{"id":3257,"date":"2016-07-24T08:52:10","date_gmt":"2016-07-24T13:52:10","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/skullduggery.us\/rants\/?p=3257"},"modified":"2022-06-10T15:04:57","modified_gmt":"2022-06-10T20:04:57","slug":"total-war-warhammer","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/skullduggery.us\/rants\/total-war-warhammer\/","title":{"rendered":"Total War: Warhammer"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"20160717113939_1\"<\/a>

Varghulfs, vargheists, and crypt horrors throw the best tailgating parties. Go Sportsball!<\/p><\/div>\n

Game Name<\/span>:<\/strong><\/span>\u00a0Total War: Warhammer (2016)
\nDeveloper<\/span>:<\/strong><\/span>\u00a0Creative Assembly (Total War has been *around* son. History-based warfare drips from their\u00a0very walls…. and\u00a0Alien: Isolation scurries their ducts.)
\nPlatform<\/span>:<\/strong><\/span>\u00a0PC (reviewed on PC)
\nCategories<\/span>:<\/strong><\/span>\u00a0Multiplayer, Multi-Faction, Campaigns, Turn-Based Strategic Overworld, Pause-able Tactics Orchestration, Massive Battles, Gorefest (with DLC), \u00a0Fantasy Horror, Board Game\u00a0Adaptation<\/p>\n

May Appeal To<\/span>:<\/strong><\/span>\u00a0tabletop gaming titans and miniatures collectors, those looking for an entry into the Warhammer world, eye candy sweet-tooths, Lord of the Rings insatiables, and anyone seeking chaotically\u00a0organic war mongering.
\nMay Repulse<\/span>:<\/strong><\/span>\u00a0tactile skirmishers looking for quick satisfaction, proud owners of blunting-edge PC technology, comrades whom fear the DLC onslaught, and those craving granular controls over troop positioning.<\/p>\n

Comparable\u00a0To<\/span>:<\/strong>\u00a0<\/span>Total War in all its shapes and forms – this matches those games with the exception of historically accurate Japanese shoguns and muskets being replaced\u00a0by magically deified fists\u00a0slamming into the battlefield as volcanic brimstone peppers your throng of hulking, cannibalistic greenskins invading the Chaos Marches. Scale-wise, this is a string of Forged Alliance battles set on end and the overworld strikes me reminiscent of either ‘Disciples’ or ‘Heroes of Might and Magic’. Let’s throw a comparison to ‘Kingdom Under Fire’ out there as well – it’s pretty close.<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

\"20160716122856_1\"<\/a>

I will hug him and pet him and squeeze him and name him George.<\/p><\/div>\n

Learning Curve<\/span>:<\/strong><\/span>\u00a0An introductory\u00a0battle and short-term goals\u00a0prep you for each race’s subtleties. I’d say you could grasp the rest\u00a0in under a couple hours.
\nGame\u00a0Length<\/span>:<\/strong> <\/span>20 minutes per\u00a0one-off battle, maybe 40 hours for a thorough campaign
\nDifficulty<\/span>:<\/strong><\/span>\u00a0Variable and adjustable. Naturally, starting positions and ticks make it harder.
\nMastery<\/span>:<\/strong>\u00a0<\/span>True mastery requires online competition, which I’m just not up\u00a0for. There exists multiple game settings and factions to mix it up and I never unlocked all\u00a0researches in a normal playthrough. Tactics, counters, and troop\u00a0composition can always be improved.<\/p>\n

Story<\/span>:<\/strong><\/span>\u00a0Undoubtedly, Warhammer has an intricate and diverse backstory for each of our five factions in this game (Dwarf, Empire, Greenskins, Chaos, and Vampire Counts), though it does a great job of obscuring whatever fiction has previously been delved and explored in other media. Flavor text, quotes, and the odd hint at such relationships between named characters\u00a0in this timeless struggle merely spit shine\u00a0the framework built solely around combat it seems – one of complete warfare, if you will.<\/p>\n

Why, one might get the impression that\u00a0these combatants knew not what illustrious architecture and works the others create; that chiseled\u00a0halls of subterranean majesty or mammoth citadels in all their snowy glory were aligned into being for the rich bloodsport of “disembody your neighbor’s menagerie of pets” alone.\u00a0Indeed, the breathtaking backdrops\u00a0conflict subtly with the mindset\u00a0required to outwit your foe’s head from their very shoulders. For that reason, I soon found myself unbuckling a notch on my belt, pushing the table forward, and saying, “Yes that’s quite enough warfare for me thank you very much. What do you have in the way of story?”<\/p>\n

