Pre-E3 06: Warhammer: Mark of Chaos impressions

There's a welcome trend in today's PC market to craft RTS games that discard much of the resource collecting that has traditionally bogged down the action - who wants to chop wood or mine gold when there's a war to be fought? Warhammer: Mark of Chaos continues this trend, enabling the player to spend most of his or her time doing what fantasy RTS gamers love most - pitting entire armies of knights, demons, giants and - in this case, at least - rat creatures against one another in mortal combat, the bloodier the better.

Aside from the graphics, which strike a captivating balance between realism and too-artistic-to-be-real-even-if-demonic-wolves-and-goblins-did-exist, the big thing that makes Mark of Chaos so interesting is its creative unit types. Granted, this is a fantasy setting, but each of the four main armies: the demonic Chaos, the more-or-less heroic Empire, the High Elves and the rodent-like Scathing, have a few units that you just can't wait to command. And that's not even counting the "Dogs of War", mercenary units like orcs, goblins, vampires, skeletons and even giants, whose services can be purchased by players with the cash to spare.

Another big deal is the fact that your commander units, the big, high end guys like the winged, armored Demon Prince of Khorne or the Orc warboss, can actually duel one another on the battlefield. Once a duel is triggered, no other units on either side can interfere or interrupt, and a commander's individual skills, talents like "Claw", "Decapitate" and "Confuse", come into play. By the way, we do not recommend dueling against a Demon Prince of Khorne. That may not sound wise now, but you'll see for yourself what good advice this is when Warhammer: Mark of Chaos girds itself for battle late this year.

May 9, 2006

CATEGORIES
Eric Bratcher
I was the founding Executive Editor/Editor in Chief here at GR, charged with making sure we published great stories every day without burning down the building or getting sued. Which isn't nearly as easy as you might imagine. I don't work for GR any longer, but I still come here - why wouldn't I? It's awesome. I'm a fairly average person who has nursed an above average love of video games since I first played Pong just over 30 years ago. I entered the games journalism world as a freelancer and have since been on staff at the magazines Next Generation and PSM before coming over to GamesRadar. Outside of gaming, I also love music (especially classic metal and hard rock), my lovely wife, my pet pig Bacon, Japanese monster movies, and my dented, now dearly departed '89 Ranger pickup truck. I pray sincerely. I cheer for the Bears, Bulls, and White Sox. And behind Tyler Nagata, I am probably the GR staffer least likely to get arrested... again.
Latest in Strategy
A big mech's lost its limbs in a screenshot from Mecharashi.
After Square Enix cancelled the first new Front Mission in years, it’s suing the developer behind it for releasing another very similar mech game
Kingmakers
Kingmakers is a strategy game about taking on medieval armies with a gun, but its devs thought the giant mech was too much
Kingmakers appearing in the Future Games Show Spring Showcase 2025
Remember that bonkers Kingmakers trailer where an attack helicopter blew up some knights? It's back with a deep dive of its simulated attackers and destructible buildings
Mount and Blade 2 appearing in the Future Games Show Spring Showcase 2025
Strategy RPG Mount and Blade 2: Bannerlord heads to the seas for a Viking-inspired expansion
Rise of Industry 2 appearing in FGS Live from GDC
Go big or go home in Rise of Industry 2 as you claw your way to the top in this complex 1980s business management sim
The Deadly Path appearing in FGS Live from GDC
Strategy roguelike game The Deadly Path poses an uncomfortable question: "Am I actually any good at strategy games?"
Latest in News
Hogwarts Legacy how many spells
Unannounced Hogwarts Legacy DLC reportedly canceled, partly because the studio wasn't sure it'd be worth players' money
Ultimate X-Men #14
Ultimate X-Men #14 pays homage to a classic Wolverine moment as the Shadow King returns
Assassin's Creed Shadows screenshot showing Yasuke kneeling and praying while wearing a traditional purple robe
Ubisoft reaches deal with Tencent to create $4.3 billion mini-Ubisoft subsidiary to "spearhead development" on new Assassin's Creed, Far Cry, and Rainbow Six games
Kaitlyn Dever as Abby in The Last Of Us season 2
The Last of Us showrunner says he isn't worried about fan reaction to season 2: "The best way we could respect our fans and honor them is to not worry about them"
Black Myth: Wukong
English is no longer the biggest language on Steam as Chinese gamers embrace PC gaming even harder after Black Myth: Wukong
Skyrim
Ex-Bethesda dev says his new studio isn't making a "little Skyrim," but does channel a key part of the iconic RPG: "Stuff got built because somebody cared about building it"