Krishna Bahirwani explains why the move to fantasy paid off.
Total War: Warhammer takes the series to unexplored territory by mixing fantasy with the strategic gameplay that made the series what it is. You get the empire-building and the turn-based strategy along with epic battles set in the Warhammer universe.
Gameplay
Total War: Warhammer has fewer playable races to begin with when compared to any other game in the franchise. This time around, you have only five playable races. You get the Empire and the Dwarves, which play like what you would expect. However, the new races of Greenskins, Vampire Counts, and Chaos bring in completely new playstyles to the series offering much-needed diversity.
Each race comes with their own campaign element, for instance the Greenskins have a Waaagh system that pushes the player towards the warpath. Magic also makes its debut in the series with Total War: Warhammer. The map may also seem a lot smaller for players returning to the series, but I feel that makes the battles a lot more intimate and intense.
Story
The story of Total War: Warhammer is set around epic battles between races and their heroes to conquer the known world. Karl Franz of the empire wants to bring together the elector counts and unite them under a single banner. Always hungry for combat, the Greenskins get together under Grimgor Ironhide to wage war on the world. High King Thorgrim brings together the Dwarf army towards vengeance for all the injustice they have endured. Nobody knows the motives of the Vampire Count of Sylvania, it is only known that he commands armies of the undead. Unknown to the rest, the Chaos faction is building its ranks.
Performance
Being a strategy game, Total War: Warhammer is not a very demanding game in terms of the rig you need to play it. My laptop with a 950M was able to run it pretty well. The game is also better optimized, at least when you compare it to some of the previous games and the UI is clean and customizable.
Campaign
In terms of the campaign, you can experience it in both single-player and co-op. While playing co-op however it is worth noting that you cannot both play the same race, even if you pick different heroes. Fans of the series will find a lot of things familiar but there are also new and welcome additions such as the quest system, which gives players more to do than they ever could before. The quest system also brings rewards in the form of loot which can empower your heroes making by making them more capable.
Multiplayer
The multiplayer is what you would expect from a Total War game. You face off against another player with fixed resources and build an army to defeat the other player. While a lot of fun, there is nothing new to explore here.
What is to come
There is a lot of post-release content for Total War: Warhammer in the pipeline. Which does not come as a surprise considering the amount of lore in the Warhammer world built up over the years. Creative Assembly has revealed that there are plans for post-release content right upto the end of 2016. You can expect new units and heroes, magic, and even possibly a new playable race. While some of this content will be available for free, other content will be paid DLC.
Verdict
Total War: Warhammer is great buy for both Warhammer and Total War fans while casual fans of the genre will also find a lot of value here. The game was a total blast to play for the many hours I sunk into it and honestly I can't wait to put in some more.
Reviewed on
Asus GL552JX Laptop
Processor Intel Core i7 4750HQ Processor
Operating System Windows 10
Memory 8GB DDR3L 1600 MHz
Display 15.6" 16:9 IPS FHD (1920x1080) anti-glare
Graphic card NVIDIA GeForce GTX 950M with 4GB DDR3 VRAM
Storage 1TB HDD 5400 RPM
Mouse ROCCAT Nyth
Headset Plantronics GameCom 380
Alternative graphic card -NVIDIA GeForce GTX TITAN X with 12GB GDDR5 VRAM
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