New Total War: Warhammer Trailer Proves Chaos Is Strong
Khorne be praised, the forces of Chaos take to the battlefield! Blood for the Blood God! More skulls for the skull throne! This is the team I’ve been wanting to see in action since Total War: Warhammer was first announced. Check them out:
Initially revealed to be a DLC faction for those that pre-order, the announcement has caused a bit of a stir. Total War: Warhammer‘s base roster of four teams seems small when compared to the sprawling roster of games like Rome 2, Shogun 2, and even the much older Empire, so locking away an entire team behind a paywall sounds like shenanigans. It speaks to a larger concern that fans have towards Creative Assembly’s trend towards DLC heavy releases. Just read the comments section on Attila to see what I mean.
What’s even worse is that Chaos isn’t a minor faction in the Warhammer universe. I can see leaving out the Lizardmen, Trolls, and arguably Skaven, but leaving out Chaos is like making a Star Wars movie with no dark side. I mean, you’d have to make the bad guy some ambiguous evil, like a pissed off conglomerate of trading companies. And who the hell would want to watch a movie about that?
Well, let me assuage your fears a bit here. First off, Chaos isn’t entirely locked behind the DLC paywall. Even without it, you can still play the faction in custom battles. Owning the DLC only unlocks playing them in multiplayer and the Grand Campaign. Sure, the Grand Campaign for me and many other players is the main attraction, but you’ll still be able to experience the units and playstyle without having to pony up the cash.
Which leads me to my main reason for being excited about Total War: Warhammer. For a game with now just five playable teams, there’s a variety in styles unseen in previous titles. Legendary lords take to the field wielding massive magical weapons and spells, gargantuan monstrous units knock soldiers around with ease, and flying mounted warriors soar above the battlefield. In this trailer, we see the towering Chaos Giant meet it’s match against a Luminark of Hysh. Chaos Chosen chew their way through lines of Spearmen. Gunners valiantly attempt to hold the line against the impending hordes of Chaos fueled savages. Demonic Hellcannons spew pure tainted energy to devastating effect. Archaon the Everchosen even kicks down a Celestial Wizard. This is the kind of Total War game I’ve wanted to see since I first played Shogun as a child. It’s exactly what 12 year-old Ted used to scribble down in his fantasy journal.
From the previously revealed Vampire Counts to the mighty Empire, it all looks very impressive. Of course, I won’t know how the game turns out until I actually get my hands on it. Total War games have always been very complex, with enough room for AI bugs and balance problems to really derail the whole game. My hopes are high, but as a fan of the series my expectations are tempered. If you are a big fan of either Warhammer or Total War, keep an eye on the updates to come. I’ll do my part to let you know how the game shapes up. In the meantime, check out this cool Vampire Lords siege gameplay:
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