Spiked dildos shooting lasers in space.
Developer: Tindalos Interactive
Price: $39.99
Platform: PC
MonsterVine was supplied with PC copy for review
I’m sure there are many out there, like myself, who spent a large part of their adolescent life (and beyond) sitting in the library sending miniature Space Marines into battle against the Chaos scourge. Unbeknownst to me there was an addition to the Warhammer 40k universe that transcended the ground battles, instead taking place in the vastness of space. I’m referring, of course, to the 1999 tabletop game Battlefleet Gothic. Tindalos Interactive have brought the dusty and out of print game back from the empty depths of wormhole space to engross a new generation of digitally inclined 40k enthusiasts.
Now, I’m not completely up to date with my Warhammer lore, most of which came from a single Chaos Marine Codex I had growing up (Yes, I am one with the dark side!), and Battlefleet Gothic: Armada certainly doesn’t hold your hand when it comes to the story. Characters, locations, titles and even nouns are all thick with the Warhammer universe’s particular brand of sci-fi jargon. That being said, even without a 30-day preparatory course in 40k history, you’ll be able to follow the narrative without too much trouble, just with a lack of context.
The campaign follows Admiral Spire, a newly promoted Imperial officer who must take up arms against invading Chaos, Ork and Eldar forces, as well as seditious Imperial troops who have gone rogue. The game blends turn-based and real-time strategy as your fleets struggles to defend the Gothic sector on multiple fronts. A complex array of overlapping progression systems make Battlefleet Gothic: Armada an evolving beast, and hard to define in just a few paragraphs, but watch me try anyway.
Let’s start with the exciting stuff, combat! Battle is where your RTS skills are put to the test as you micro manage each monolithic gunboat in your fleet. Orders range from basic movement to evasive turns and ability usage. To begin with your fleet is small and simple to control, although as your Admiral levels up and the fleet grows, things become more complicated. Terrain plays a small part as the battlefield is sparsely littered with damaging asteroids and mines, as well as gas clouds that offer strategic concealment. Actual conflicts are quite slow-paced however, as your ships lazily circle their designated target firing barrages of their default attack (automated behaviour you select based on the ship’s weapon configuration). Even so, with the power of the “tactical cogitator” (more of that sexy sci-fi jaron) you can slow game-time down to a crawl for more precise commands. As the combat is based on a tabletop game, the playing field is a 2D horizontal plane, so don’t go in expecting anything close to Homeworld. In fact, there would be little to no difference in combat if you swapped out your fleet of space-faring vessels with sail boats.
Renown acts as both the experience for your ship and admiral, as well as the currency for purchasing ship slots and upgrades. This brings me to the second main game element, your fleet management and maintenance. You will need to be constantly substituting ships to ensure that you have more than just one with all the crew/ship upgrades. Your roster of gothic space phalluses take time to be repaired if they are destroyed in combat, or need time to find their way home if they get lost in warp space after a mishandled escape. A balanced line-up of offensive and support ships is critical to success.
Similar to games like the XCOM series there is a turn-based tug of war with enemies as you strain to keep the threat level down and worlds under your control. Each turn begins with your “over-world” map displaying the planets located in each system, this also acts as a mission select screen, as you must prioritise assets to defend with your fleet, while abandoning others to your foes. These world’s grant passive bonuses, so losing too many may be the difference between success and failure in future turns. Missions vary from simple cruiser battles, to convoy escorts/attacks, to data recovery. That being said the flavour of the combat is very similar between modes, with only difference marked by subtle shifts in target prioritisation.
If that isn’t enough for you, there is also a large focus on multiplayer. You are able to play as any of the 4 factions, each with their own pros, cons and ship tech trees. Essentially battles are a mix of different skirmish types from the campaign. Again you are encouraged to have a diverse and strong line-up in order to effectively battle fellow players. There are still balance issues in some of the skirmish types, particularly Convoy. In all my playing, I never saw a victorious Convoy defender, it is just so easy to select the ship you want to destroy and target your entire fleet towards its destruction. Albeit as time passes and the skill of players increase this may change, but it was always a given when entering a Convoy match.
The overdesigned ships and characters are completely in line with the Warhammer 40K universe. A mix of 3D rendered visuals and mildly animated illustrations actually present well. The grand scale is captured beautifully as well as the detailed and at times disturbing character portraits. Tactical information and UI elements are all easily visible and interpreted. Although, I did get frustrated with the game’s lack of units of measure. For example a ship’s turret may have a damage stat of 12, a rate of fire of 12, and a critical chance of 3. On their own these numbers mean very little and only become useful when comparing ships.
Now as much as I enjoyed the thematic nature of Battlefleet Gothic: Armada, I did tire of the RTS battles. As I played through the campaign, I found myself getting bored and just wanting access to the next tid bit of story. I can tell when I’m playing a game whether I dislike it due to design flaws or that it simply isn’t my taste and in this case it is the latter. I personally found the combat tedious and cumbersome, but that isn’t to say others won’t relish the slow paced, methodical battle of attrition.
The Final Word
A Warhammer 40K spaceship RTS of epic proportions. Great visual design and an engaging story make for a unique dip into the sci-fi behemoth. Deep and intricate progression systems ensure there is always something to improve in your fleet. Unfortunately Tindalos Interactive haven’t taken advantage of 3D space, leaving skirmishes and strategies to feel more like sea-battles.
– MonsterVine Rating: 4 out of 5 – Good
