The Hero...he's the tough one you know.
In Warhammer: Mark Of Chaos your regiments don’t fight alone and your Hero will be the spearhead of your army so it’s vital that you keep them alive, something that can be extremely tough when faced with another champion from an opposing army. You can attach your hero to a regiment and fight alongside them, but at times you’ll want to head to more tactical positions in order to cast a powerful spell at the enemy from a safe area. Each hero has a set of spells at their fingertips, but spells drain the army power pool meaning that you’ll need to use them wisely. The visual effects of these spells within the game and the variety of spells available ensure that you’ll never get bored of using them.
The Mark of Chaos heroes/champions have skill trees, similar to those seen in many RPGs. Combat, Duelling and Command skills are developed through spending skill points that have been gained through battle (.i.e. he gains EXP points and levels up).
Building up these skill sets effectively may give you the edge over an opponent. For example, you can choose to spend all of your points on Combat meaning that your champion will be more adept in the art of duelling, or you could spend the points across the board giving your hero a more balanced set of skills; the choice is totally yours.
Click for larger imageDuel matches allow your hero to take-on an opposing hero whilst remaining immune from attack from other regimental soldiers or creatures. These duels are a strategic game of cat and mouse, where each hero has a unique set of skills to choose from; there’s also a lot at stake. If your champion is defeated your opponent will be able to pick up some treasure, such as weapons and armour thus making him even more formidable.
Your hero can carry 8 items on his person, but also has a backpack where he can store other items that can be sold in the towns or equipped when a space becomes free. As you wander around the environment you’ll have plenty of opportunity to pick up gold which can be spent in the stores, or treasure such as health potions or shields.
Click for larger imageGraphically, Warhammer: Mark of Chaos is a delight. In battle you’ll see blood flying around, clouds of dust emerge from the movement of feet on the ground and smoke effects blast out from the muskets of hand gunners. The characters are well designed and animate superbly and the environments are wholesome and rich in colour and depth. Individual heroes are elaborately decorated with copious amounts detail and care and structures such as castles and huts look as though they've been painted by the finest artist. The cut-scenes let the game down slightly as I was expecting them to have more impact after seeing some of the glorious trailers.
The voice acting is excellent and helps to add some authenticity to the story, whereas the sound of gun-shot, cannons booming and the classical score that runs through the game help in the creation of a tense atmosphere.