Warhammer: Mark of Chaos Demo

There are a few fictional universes out there that have become just as complex and intricate as the real world, even more so in some cases, considering the fact that interstellar traveling or demon summonings are possible in some of them. The Warhammer universe is one of the oldest out there, since it started in tabletop form and it had plenty of decades to evolve and acquire a huge collection of background stories, myths and legends.

Warhammer: Mark of Chaos is a real-time strategy game that offers you a glimpse into the world of Chaos and Order, as well as a chance to lead their armies into massive-scale battles for territory, revenge, or pure hatred. Across the two campaigns, all of the four races are playable, including the Empire, Hordes of Chaos, Skaven and the High Elves. Naturally, they all have rich back stories and different strengths on the battlefield, as well as unique units and heroes.

Speaking of which, a large chunk of the gameplay is dedicated to the heroes themselves, since you cannot continue playing if your main hero dies in battle. Beside the fact that they are incredibly powerful and can take entire divisions by their own, they also have a rather extensive skill tree that can be expanded as you gain experience, as well as an inventory to equip better weapons and armor. When you are not in a battle, the heroes can travel the world map along with your army and stop in friendly towns to buy more troops, items or potions.

When the time for war comes, things get a bit more complicated, although not as much as you would expect from an RTS of this caliber. In contrast, the mechanics are actually very intuitive and easy-to-use, since everything has been simplified to accommodate newcomers as well. While this also reduces the amount of tactical options that are available, it also concentrates your attention entirely on the battles themselves.

Hence, everything is about as classic as it can be for a strategy title, although it does feature some gimmicks taken directly from the Total War series, such as the army positioning before each battle and the unit divisions. However, the game maintains the Warhammer atmosphere intact and you can enjoy confrontations featuring tremendous warcries, powerful spells and courageous heroes that give it their all for the greater good, or for the Blood God.

In the end, Warhammer: Mark of Chaos is definitely a good game, but it lacks the proper elements to be a memorable title. Hence, the fact that you are always kind of fighting the same battles over and over again, while the mechanics are heavily simplified and lacking complexity makes the entire game seem rushed and unpolished.