Warhammer Total War has been somewhat of a ride. I spent the first 15 hours thinking how awesome everything was (some graphics and minor AI issues aside). After that, I focused on see what there was to see. I went through complete campaigns for the Empire and Dwarfs, half a campaign for the Vampires, and about 25 turns each of the Greenskins and Chaos.
This game is a double edged sword. On one hand, it is some of the best work that has come out of CA in a while. That said, what are they going to do with the late game? This game feels like a zoo in the sense that there are artificial bounds disguised as lore designed to keep you confined.
Playing as the dwarfs, I focused my first 100 turns taking over the mountains, building up my economy and eventually building up symbiosis with the remaining Dwarf communities who like me. Then it hits me...I'm sort of trapped. I can't capture settlements outside the mountains therefore I can't be bothered to take the fight to the vamps. Chaos can't really get to me because the mountains are like a fortress in and of themselves, and I'm certainly not going to suffer attrition just to kill them. Let the Empire fend for themselves. I could attack the other Dwarfs simply for something to do, but I didn't feel it was right...they were my friends and they had not inspired any recent grudges.
While each race plays out a bit different, in all its the same. You work your butt off expanding to the artificial boundaries and then stall out. Green skins and Chaos are a bit different in that pillaging is more integral and Chaos don't really colonize, but it doesn't change much.
Some suggestions to CA:
1. Get rid of the colonization limits. Saying that the Dwarfs can't colonize a valley because they prefer the mountains is crap. Maybe they wouldn't build a city, but a military or trading outpost is reasonable. This is lazy development. My lack of knowledge of Warhammer lore might mean the developers were right to do it, but I still say its crap.
2. We need the ability to choose factions other than those specifically offered to us. For my second Empire game I wanted to start in another place. Because of the limited start locations, I find the game becomes so predictable in the first 50 turns that it highly limits replay ability, more so than past TW games.
3. Intrafaction strategy is weak and underutilized. Outside of the normal "I need to conquer you in order to rebuild my empire" jazz, the only reason to even deal with your neighbors is to prep for the Chaos who are the real antagonists.
4. Agents - WTF - In their current form, they appear to be cheese specifically designed to limit has fast you expand. The AI agents are OP, while the players are gimped, at least in my experience. There was a point where the AI was assassinating my lords every turn, as if they had loaded dice.
Anyways, it is a great game and I'm glad they made it, but I'm done for now. I really hope future DLC deal some of my points.
This game is a double edged sword. On one hand, it is some of the best work that has come out of CA in a while. That said, what are they going to do with the late game? This game feels like a zoo in the sense that there are artificial bounds disguised as lore designed to keep you confined.
Playing as the dwarfs, I focused my first 100 turns taking over the mountains, building up my economy and eventually building up symbiosis with the remaining Dwarf communities who like me. Then it hits me...I'm sort of trapped. I can't capture settlements outside the mountains therefore I can't be bothered to take the fight to the vamps. Chaos can't really get to me because the mountains are like a fortress in and of themselves, and I'm certainly not going to suffer attrition just to kill them. Let the Empire fend for themselves. I could attack the other Dwarfs simply for something to do, but I didn't feel it was right...they were my friends and they had not inspired any recent grudges.
While each race plays out a bit different, in all its the same. You work your butt off expanding to the artificial boundaries and then stall out. Green skins and Chaos are a bit different in that pillaging is more integral and Chaos don't really colonize, but it doesn't change much.
Some suggestions to CA:
1. Get rid of the colonization limits. Saying that the Dwarfs can't colonize a valley because they prefer the mountains is crap. Maybe they wouldn't build a city, but a military or trading outpost is reasonable. This is lazy development. My lack of knowledge of Warhammer lore might mean the developers were right to do it, but I still say its crap.
2. We need the ability to choose factions other than those specifically offered to us. For my second Empire game I wanted to start in another place. Because of the limited start locations, I find the game becomes so predictable in the first 50 turns that it highly limits replay ability, more so than past TW games.
3. Intrafaction strategy is weak and underutilized. Outside of the normal "I need to conquer you in order to rebuild my empire" jazz, the only reason to even deal with your neighbors is to prep for the Chaos who are the real antagonists.
4. Agents - WTF - In their current form, they appear to be cheese specifically designed to limit has fast you expand. The AI agents are OP, while the players are gimped, at least in my experience. There was a point where the AI was assassinating my lords every turn, as if they had loaded dice.
Anyways, it is a great game and I'm glad they made it, but I'm done for now. I really hope future DLC deal some of my points.
