What our customer's say!"Played it All the Way Through...", One of the dozen or so games I've played all the way through, what more can one ask? Small learning curve allows one to begin playing immediately... (ref. I'm a hex/RTS/sports type, not a FPS/RP type, with the exception of Diablo I)
"Panzer General in space", Exceptionally disappointing that the next Warhammer 40K game would be an unremarkable pointy-clicky hex-based strategy game. If you like that sort of thing, huzzah! If you were expecting something more like Chaos Gate or *at least* not as assy as the Epic-scale game that came out first, you'll be bitterly disappointed.
"Warning to WH40K fans: This is NOT Chaos Gate with Eldar.", While the computer game Chaos Gate is a faithful translation of the tabletop game, Rites of War is a radical departure. The combat is nothing more than a WH40K mod to Panzer General 2. In my opinion the combat is dumbed down and overly simplistic. However, I am a fan of the tabletop game, and play Elder. So my disappointment is stems from disappointment that the game is not what I wanted it to be (faithful to the tabletop game).
The game does have a few redeeming qualities. It explores the rich culture of the Eldar race developed for the tabletop game Warhammer 40K. It is also fun to watch your units gain experience and improve.
While my expectations kept me from loving this game, I was able to play it through and can say that I did get something out of the game.
"Warhammer 40K Eldar come to the PC", I consider this game the sister to the also very good Chaos Gate. In Rites of War, you lead Eldar in epic battles first vs guardsmen and spacemarines, and then against tyranids. The interface is easy and intuitive, while the turn-based pace allows for much thinking and planning for those of us, who value finesse and calculations over blind rushing and brute force of numbers.
As you progress in the story, newer and more powerful units become available, but your old soldiers are just as good or better, since they gain experience and improve their characteristics. For successful missions, you gain prestige, which can be spent on buying new units or upgrading the old ones. Towards the end of the game, your oldest surviving soldiers will be the most powerful, and you must chiefly count on them to win from then on. This produces natural continuity and a heroic feel. By the end, you will be VERY attached to your great veterans, almost like old friends! This is the proper feel the Eldar should have in view of the WH40K background story.
There are artifacts to be found and used by every race, which further boost the carrier units. Extra experience is to be had for optional (unnamed) objectives. Sometimes, powerful rescued units join your camp for free. Non-campaign games from any side are possible. A nice encyclopaedia allows you to do some homework in planning your unit upgrades and in learning about your units, enemies, and allies. Once the tyranids are revealed, you gain access to Guard, Space Marine, and Sisters of Battle units.
The graphics is very beautifully drawn and the animations are very believable. The music and sound effects are quite atmospheric too. The opening cinematic is absolutely breathtaking in style and quality.
Now that I have given much praise, I must explain why I did not give 5 stars. The reasons are minuscule taken apart, but together they add up to minus one star:
1)The game needs a better tutorial.
2)More possibilities should have been included for the non-campaign game.
3)Sometimes the graphics can produce ripple effects around some units, which must be a code bug.
4)Some scenarios could have used a better design
5)The game may be a bit too tough for inexperienced farseers
6)The game would have benefited greatly from more cinematics to increase even further the density of the atmosphere.
All-in-all, great game. I played it the minute it came out, and it is still one of my all-time favorites. I play it even nowadays.
"Great", A great game for strategy fans who love Craftworld Eldar from Warhammer 40k.