It’s there…. I can feel it. But alas, the paragraphs detailing why your chosen abomination is suitable for kicking ass and the buttery-smooth poetry describing the waves of Chaos invasion leaves me craving some good ol’ narrative. Get it elsewhere, I suppose.<\/p>\n

Synopsis: Ubiquitous old human approaches selected faction. “Have at it”, he says in not so many words. You kill everyone with smug satisfaction; The End.<\/p>\n

Presentation<\/span>:<\/strong><\/span>\u00a0Glorious. Foreboding\u00a0wardrums beat your eardrums senseless and tribal whoops wallop the fanfare of either victory or shameful, devastating defeat to echo throughout\u00a0the gloom. The bestial elements of friends’ and foes’ armies never looked so terrifyingly tangible, their animations, textures, design and mannerisms strikingly realized to the smallest detail. You zoom out to survey the battlefields’ pitfalls, issue orders, and then hit ‘K’ on your keyboard to hide the UI and watch it unfold from a troop’s eyes in spectacular slow motion. Pause as necessary to grab the desktop-worthy screenshots. (Pre-recorded cinematics look like crap compared to the shockwaves, fire, charges, and decapitations you see in standard battles.)<\/p>\n

Unique Features<\/strong><\/span>:<\/strong><\/span>\u00a0This has epic fantasy battles involving thousands of rendered units storming castle walls, hurling bombs, slicing throats, riding boars, casting scars of magic carnage, using flamethrowers,\u00a0and flying through the air on skeletal steeds. You get the total package of managing provinces and construction bonuses on a simplified territory map, and the thrill of cobbling a force capable of collecting all the “teef” required to establish elevated\u00a0posture\u00a0over the rabble.\u00a0This game can be played as an RTS or TBS. The de-emphasis of stat crunching and the simulation of corralled\u00a0chaos through metrics involving Leadership, Morale, Fear, ‘Fightiness’, and others really lends a unique quality to the skirmishes and digs a gaping trench you fill\u00a0with the\u00a0personal hatred towards that particular\u00a0enemy which just won’t submit to your will. The equipment loadout, levels, spells, and personal attendants you assign to *each* of your squad leaders or heroes\u00a0(whom run around assassinating, sapping, and demoralizing willy-nilly) solidify a “relationship” you develop with the lieutenants in your conquest. In short, you actually become your vicarious empire and suffer and celebrate along with it.<\/p>\n

\"20160723133446_1\"<\/a>

Totally a dwarven engineering mishap. It was bound to happen sooner than later.<\/p><\/div>\n

Gameplay<\/span>:<\/strong><\/span>\u00a0Plan, tax, build, reconnoiter, plunder. Raise, engage, maneuver, charge, pillage. You manage 2-20 provinces that each have 2 or 3\u00a0cities spread across an obtusely shaped\u00a0land plot\u00a0with its own unique choke points. With crested banners representing your collaborative forces, you leapfrog a handful of\u00a0these about the map and lure your opponents into overextending their jurisdiction, at which point you gang up and slam\u00a0them with the most units possible. In many ways, this is like a board game with territories clearly defining places where your forces take attrition, what factors affect population growth\/happiness, and what borders are friendly vs the type that are torn between the decision to eat your\u00a0skull or\u00a0merely fuck\u00a0it. Navigating the overworld, trading coin for political favor, and rallying armies are pretty standard fare for this game type, though maneuvering your slipshod forces and whipping them into compliance among the strewn corpses of allies is another story.<\/p>\n

On the battlefield, you don’t control individual creatures\/creations with fine precision but have amorphous blobs stretching and melding with the first obstruction that crosses their paths. A) this behavior\u00a0feels substantially more authentic than having a dozen troops with identical animation cycles hypnotically moving like\u00a0a school of mackerel B) emulates the slight frustration assumedly evoked from\u00a0barking general attack orders atop a hill, only to have them *mostly* interpreted in the manner intended. Getting your teeming masses to envelop engaged swarms, outflank approaching monsters, and protect uncommitted clouds of weaker units is definitely an art form in the Sun Tzu sense.\u00a0Maintaining a semblance of control is indeed a separate\u00a0challenge, as the Morality mechanic quite happily usurps your revoked authority in having 5 elite forces suddenly opt leadership from some shiny thing immediately off camera. Strategic Retreat!<\/p>\n

