Warhammer 40,000: Rites of War

by Andrew S. Bub
January 01, 2000 00:00 AM PST

Panzer Fantasy Warhammer General 40,000

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Of all the odd tabletop wargames using miniatures in existence, I've always thought Games Workshop's Warhammer 40,000 was the oddest with its mixings of elves, orks (orcs), space marines, and colorful armor mixed with outlandish weaponry. As odd as its "sci-fi meetsfantasy" motif is, Warhammer 40k has been successful. Too bad its computer incarnations have been mixed affairs.

Enter Warhammer 40k: Rites of War, a turn-based wargame that plays like Panzer General 2 and almost catapults the series to the greatness I feel the franchise richly deserves. But Rites of War isn't quite Hall of Fame material, mostly due to an aging engine and overall lack of inspiration.

The story and thrust of ROW are unique, even in Warhammer circles. Instead of portraying the more commonly known space marines, you champion the space-age elves known as the Eldar. You lead the "pointy-ears" mission after mission versus the tyrannical Imperium (space marines), and even against the nefarious, alien Tyranids (seen in the game Space Hulk).

Though longtime Warhammer faithful may overlook this fault, the game is based on the two-year old Panzer General 2 engine; giving the game a very "dated" look and feel. Sure the units look colorful and vibrant, but they are a bit too large and I found it hard to pick them out when things get crowded. Even the sound seems "dated". It consists of dull music and drab combat effects; nothing that drags you into what little action there is. And finally, the older engine also causes the game to move rather sluggishly at times, even on higher end systems.

Gameplay is very reminiscent of SSI's Fantasy General, but nowhere near as challenging. You move around a small strike force, around 15 units per mission, over a hex-based map to pound the enemy and capture terrain. Proper use of artillery, melee, air units and the slow but powerful Devastators, leads to victory and the next mission. Two linear campaigns are offered, as is the standard multiplayer suite (provided you can find a ready opponent). Unfortunately, due to the lack of difficulty and relatively weak AI, the game is over fairly quickly. At least the units are very well balanced and true to their source material.

The Warhammer 40k universe, as always, is both refreshingly detailed and weird-ROW does make a nice departure for even the most jaded of turn-based wargaming fans. Hardcore 40k fans will likely enjoy what they find here, but a true-to-form Warhammer 40k computer game conversion-one that truly represents the feel of tabletop warfare-has yet to be seen. Maybe next time.