansion, they’ve done something astounding, and followed lore many Warhammer fans have come to know as well as love in the fantasy universe. For many of us, we know the Warhammer franchise hasn’t had the best of all records with games such as Warhammer 40,000: Space Marine, which lost sight of its source material and aimed to create an epic adventure in the renowned science fiction universe. While we’ve seen other games that have taken this route, the series has had a bit of a rocky road, but thanks to Creative Assembly, it seems that bit of unfortunate circumstances has been turned around as of late.
Hardware Used for the Review:
Asus RoG G53SX-DH71 Gaming Laptop (External Link to Asus RoG Website)
Windows 10 Premium – 64-bit
1920 x 1080 resolution screen
8GB DDR4 RAM
1TB 7200RPM HDD with a 1TB 7200RPM Backup HDD
Nvidia GTX 560M 2GB
As a series that has been always evolving and making itself stronger, Total War hasn’t stopped itself from doing so even with its latest endeavor into the tabletop universe that has taken the world by storm for well over two decades. For my campaign? I couldn’t resist taking on the gameplay of the worlds adventurous as well as opportunistic Vampires. While I’d have loved to take to playing as the Dark Elves, Elves or Skaven, I was quite content with the selection that was made possible. While Vampire Counts is by far my favourite, I was quite content seeing Dwarves being one of my largest opponents even though they quickly became a nuisance.
One of the most admirable parts of the game is the gameplay itself where the game focuses heavily upon regiments and their strategy. Something that ties almost perfectly with the tabletop game where the rules are implemented as if they were made just for Total War. As one would expect, the veterans to the franchise would find themselves at a bit of an advantage due to their knowledge of unit times as well as what they will contend best against in real-time combat be it in large groups or individual battles.
The one thing that may take them for a bit of a spin is the games required maintenance for their empire as they take on their enemies. Because of this players will find themselves carefully recruiting, filling in defenses, but also bargaining for truces with enemy factions. This can include the factions players can choose from such as the Human Empire, Vampire Counts, Chaos Warriors (available as a pre-order bonus for pre-order folks or as an optional DLC) as well Orks and Goblins.
Total War: Warhammer – PC (Reviewed)
Developer: Creative Assembly
Publisher: Sega
Price: $59.99 USD
Released: Available Now
While one would expect them all to play the same, it’s actually not the case here, as each has their own strengths, weaknesses, and even their own resources needed to keep their factions alive. Some may take on larger infantry scales as the Human Empire or the terrifying Terrorgheists and monstrosities of skeletons from the Vampire Counts. Others may see magic become a lacking feature of the Dwarves focus more on combat prowess as well as their capability of controlling the battlefield the best they can. While it’d been interesting to see the nimble yet cunning races such as the Elves in or the terrifying Skaven taking to the battlefield, players won’t be disappointed when they see what Creative Assembly has brought to life even if their faction didn’t make the games initial cut. As someone who has played plenty of Warhammer games such as Dawn of War, Warhammer 40,000: Space Marine, it’s hard to not say this game isn’t near-perfect as a deep and complex empire building title with its strategy focus for combat, but also; the best Total War game I’ve played to date. This has easily taken the spot from Total War: Shogun 2. You can be guaranteed our review will get updated over time as we experience more and more with it.
Our review is based on a copy provided to us by the games publisher. For information about our ethics policy please click here.
Final Score: 9 out of 10
About the Writer:
Dustin is our native console gamer, PlayStation and Nintendo reviewer who has an appetite for anything that crosses the boarders from across the big pond. His interest in JRPG’s, Anime, Handheld Gaming, and Pizza is insatiable. His elitist attitude gives him direction, want, and a need for the hardest difficulties in games, which is fun to watch, and hilarity at its finest. You can find him over on Twitter, Google+, and or you can find him on PSN with RaivynLyken.