First-time players may think the game unresponsive, when in reality it’s accounting for collision between units, the unit’s battle mode (such as Ranged Skirmish overruling your clicks), mobility\/speed, the attack cycle, in-game effects the unit suffers, or even terrain. Quite often though, I had to hit ‘P’ multiple times to register a pause.<\/p>\n

Additional Comments<\/span>:\u00a0<\/strong><\/span>There’s a lot of surface stuff involving light city building elements and diplomacy that reminds me squarely of other great games in the genre, though the enticement of controlling these bristling\u00a0troops at this scale is really the main focus. Everything else is just bonus.<\/p>\n

What I Liked<\/span>:<\/strong><\/span>\u00a0The graphics and sounds are feats to behold. The UI is simple, and the math used to calculate turns-per-change, metrics, and other stats are evident\/present. I never used it, though I liked the idea\u00a0of\u00a0external wiki links on game concepts. As always, the battles are incredulously fantastic.<\/p>\n

The nuances of the different races are also well-implemented, compelling, and\u00a0you actually start to gain a sense of your faction’s\u00a0worldview [maybe even adopt their traits].\u00a0To summarize their differences\u00a0briefly:<\/p>\n

Orks: Winning battles and raiding provinces gains you Fightiness per army. Once you hit a threshold, an influence-able army appears that effectively doubles your force. If you lose battles or sit idle for too many days, Fightiness drops and Orks get depressed about not maintaining a momentum of bashing skulls and generalized\u00a0mayhem. It’s a razor’s edge.<\/p>\n

Dwarves: They’re tough, know shortcuts through mountain passes, and share a trustworthy demeanor with kinfolk and outsiders, alike. Unfortunately, Dwarves record every infarction against them and give the player a set time to defeat a foe in combat, develop a new technology, or retake a lost settlement before grudge penalties incur.<\/p>\n

Vampires: They can raise entire armies from the scattered bones of a previous battle without slowing down or leaving a March stance. They also don’t have ready allies, likely due to essential vampiric corruption which causes massive unhappiness in its absence from vampiric cities. They don’t have ranged units but use fear as an equalizer.<\/p>\n

Empire: This is your ho-hum human type that is reasonably good at everything and doesn’t offer any particular weaknesses or strength. They do have a council member hierarchy which allows for bonus anointment regarding\u00a0army leaders. Additionally, their starting position is smack dab in the map’s middle\u00a0so diplomacy is required.<\/p>\n

Chaos (DLC): They’re a horde that is neither tethered to nor able to control cities – which means money is gained from looting and healing is done in the field (they’re damn hard to heal). Additionally, Chaos\u00a0can’t be within a certain distance of another army it controls or infighting occurs. Its units are considerably more powerful than other racial equivalents.<\/p>\n

\"20160711231728_1\"<\/a>

“They have a cave troll” , laments\u00a0Some Schmuck before fleeing my horde.<\/p><\/div>\n

What I Disliked<\/span>:<\/strong><\/span>\u00a0I’ve sunk at least a hundred turns per faction and appreciated all of them except\u00a0Chaos, which was a pre-order bonus. They’re also DLC so somebody out there probably\u00a0bought this race and hates them like I do. Either Chaos didn’t suit my playstyle or I’m creating insurmountable troubles centered around A) the inability to heal quickly enough B) the infighting mechanic dissuading me from raping fortified settlements C) the maddening design decision that prevents\u00a0looting FOLLOWED BY\u00a0razing a city to the ground. (In some cases I had to spend two extra turns in rebuilding siege equipment for a previously-dead town and re-initiating the option to kill it.)<\/p>\n

There are long\u00a0load times. Also, since\u00a0you’re commanding mini-blobs, there is some degree of disconnect between your commands and the result. This may dissuade some from micro-managing though it is quite possible to do so. During enemy turns, the game\u00a0could have shown movement positions on a\u00a0map – which arbitrarily zooms\/rotates and muddles my spatial reasoning, leading to second-guessing what recent actions took place where. (Maybe an arrow or log would resolve\u00a0the problem?)<\/p>\n

Before each battle, a simple red\/yellow slider exists for the purpose of estimating outcomes\u00a0of pitched battles. Beware its lies. This slider is egregiously\u00a0incorrect at times and it changes\u00a0upon initiating a manual battle (or a manual battle proves how inaccurate the initial guess-timation\u00a0is). Hit “Auto-resolve” when the yellow is 70%, only.<\/p>\n

