I have already had a chance to play Warhammer 40.000 Sanctus Reach as a demo and shared my thoughts and impressions about it here. I must admit that I loved the game a lot; the tactical turn-based approach to the Warhammer 40K universe suited me just fine. I also knew pretty much that I will enjoy the final product; the only question was the longevity of the game.
Warhammer 40.000 is a 3D turn-based tactical game that puts the player in the role of the Space Wolves that are fighting the Ork in the Sanctus Reach system through two fairly long, story driven campaigns. Unfortunately, there is no Ork campaign, but you can play the green baddies in skirmish and MP fights.
The game gets that essential Warhammer vibe; both frightening and amusing at the same time. I love the fact that human factions is a bunch of hard-core fanatics that are willing to gladly die if needed while they are trying to massacre Orks with their chainsaws. As usual, all units on field have different strengths and weaknesses, and you get to choose which ones you will take at the beginning of each round. You get 1600 points to invest, be prepared to vary your choice depending on the enemy’s composition. But this is mostly guesswork; you just choose what you feel will do the best trick for you and let it roll.
There are two campaigns in the game, one for intermediate players and one for experienced veterans. The AI will throw tons of units at you, keep every fight filled with tension to the very end. Worry not, though, if you set up your lines and defenses properly, you will manage to stand your ground. And own some Choppa Boyz while you are at it! As for the progress, after each mission has been cipelicom, you get to choose the next territory you want to attack. As far as I have seen, there is not much difference which territory you will choose, so the conquering order is pretty much irrelevant.
The mission fights are simple; each map has a certain amount of victory points (VP) you need to capture and hold if you want to win. Sometimes you might want to get the majority of VP’s and simply sit it out, if you have a good position and decent defensive units. After a certain amount of turns, the game will go to the faction who has held more VP’s for a longer time. Mostly, though, you will be able to get everyone on the map, which is yet another fine option to win the battle and get the spoils of war.
Here is the list of features:
- Lead either the Space Wolves Space Marines in the campaign or the green tide of the Orks in skirmish battles!
- Two campaigns: Stormclaw (over 20 missions and skirmishes!) and Hour of the Wolf (over 25 missions and skirmishes!)
- Play as the mighty Space Wolf heroes Krom Dragongaze, Ragnar Blackmane and their Jarl, the High King of Fenris, Logan Grimnar as well as the Ork Warbosses Grukk FaceRippa and Mogrok da Mangla
- 30 Space Wolf units from packs of Blood Claws to the fearsome Predator – And lead the legendary Imperial Knight Gerantius!
- 30 Ork Goff units including the formidable Gorkonaut!
- Unit experience level progression though campaigns which unlock new abilities and tactical options
- Generated skirmish maps on many different types of terrain and environment
- Addictive multiplayer modes using Slitherine’s online PBEM++ server and a ranking system
Overall, Warhammer 40.000 Sanctus Reach is a great game, perfect for the lovers of the 3D, turn-based, tactical squad genre. I enjoyed it thoroughly and am looking to get back to it and finishing the campaigns. Speaking of which, I am not yet sure if the plan to add Ork or Elder campaigns to this game – this might be in the workings, but I didn’t see it being mentioned yet – but even as it is, this game is well worth getting.
