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Life & Arts

War-driven game hits the mark

It's a violent game, but ‘Warhammer' is a must-have for gamers 
who crave graphic battle sequences

by STEPHEN CLEBOSKI 
The Daily Cougar

While some games are said to be violent, there are only few that actually are. In Warhammer: Mark of Chaos, the blood, guts and gore are a common trend. Just imagine standing atop the castle walls with your comrades who barely have time to dodge a demonic orb of flames as it impacts nearby. The enemy thirsts for your blood, and you are going to die. 

Warhammer takes place on a war-torn continent, divided into two prominent factions: the North and the South. 

The men of the North are barbaric warmongers who worship the eight demonic gods of Chaos. Chaos deities are known for their cruelty and obscene imaginations. They gift their faithful with disease, blood and mutation, turning the favored into bloated sacks of pulsing flesh. However, for some strange reason, Southern men refuse to submit to the narcissistic Chaos sadists. The fools, if only they realized the power of the dark side (of the continent). 

The Southern Empire, on the other hand, is composed of typical humans. The favored among the Empire are blessed with extra vitality and strength. Armored in steel and equipped with swords, they charge bravely into the face of Chaos hordes to die horribly with great honor and splattered blood. The game features two fantastic campaigns where Warhammer fans will relish the appearances of the obnoxious and pompous Elves, the green-skinned, brutish Orcs and the humanoid rat people called Skaven. 

Warhammer: Mark of Chaos is a strategy game based on the Games Workshop tabletop game where you paint miniature soldiers and pit them against one another in epic scenarios or small scale skirmishes. The PC version embraces the spirit of the game quite well in its graphic renditions of the Games Workshop models and the squad-oriented play style. Units are automatically organized into regiments that walk or run in formation. 

Also, each army has a set of champions that lead the attack. These heroes are extremely potent warriors or sorcerers with special abilities, such as fireball and soul steal. The heroes can be attached to regiments to increase their fighting effectiveness or can charge alone into battle. Both heroes and regiments can be upgraded with improved weapons, enhanced armor and even ladders for scaling castle walls. In addition, regiments can exhibit special attributes that allow for specific roles in strategies. For example, regiments can be stealthy to scout and sneak, mounted to charge and damage enemy morale or they can be terror- inspiring beasts filled with malicious intent. However, some attributes can be a hindrance such as vulnerability to magic, or "packmaster." Packmaster means that if the leader of that group is killed, the guideless remaining units will attack friendly regiments. 

Success can be also come by overwhelming enemies with swarms of attackers, or by using huge amounts of heavily armored elite troops that terrify and slaughter enemies in droves. 

Battles in Warhammer are quite spectacular. The game boasts incredibly detailed units and textures, and gives players the ability to zoom in to personally observe the status of the troops. 

Each time armies clash, players can see attacking, dodging and parrying animations for every soldier engaged in melee combat. Gouts of blood spew forth with every blow, and as soldiers fall, twitching in their death throes, pools of dark red spread through the soil. Warhammer is an addictive and fun game, and players can extend the entertainment by playing online and testing their mettle with other opponents. The game gives a very enjoyable and gory battlefield experience. However, the game contains a few minor flaws, such as frustrating AI, and a hero-dueling system that seems to be a health-potion-drinking contest. Yet, in the light of the game's splendor, these detract little from the fun. This is a must-have for Games Workshop fans, and at $30, a great deal of fun for anyone seeking a refreshing strategy game. 

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