Furthermore, blood -which is often a menu checkbox\u00a0in most games- is extraneous DLC\u00a0here. And it’s implemented poorly. When\u00a0selecting unit groups, the blood texture drenches their lower-left portrait a split second too late. Plus most units get obscenely\/unrealistically soaked in less than 2 minutes of combat.<\/p>\n

Glitches Experienced<\/span>:<\/strong>\u00a0<\/span>There were scant few\u00a0of these, but a scenario called upon me to choose either “Right the Wrong” or “Honor is All” with\u00a0identical responses and benefits\/detriments. (Which is uncannily familiar to real life decisions IMHO.)<\/p>\n

This game crashed on me 5 times when I was trying to make a specific city\/army exchange in the Underground stance. Looking back, this may have been due to unchecked memory usage though I curtailed that later by putting the option back (its resource greedy if you let it). Beyond that, only a small amount of mid-battle crashes occurred though it wasn’t prevalent enough to wreck my fun or put me in a state of Save Paranoia. You can’t save mid-battle by the way -feature or flaw.<\/p>\n

Irritatingly, the game also harped\u00a0on\u00a0needing to update my drivers every time I booted up. Keep in mind that a manual search for newer ones yielded no such thing.<\/p>\n

Hours I Played<\/span>:<\/strong><\/span> 167 – enough for a completed campaign in\u00a0each of the\u00a0main\u00a0factions and three fruitless endeavors with Chaos (I quit because they’re tedious).<\/p>\n

My Personal\u00a0Reaction<\/span>:<\/strong> <\/span>The Total War dressing\u00a0suits Warhammer perfectly – it’s as if these two franchises were destined to forcefully\u00a0rut and\u00a0create some\u00a0beautiful lovechild reeking of self-indulgently gratuitous\u00a0fantasy violence in unrestrained portions. I don’t usually gush about visuals, but hot damn this\u00a0sizzles!\u00a0The TW formula is as good as ever here (I’ve been a fan through Shogun, Shogun 2, Rome, and Medieval 2) though this Warhammer theme\u00a0is especially welcome and somehow manages to improve both gaming experiences simultaneously. *I also played Warhammer minis\u00a0as Bretonnia back in the day, but suffered\u00a0a lack of painted enemies and an abundance of cheaters.<\/p>\n

Full-tilt, it’s just addictive and fun to play. The battle style is engrossing and it’s highly immersive to take charge in hammering out the path to pyrrhic victories without getting lost in a sea of minutiae. Complexity is usually my thing, though I’ve always held a special place in my heart for Creative Assembly’s\u00a0meticulously rendered battle sequences. The fact that it faithfully represents\u00a0its source material is just icing.<\/p>\n

Despite not representing all playable factions this still feels like a full game -until Total Cost: Warhammer triples in value due to unreleased factions rounding out the stable of existing lore and love from the tabletop world.\u00a0Indeed, this gaming experience is likely the start of quite the cash cow (if my profit-dar is still functioning properly).<\/p>\n

2022 Update: I’ve sunk 370 hours into TW:WH1 and TW:WH2, finishing a campaign as each of the 14+ factions. I must say: expansions [and especially TW:WH3] read as a cash grab, with minor race-specific mechanics taking the place of gameplay improvements, maps, or modes the franchise sorely needs for longevity. Buying one game on sale (with select expansions) could very much take the place of completing the entire collection (most playthroughs also become arduous busy-work past the mid-game phase).<\/p>\n

Noob Tips<\/span>:<\/strong><\/span> ‘K’ hides the UI\u00a0for screenshots; ‘P’ is pause. When possible, keep your army flags in proximity on the overworld and learn the stances. Don’t underestimate population happiness and respond accordingly. Don’t play the Dwarves unless you want to get frustrated by their Book of Old Man Gripes. When in doubt of the strength assessment ranking, take manual control of battles to tip the odds.\u00a0Despite appearances, heroes and leaders are the most important units you control. Buy strategic partnerships from your neighbors and recognize which settlements are colonizable. Double-check those boundaries and ranges during movement – sometimes they blend within a province border and an action needs to be verified\u00a0as taking\u00a0one turn or two.<\/p>\n

