The popular Warhammer tabletop RPG series has ran for several decades now, and has spawned several spin-offs in the video game realm, with a variety of titles spanning several genres from shooters to an upcoming MMORPG based on the franchise. Developed by Black Hole and published by NAMCO BANDAI Games, Warhammer: Mark of Chaos is the latest offering to use the Warhammer license.

The game is a real-time strategy game similar to Relic’s Dawn of War game, although it doesn’t take place in the Warhammer 40K universe, but rather the more fantasy-driven side with a more medieval focus than futuristic. Mark of Chaos is another very solid game based on the Warhammer mythos, even with some flaws.

The game’s campaign follows two different champions from both the human and orc sides of the fence, Stephan Von Kessel from the Empire and Thorgar the Blooded One, after the Chaos invasion. The two separate campaigns each follow the same series of events, albeit from different points of view. The game’s story is told through cutscenes, although the overall presentation of the storyline seems a little too average and run-of-the-mill, which is a shame considering the depth of the Warhammer universe.

The gameplay is very solid, offering up some great features. The game presents large scale battles similar to what you’d find in Medieval: Total War. You’ll command dozens of units at the same time, although hero units do factor in to the battle scheme quite a bit, but more on them later. The game allows you to customize your units as well. The customization options are very deep, allowing you to upgrade their weapons and armor and basically gear them however you see fit. Whereas similar games only allow these kinds of upgrades on hero units, Mark of Chaos goes the extra mile and lets you build up your army to suit your playing style.

The hero units also have some very unique features. You can purchase abilities for them the same way that you upgrade your army, purchasing more spells for spell-casting hero units or special moves for fighter heroes.

Heroes also have unique traits and abilities outside of what you purchase for them. For starters, heroes can wield items like potions or extra armor. Also, they have the ability to go one-on-one with an enemy on the battlefield through the dueling option, with the loser taking a hit to their overall unit morale.

Graphically, Mark of Chaos looks very impressive. The game has some extremely detailed units, more so than most RTS games out there. The environments look great, including some really great lighting elements. Some of the battle animations look a little stiff and uninspired and the framerate can be occasionally boggy, but the overall look is very good.

The sound effects are also pretty impressive. The game’s score is very nice, and the voice acting is generally very well done.

Mark of Chaos is a fun RTS with some great features and some of the very deep unit customization features. While the game drops the ball a little bit in terms of storytelling, it’s still a solid RTS that fans of the genre should take a look at.

Gameplay: 8.5
Fun RTS action with some deep customization features.

Graphics: 8.5
Warhammer: Mark of Chaos has some of the best character models in any RTS game out there, and some pretty impressive environments and lighting effects. The framerate unfortunately has some bouts of slowdown and the battle animations aren’t so hot.

Sound: 8.0
Mark of Chaos has some very good sound effects, including a great score and strong voice work.

Difficulty: Medium

Multiplayer: 7.5
The multiplayer modes are standard RTS fare, with par-for-the-course game modes, but the limited amount of multiplayer maps hurt the score.

Concept: 7.0
The story elements seem to lack the overall flair of the Warhammer universe, and the cutscenes don’t really do the subject matter justice.

Overall: 8.0
Warhammer’s campaign storyline is a little on the shallow side when compared to other RTS games like Warcraft or even Relic’s Dawn of War, which is a shame considering the depth of the Warhammer universe. However, the gameplay is still quite solid and should warrant a look from fans of the genre.