wee doors banging

Update 2008-06-04: PC Gamer (UK) issue 189′s “Devil’s Advocate” feature calls for the demise of the entire Real Time Strategy genre and a return to strategy games where strategy actually plays a part. Hear hear, I say!

In a remarkable break from tradition, I’ve spent much of my free time over the past weeks playing computer games. It’s not something I do that often, believe it or not. Seriously. In an even more remarkable break from tradition, the game I’ve been playing most isn’t even a FPS!

I was talked in to giving THQ’s “Warhammer 40,000: Dawn Of War” a go “cos it’s really good, honest”. It’s a real time strategy game set in Games Workshop‘s highly popular Warhammer 40,000 universe of heavily armoured Space Marines smashing Orks (and other alien races, we must be inclusive after all) with a variety of nasty weapons, all in the name of the glorious Imperium Of Man. Or something like that.

Dawn Of War is, in fact, the first RTS I’ve played with any seriosity. While I very much enjoyed some strategy games of yore – Rebelstar, Laser Squad, X-COM take a bow – they were all turn based and I’ve never really got excited by the whole real time aspect that has become dominant in more recent times. There is no denying the huge strategic depth built in to the game, in terms of the different races and units available, their strengths and weaknesses and so on. However, there is only so much of this information that my poor old organic brain can access in the midst of a pitched battle and I feel like I’m missing out on much of the subtlety, tactics and planning that could be brought into play if it were not for the hectic real-time pace. Perhaps it’s just a case of needing (much) more experience with the game, learning the required strategies and tactics so well that they become almost instinctual. Maybe I should just play it on the “very slow” setting, which is probably more my speed.

I didn’t mean this to be a critique of the RTS genre, so I’ll get back on with what I was going to say in the first place! Warhammer 40,000 is a rich, detailed universe and I see two games just gosh darned crying out to be made.

warhammer 40k: fps

We’ve had the mediocre Fire Warrior (and I’ve played it) but surely a decent FPS can be made from the Warhammer 40,000 source material ?

Here’s the pitch: you start as a lowly, normal human grunt in the regular Imperial Army. After completing a few missions to show your basic worth, you get accepted into the Space Marine training programme and start to receive (ahem) “upgrades” by way of genetic and other enhancements to increase your fighting abilities (much like in Quake 4 when you are “upgraded” to a Strogg). Missions and enemies get tougher, but you start to fight alongside the fully fledged Adeptus Astartes and gain access to their more powerful weaponry. Eventually you are fully upgraded and become a member (leader?) of a squad of 9′ tall armoured killing machines. What could be bad about that?

The Call Of Duty franchise has long since shown that fierce ranged and melee combat with squadmates, vehicles and all the rest is entirely possible. Successfully transplant those elements into a Warhammer 40,000 setting and I think you’d be on to a winner.

warhammer 40k: turn based strategy

I admit, this one needs a new title, but it gets the idea across. It’s Dawn Of War but turn based and on a smaller scale, focussing in on one squad’s worth of marines completing a campaign of related missions.

It’s Laser Squad with Space Marines: you see the mission brief then move to a squad kit-out screen where you choose your warriors and their equipment to suit the task at hand and within “budget” constraints of some kind. Then we move to the turn based, 3D or isometric view battle mode to tackle the mission. Success is rewarded with progress to the next mission and a larger budget. Failure could mean retrying the mission or a branch to an alternate mission tree. Too many failures or one critical failure and the whole campaign fails, then it’s game over. RPG elements would feature, where marines who survive a mission gain experience and enhanced abilities. New recruits can be brought in, but at a cost and they won’t be as capable as the seasoned veterans. Technology research could be ordered, unlocking new weapons and equipment when complete.

Dawn Of War 2 is rumoured to have the smaller, more focussed scale, but it will still play in real time. A slower, turn based game would allow players to consider all the different nuances of the units they control, the enemies they face, terrain, weather, mission goals etc. and to use each to their fullest when deciding strategy and tactics. I’m certain this would provide a very deep and rewarding gameplay experience.

get on with it!

So there you have it, game developers, what I want – nay need – to see is “Call Of Duty 40K: Imperium Combat” and “Laser Squad: Astartes” … in the name of the Immortal Emperor of Terra, get to work!