Depth and Replayability<\/span>:<\/strong><\/span>\u00a0Mid to High. I found a lot of pleasure replaying the campaign from a different faction, and they have solo\/multiplayer battles if you\u00a0don’t have time to commit to that. Many elite units can’t be produced until the latter half\u00a0so you’re stuck with spear-wielding grunts often and battles will initially be “samey”. That could be a detractor.<\/p>\n

Suggested Value<\/span>:<\/strong><\/span>\u00a0$60, The jury is out on whatever DLC comes our way though I’m apt to buy it all. $4 regarding blood visuals\u00a0when it should have been an in-game toggle is Total Bullshit: Warhammer.<\/p>\n

Where to Buy<\/span>:<\/strong><\/span>\u00a0Humble Bundle, Steam, https:\/\/www.totalwar.com, or at a physical retailer if\u00a0you feel like\u00a0experiencing the light of day before resigning yourself to a campaign.<\/p>\n

Subjective Categorical Ranking<\/span>:<\/strong><\/span>
\n(Platform capabilities are considered for Graphics and Sound)<\/b>
\n\u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0\u00a0<\/span>
\n\u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0\u00a0| poor \u00a0|<\/span>| \u00a0bad \u00a0 |<\/span>| average |<\/span>| good |<\/span>|\u00a0great\u00a0|<\/span><\/strong>
\n\u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 Fun Factor |<\/strong>\u2588\u2588\u2588\u2588\u2588\u2588\u2588\u2588\u2588\u2588\u2588\u2588\u2588\u2588\u2588\u2588\u2588\u2588\u2588\u2588\u2588<\/strong><\/span>
\nUnique Gameplay |<\/strong>\u2588\u2588\u2588\u2588\u2588\u2588\u2588\u2588\u2588\u2588\u2588\u2588\u2588\u2588\u2588\u2588\u2588\u2588\u2588\u2588\u2588<\/strong><\/span>
\n\u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0Controls & UI |<\/strong>\u2588\u2588\u2588\u2588\u2588\u2588\u2588\u2588\u2588\u2588\u2588\u2588\u2588\u2588\u2588\u2588<\/strong><\/span>
\n\u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0Story & Lore |<\/strong>\u2588\u2588\u2588\u2588\u2588\u2588\u2588\u2588\u2588\u2588\u2588\u2588\u2588\u2588\u2588\u2588\u2588\u2588\u2588\u2588\u2588<\/strong><\/span>
\n\u00a0 Graphics & Style |<\/strong>\u2588\u2588\u2588\u2588\u2588\u2588\u2588\u2588\u2588\u2588\u2588\u2588\u2588\u2588\u2588\u2588\u2588\u2588\u2588\u2588\u2588\u2588\u2588\u2588\u2588\u2588<\/strong><\/span>
\n\u00a0 \u00a0 Sound & Music |<\/strong>\u2588\u2588\u2588\u2588\u2588\u2588\u2588\u2588\u2588\u2588\u2588\u2588\u2588\u2588\u2588\u2588\u2588\u2588\u2588\u2588\u2588\u2588\u2588\u2588\u2588\u2588<\/strong><\/span>
\n—————————————————————————————\"Total<\/a><\/p>\n

\"20160723113846_1\"<\/a>

The Everchosen farts out another infantry-stompin’ fireball as I come to terms with never\u00a0gaining full traction with the nuances of his faction.<\/p><\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Game Name:\u00a0Total War: Warhammer (2016) Developer:\u00a0Creative Assembly (Total War has been *around* son. History-based warfare drips from their\u00a0very walls…. and\u00a0Alien: Isolation scurries their ducts.) Platform:\u00a0PC (reviewed on PC) Categories:\u00a0Multiplayer, Multi-Faction, Campaigns, Turn-Based Strategic Overworld, Pause-able Tactics Orchestration, Massive Battles, Gorefest … Continue reading →<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[32],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-3257","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-vg-quick-reference-reviews"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/skullduggery.us\/rants\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3257","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/skullduggery.us\/rants\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/skullduggery.us\/rants\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/skullduggery.us\/rants\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/skullduggery.us\/rants\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=3257"}],"version-history":[{"count":22,"href":"http:\/\/skullduggery.us\/rants\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3257\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":4637,"href":"http:\/\/skullduggery.us\/rants\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3257\/revisions\/4637"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/skullduggery.us\/rants\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=3257"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/skullduggery.us\/rants\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=3257"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/skullduggery.us\/rants\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=3257"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}