Developer Creative Assembly returns to the Warhammer universe after their first, wildly successful outing with Total War: Warhammer II.
Last year’s Total War: Warhammer was a triumph for both the grand strategy franchise and the dark fantasy license as a whole. Never since the original tabletop war game has the grand scale of Warhammer conflict been so vividly depicted. Each faction used their unique identity to introduce varied gameplay. The visuals looked like a battle grid come to life. If you were a strategy or Warhammer fan, there was a lot to love.
Total War: Warhammer II is first and foremost an extension of this experience. Four new factions will clash on a new map, but that isn’t the most exciting part of the package for me. Owners of the original game will find that, shortly after released, the original map of Total War: Warhammer will be stitched onto the sequel to provide a truly epic stage upon which to wage WAAAGH.
The developers were reluctant to talk about anything outside of the brief gameplay demo we played, pitting our Lizardman army against a force of High Elves. While we know that Dark Elves are coming, we know very little about them. The fourth race has yet to be revealed, but we were told that it was another new addition (it has been heavily hinted that the giant rat race of Skaven will be the final addition). As for the return of the races in the first game — or further additions as a whole — we received nothing but hints of future DLC; disheartening, but typical of Creative Assembly’s modus operandi.
Our time spent with the game was indistinguishable from the first, but that isn’t necessarily a bad thing. Battles are, as with most Total War games, difficult to read for the uninitiated. It is often difficult to discern what is happening at a given moment in the masses of soldiers. Both my colleague Lucas and other players I spoke to almost immediately resorted to simply selecting all of their troops and sending them en masse at their foes. It worked, but the scenario in question was specifically engineered to be easy for newcomers. Time will tell whether Total War: Warhammer II does a better job of getting neophytes comfortable with its epic real-time conflicts.
Even outside of combat, distinct racial identities make a return. The subversive High Elves, for instance, have unique diplomatic mechanics that will allow them to manipulate the aggression of their enemies to their own profit. And even though I suspect most distinction will be made on the battlefield, the differences between factions continue to suggest wildly different gameplay experiences that will increase prospects for long-term replayability.
It was a solid if unremarkable showing. The message was clear: If you enjoyed Total War: Warhammer, there’s more to love on the way. If you didn’t, there wasn’t anything on display that will change your mind. We’ll know for certain when it releases in late September.
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