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Warhammer: Mark of Chaos
Reviewed on: PCAvailable on:
With the re-release the Gold Edition of the game and the recent expansion pack, Anna takes a look at the Warhammer strategy game - Mark of Chaos
Genre: Strategy
Release: 2006-11-23
Distributor: Red-Ant
My first introduction to the Warhammer universe was through the Lord of the Rings set from a few years ago which I collected avidly in my LOTR teenage obsession. This went on for months until I went into one of the actual stores to ask about employment. The impression I got from the manager was sufficient enough that I cancelled my subscription and put the figures away, never to be looked at again.
So here I am, trying once again to enter into the Warhammer universe despite being of the “female” sort. I was after a bit more of a table-top experience than I got and the strategy I’m used to wasn’t there. No base building, no unit production in-game… a lot of what I was used to in the standard RTS wasn’t here in this very Total War-esque game. But to compare this game to Total War would be a disservice to the TW series. It’d be like comparing a scooter to a motorbike – they do essentially the same thing on two wheels, but one gives a better performance. Battlefield tactics generally include… tactics and the ones you find in Mark of Chaos don’t seem as strategic apart from the swords, arrows, cavalry mix – I could pass most battles by sitting back and focussing on my long range to take out the opposing forces as they came in. The morale system implemented meant that if I hit them hard enough before they came too close, they’d run away and allow me to focus on each wave that arrived without sustaining too much damage. Huzzah!
Check out my Hammer ... OF WAR!
The campaign will take you along the adventures of either side, you can side with the good Human Empire and Elves against the Hordes of Chaos – humans who have been corrupted by this evil Chaos god – or vice versa. The opening cinematics were jaw-dropping in ways that it was approaching uncanny valley without… being uncanny – I’d have to say it was the best opening cinematic I’ve seen for a long time in terms of setting the gamer up for the game – in what they should expect from the campaign, graphics and atmosphere. It was a great introduction to what ended up being a mediocre game. And so, being the good gamer who will read the manuals and start with the tutorials, I went with that option first.
What the hell is the point of a tutorial when the gamer is asleep in the first ten minutes? The very idea of a tutorial is wasted if you have your audience drooling as you explain the three *very different* ways of turning the camera and zooming in. The manual can include that, and if you *must* put it in your tutorial, for gossake, don’t dwell on it for more than a minute. Saying “have a go at moving your units to this spot” shouldn’t take more than a few seconds. For most people, this should come instinctively and for the others... there’s the manual and the old trial and error.
With that I dumped any further instruction and decided on just giving the campaign a bash. The goody-two-shoes that comes out at inopportune moments like this led me to the Empire Campaign first, nice and easy battles to start with – if a little linear – before getting progressively more difficult as games are wont to do. Paths are clearly set out even if your objectives aren’t. Cut scenes or dialogue boxes will occur between major battles and minor skirmishes as you head along, helping out a village here, jumping in on a major battlefield there… Missing these means you’ll probably enter the field with very little idea of what you’re doing apart from general “Don’t let the hero die!!” directions. While there are a few “optional” diversions here and there, most of the game could be related to someone drawing a map on a dusty bit of ground with a stick and telling you to go here, here, here and here. Oh! And here, here, here and don’t forget to go here before you go here…
Yawn.
Apart from the rather linear way of moving things forward, the game does have strengths in character and atmosphere. Sure, they’re only pixels but gee, you really want your little guys to win. There’s a sense of the world really being in danger as you go out there fighting for the Empire’s cause against the Hordes of Chaos. It also helps that it has a few different skins for your little men so they look a bit more individualistic… though you can zoom up nice and close to figure out which share which skins. That said, I could not get far away enough, I felt a little cramped in the screen that could have been fixed if I’d been allowed to zoom out a little more.
Check out my Mark ... OF CHAOS!
Being evil only works for so long with me as I start feeling guilty. Apart from that, going through this campaign wasn’t much different from the Empire. Although, it’s kind of awesome starting your hero as an aspiring minion and working your way up, charging through battle after battle in order to prove your worth to the dominions of Evil. Cue the evil laughter, please.
Along the way, there are friendly stops in which you can visit four suppliers that help you out in different ways – the temple for blessings, armoury for weaponry and other unit upgrades, barracks for recruiting units and alchemist for potions. All this for the price you paid in blood in order to pick up gold from careless enemy units.
I’d expect the majority of this game’s demographic to be Warhammer fans but I can’t help but feel they’d be disappointed by this game – the adherence to table top rules seems very hidden. And as any introduction to the Warhammer universe, apart from the actual units you’ll be using, they don’t place much emphasis on the table-top manoeuvres and the specific strengths for each unit which would make Warhammer a much more unique game. For now, all I see is a Total War clone that doesn’t quite pull it off.
Final Verdict
So it's not as terrible as I'd absolutely love to make out, it's pretty mediocre for what could've been a really good game to use as an introduction to the Warhammer world. As it is, if you want something to tide you over until Empire: Total War, this is it. But don't expect miracles.Pros
Nice character, involving world with both sides playable, decent set up for battles, some challenge to it at times.
Cons
Very linear campaigns, stupid and unnecessary tutorial, very few visible Warhammer schematics.
